Our faith in the force existed well before the fictional Star Wars movies brought popular recognition to the terminology and concepts that our members always innately held?

On average, everyone strongly agrees with nonconsensus between 601 voters.

Reasons To Disagree

This did not exist before the books George Lucas wrote.

I don't know, when I born, George Lucas and SW, were there, so...

There was no such thing as a "Jedi" before Star Wars.

Sorry to say it but the Jedi church is from the movies and books. I'm afraid to admit it, but it wasnt even close to an original belief system before it was tied into Star Wars

The GOOD and EVIL is creation of our own MIND.

George Lucas came up with the term: "Jedi" But the principles of "The Force" existed in EVERY major religion. The Force is in many respects another name for God. Mr Lucas I believe owns the rights to the Jedi terminology on behalf of the Star Wars Franchise.... If you really want the Church to be accepted beyond the Star Wars Mythology, a name change would be in order. They own the rights legally AND in the minds of anybody who thinks the word Jedi... The principles of the Jedi, were based off of a conglomerations of old religions (as most religions are actually VERY similar), but did NOT originate from there.... The "Force" in Star Wars was actually inspired by this movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21-87

Nope its been similar like the samurai but George picked the samurai to match up with the jedi so in a way we are all just samurai? lol :D

The principles of "The Force" exists in all major religions - There should be a charge led to create a distinction between the movies and the religion.

The movies brought a very strong belief forward that I think many before and after all of us will continue to believe.

The Jedis were created in Star Wars. What we believed in, have hardly changed.

This is a stupid question.

Jediism itself didn't exist before Star Wars but considering it was created based on other religions their are elements that existed before it.

did it really????? you must be a really powerful Jedi master then

Reasons To Agree

Of course, the force is the presence of a god/deity which means it has been around since the beginning (god knows when that was)

Simply because the movies weren't made or the book wasn't written does not mean it wasn't there.

More as Taoism

Lucas based the Jedi on Samurai in large part, followers of Buddhism and Shintoism. The Force is perhaps his own spin on spirituality as far as his terms and descriptions, but it actually fits quite well with many spiritual points of view that existed long before these movies... or any movie, for that matter.

Before Lucas and the movies, the ancient civilizations like Celts,Aztecs,Egyptians,etc believed on the use and existance of energies superior to the human beings, so we can say the knowledge and existance of the Force is older than the movies.

Was dragged to Christian church as a child but never believed it as I asked a lot of questions and was never given a satisfactory answer. I believed there was a power greater than me in the Universe, just wasn't sure what it was.

The movie just gave it a name

the ideas behind the jedi faith have always been around, Lucas just gave us a name for it...

The Force holds many similarities to The Path(s) of Buddhism, which only strives for "right living" and so forth. (We'll note as well, that the Jedi in Mr. Lucas' stories don't disparage the faiths of others. We could ALL learn from that. It only leads to hate, and the Dark Side.)

I felt the same way before I became a big fan of star wars

It is the Chi, The Holy Spirit, Gaya

if you look at the old norse text they talk of a force that binds all things and is in all things,they called it manna,if you were ill they would say that the manna of the virus was stronger than than your manna and shame would be on you in those practical warrior times

Lukas only mixed up existing religious concepts so far. So they have existed long before the first STAR WARS MOVIE. I'm as one of the first INDIGO CHILDS got born with the knowledge of all things in this world having a soul.

The Star Wars movies provided some common terms and expressed concepts for The Force. No one currently knows the origin of The Force, because it certainly predates human history.

It was exposure to the movies that made me realise there was more to life than God and religion. I was very young (only 4) when A New Hope was released and had not had the opportunity to develop my personal beliefs earlier. But I can see how people could of realised the existence of something they could not explain before that moment. They were only waiting for a name for their belief.

I was a Freemason for 12 years and it was the organisation that fitted my beleifs prior to Jedi. I chose it because of that. In my opinion the Movies only happened to package the faith, making the concept more visible. You could also have based it on older fictional or even factual heroes who embodied the meaning of the doctrine.

The force is neither god or evil, so we cannot reach out to it or blame it if it didnt help us. if god was real, he would not have let us fall to our demise. The force is the best explanation for the thing which began the world(big bang or whatnot lol) as it is always "there" the films just gave us bit of termonology xD the force could have been called Jiberyjoo if we wanted to call it that.

Agree. The concepts that Lucas used in the movies were taken from other contemporary religious ideas and philosophies that had influenced Lucas considerably.

Nice story.

The beliefs have always existed and followed, George Lucas just provided a name

The force existed always, although others interpreted it as a god, mystical being, ect.. If the force was always then so were we and our beliefs

Go back to ancient egyptian history - you will find all sorts of things in regards to the writings of the Jedai/Djedi.

agree

star wars gave it a cool name that is all

The Force did not simply come into being once a literary or visual work used it as an object of a story. The concept of the Force has been around since before the written word. The Star Wars story simply highlighted the path to what has always existed.

faith in the force is the oldest religion on the planet and until the star wars movies it was nameless because it was the one true religion.

Look, i heard the word Force, with a capital F used in the main atheistic Unitarian church in Toronto as a synonym for a weak God of some type, in 1954, that is long before Geo Lucas. 15% in that chch believed in the Force.

The Force is just another word for energy, Qi whatever you want to call it. Energy cannot be created or destroyed -- so it was around before we gave the name of the "Force" to it. And people who have a faith in Qi etc are also doing the same thing, the only difference is we, as Jedi have a different view on how to use this "energy" and so a different way of life determined by the Jedi Code. And Yes people were living like "Jedi" before the movies, just with a different name for "Force", I for one already lived life like the Jedi code determines but of course there wasn't a Jedi code I followed it was just a way of life hat I lived, now the Jedi way has brought another name to that way of life, and that is all the Jedi way is, a philosophy, and there are many ways to live life, chances are people have done this before just with different terminology.

the lone ranger, superman etc all good.

and it's called Qi...

the force is an entity that has been emphasized by the star wars series

but the films made it come to light

We are based on the ancient Samurai way.

well more as taoisim or bubist with the fighting skills and such

It's more commonly refered to as Bhuddism, but yes.

yes..but i do like bein a jedi <3

Its human nature to look for answers to unexplainable events whether it be from religion, ghosts, aliens, lifestream or the force.

Yes, i believe that there is no god who love us and has a plan for us...but a force that gave us the opportunity to make a change in life.

We all belive in something bigger than what we are as individuals.. some may choose to put there whole faith into this, while others believe we are our own 'gods' and the power held within us, is the greatest of all.. Much like the buddhist faith.. this above anything, must be true!

There is no god, only The Force and for that we have believed in for centuries before "George Lucas", an agent of the Sith, he is.

The force has always been present, it's just been interpreted differently before the formation of the star wars films. They just provided examples of order.

The name of "the Force" is just a popularized version of something I have always believed in since i was a youngling.

Simply because the movies weren't made or the book wasn't written does not mean it wasn't there. id said it existed more as Taoism

The force has been around for eons. It's not measurable! Please donate and spred the word. I would like to see the Jedi Church purchase a new starship. Only then will scientologist worship the Jedi, and leave the darkside.

search your feelings, you know this to be true

The Force has been recognized as many other things through out history. Asian cultures studied it as chi or ki energy. Pagan societies recognized the balance of the pure Force for thousands of years before even Romans began their conquest. The "Force" has been around since the beginning of time and is the Alpha and Omega.

The Force and belief in it was always around, yet it did not have a name or title, and George Lucas gave it one. He also brought more recognition to the cause, and was able to unite everyone under a common name.

although I don't have the force. I have empathy and sympathy towards the people around me friend or enemy.

The consept of the force exsisted in me before i knew of the movies, there for others could have come to believe as i have.

The principles of the jedi church existed before SW in the forms of certain beliefs of other religions

I believe that the Force has existed since the creation of the first living being, which is not human of course.

the force of the two opposites (negative-positive, good-evil, ying-yang) whatever you want to call it has been around from the begging of time - god and devil are two sides of the same person - it is important to keep the balance

The Syar Wars movies merely gave tangible expression to what many felt before.

its like the sun, star wars just gave it a name and recognition

simular to budda, just different form

Force flows eternaly. We have known it from the very beginning if there was one.

I've joined this religion not because of the movies but because I could feel that all religions where wrong and there was still a force out there what created all life

this is but a name to speak of it as the creator of star wars also build the Jedi Order in his Mind combining different believes

If I understand the doctrine well enough, I would say YES!. Star Wars, was a creation that brought a moniker to an already practiced ideology. To say that this path is brought to life by Star Wars, is to say the space programs were created from science fiction writers. Which inspire who? Does it really matter? if the practice of emulating a fictional character brings about a strong, moral faith or belief structure. Maybe we should thank them, verses questioning them.

but i think back then we was a bit unsure how to channel it as good as today

Star Wars came out before I was born, and I first saw it before I was even old enough to remember, so it's hard to say that on a personal level. Still, my beliefs were uninfluenced by it in my formative years, and I still arrived at the same conclusion... And besides the philosophies in Star Wars are constructed from older, non-fictional systems of belief.

George Lucas spent much study on the world belief systems, modern through antiquity, in the developmental concept of "the Force" concept, which can be recognized by anyone with some learning and knowledge in religious studies beyond that of the typical layman.

The belief in universalism has been expressed through out time and history.

Jedi dates back to at least 12000 B.C. It is only now that it is more in the public eye, and that is largely down to the world wide web!

The Force has been always there - thanks George Lucas to name it, tag it and popularize it - we have been a bit uncentered before Star Wars

agreed every one knows we always existed

Force has always been with us.

Star Wars just give a name to our faith

Of course, call it a Pantheistic God,Great spirit or Tao, it has always been there.

See my Star Explorers: The Discovery and Psye ens: The Hidden Knowledge.

I think all religions believe in a force of some kind. The Jedi religion has its own terminology and theology to it.

the froce has all been around just its been called many names but the meaning is the same help others and do whats right.

I used to be a Roman Catholic, but I knew inside that I liked my moral views better than what I could find in my church. When I realized that Star Wars could help me explain how I viewed life, it helped me greatly because I could finally show people how I felt about life without stumbling over my words. My faith existed before I used Star Wars to help explain things.

before i had heard about SW i belive in a force or power who held of together everything in the univers, everything at our earth. When George Lukas wrote SW, he was maybe just using his own belive, and maybe his belive was that there is a force who bind all together.

yes it has been around since the mid evil times and shall still go around to ppl of the force

Yes. Read the Tao Teh Ching.

Star Wars was a theatrical represantation of Taoist, Buddhist, Bushido and Shamanistic beliefs. These beliefs inspired ancient cultures, the hippie movement in the 60's/70's and the new age movement of today.

The Force is in everyone... most people just haven't discovered it yet.

I would think so

The fait existed but the name came with star wars.

jedi's rule

The films helped to highlight our faith and bring us together that is all

I agree, Buddhist have different words for the force, the movie terminology give us something easier to agree on

The movies gave it a name, but the principles were always there.

Force. Jedi. Star Wars. These are but names. Labels of pre-existing realities told through myth and legend.

i believe all religions started out with nearly the same believes but power, money, and ignorence changed them into what they are today

Joseph Campbell said so long before Lucas was even out of college.

physicists used to actualy call the zero point energy field the force.. actualy. It what antique ufo's used for fuel before element 115 (in real life)

I belived in my own religion before I saw this but now I have I am glad I have read this

I have always known of its existance. The movie simply gave a name to thr Force.

this is spiritualism. star wars just gave it a more identifiable name and terms

The force has always been and will always be

Belief in an energetic force within the universe was around long before any films were ever even a possibility to be created. The Jedi and the Force as laid out in the Star Wars stories are just that, but the underlying concepts that those were based on have been around for as far back as we have written record.

The films were just advertising for our religion