{"id":2160,"date":"2018-03-09T04:39:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T04:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/?p=2160"},"modified":"2018-03-09T13:15:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T13:15:58","slug":"the-last-jedi-spirituality-trumps-organized-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/2018\/03\/09\/the-last-jedi-spirituality-trumps-organized-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Jedi: Spirituality Trumps Organized Religion?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d reminds viewers that even a fictional secular religion will likely reflect the spiritual economy of its time.<\/em> (Chaim Saiman)<\/p>\n

Months ago, in anticipation of the release of \u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d, I wrote a blog post on the \u201cStar Wars\u201d universe as a significant modern parable that can connect to a number of the themes and ideas of Christianity. The latest movie has been interpreted by many as repudiating some of the tenets of the preceding movies.<\/p>\n

Two recent articles reflect further on the religious themes of \u201cStar Wars.\u201d Writing in CNN<\/a>, Daniel Burke observes, <\/p>\n

\u201cStar Wars\u201d is, at heart, a story about the rise and fall of an ancient religion.<\/em><\/p>\n

That religion was intended to be a space-age version of Zen Buddhism. This reflected the interest in eastern religions becoming popular in the California of the 70\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Suffice it to say, \u201cStar Wars\u201d borrows quite a bit from Buddhist symbols, teachings and practices. One writer calls it \u201cZen with lightsabers.\u201d \u2026
\nThroughout \u201cStar Wars,\u201d the Jedi talk often about mindfulness and concentration, attachment and interdependence, all key Buddhist ideas. Two \u2014 mindfulness and concentration \u2014 are steps on the Eightfold Path, the Buddha\u2019s guide to spiritual liberation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Irv Kershner, director of \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back\u201d, once said that the character of Yoda was created to evangelize for Buddhism.<\/p>\n

Mushim Patricia Ikeda, a Buddhist teacher and social justice activist, said Yoda reminds her of the monks she studied with in Korea: wise, cryptic and a little impish.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d, the most recent movie, on the other hand, seems to have turned against the religion of the Jedi. After trekking to Luke\u2019s remote hideaway, bearing his old light saber as a relic, Rey is a supplicant to the religion that has died down to one. Luke stares blankly for a second, then tosses the thing over his shoulder and walks away. As she pursues him, he rather grumpily tells her that the Jedi order is finished, and he won\u2019t train her. Later he and Yoda\u2019s glowing spirit hold a conversation about the sacred Jedi books that Luke possesses: \u201cPage-turners they were not,\u201d opines Yoda.<\/p>\n

Writing in The Atlantic<\/a>, Chaim Saiman notes that <\/p>\n

From A New Hope through The Force Awakens, learning to master the Force required faith, ritual, and ancient wisdom\u2014all of which are hallmarks of institutionalized religion. But in The Last Jedi, a grizzled Luke Skywalker dismisses the Jedi mythos, and presents a more modern take on theology that accords with the \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d trend that finds younger Americans to be less interested in organized faith but more open to spiritual experiences. <\/em><\/p>\n

Both articles are quick and entertaining reads.<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"