What are the Core Beliefs of Every Jedi

[Darth Jediforever!]

I am curious of what it is that Jedi believe in, I know there are elements of charity and various kinds of good works pointed toward the betterment of mankind in general but I need clarification of set beliefs that we all share as Jedi, the absence of this causes difficulty for me to define what being a Jedi is all about.

[Andy]

Belief in a force.

Belief that this force can be interacted with.

All else seems to be points of contention.

[RyuJin]

i would recommend reading: the great jedi holocron, the jedi jewel series, and the jedi training manual....you'll find many common grounds within them that should give you a good basis...

[Kitsu Tails]

Belief in a force.

Belief that this force can be interacted with.

All else seems to be points of contention.

+1

[Myrrden]

I've gotta agree completely with Andy

[Charles]

I gotta go with Andy on this one also except only on the "Jedi believe in the Force" part, because not all believe that it can be interacted with, at least I've met those who do not believe you can interact with it.

[SilverMoonfire]

Jedi believe in civil souvernty like public civil service for better man and evolution

[Andy]

I gotta go with Andy on this one also except only on the "Jedi believe in the Force" part, because not all believe that it can be interacted with, at least I've met those who do not believe you can interact with it.

Then what makes them jedi and not just Deists?

[Moonshadow]

I really like this version of the Jedi Code. It definitely does a fairly good job of describing what the Jedi path means to me.

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.

-Luke Skywalker

Source: Wookieepedia (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Code)

--Moonshadow

[Mindas Arran]

When were the Jedi (in the movies, I haven't read the books) doing anything charitable or for the betterment of their fellow man?

I always just saw them as Blackwater for the Republic.

[AstaSophi]

Are we speaking of the Jedi of the Star Wars Galaxy - or Jedi (Realists) of Earth 2010?

The confusing thing about the Jedi of Star Wars is that "what they are" and what they believe seems to change through the movies - and definately through the books.

I also believe the one thing that binds the Jedi of Star Wars and Jedi of planet earth are the belief in the Force - and not only the Force - but a sort of open-ended morality not based on "rule or law" but on the circumstance and what seems to be an inherant feeling of right/light/positive and wrong/dark/negative.

This is "sensed" as well as searched-for...

But that's my feeling only.

[RyuJin]

moral flexability....slippery ground that is....but true in the fiction many displayed it in excess, and on more then one occassion it was the cause of a fall....their station as an almost elite police/para-military force was also the source of falls and corruption...however that is true of any in a position of power/authority....and also remember that while many focused on the "policing" duties there were plenty in the background that gave of themselves freely for the betterment of society, also remember that the fiction was written around a time of great turmoil and unrest so all we got to see/read was the jedi carrying out their duties as guardians of the peace. little was shown of their other more charitable acts...

[Zaron]

The jedi I have meet would say that the only thing we all agree upon is that we are guardians in one sense or another. A good example of not agreeing on the same things is the debate that one order I saw had about if we as jedi could manipulate the force like the Jedi in the movies and books did. It is VERY hard for me to explain what all jedi agree upon because I belive in things that no other jedi I know of belives in so in my oppinion this question has no solid answer but what I think is that every jedi has to decide for themselves what the core of being a jedi is

[Tai-Da]

Belief in God, The Force, Allah (not the name)

and Keeping of the peace.

[Brandel Valico]

Not everyone who follows the Jedi path does so as a Religion as such equating the Force (Which some of us view as an energy field without a separate and or unique Conscious of it's own) with God (Which is a generic term and should not be used to denote the Hebrew God "Yahweh" as it all to often is) Or Allah or any other Supreme Being or Beings is not something "ALL" Jedi share. Though there are probably as many who do as those who don't.

[Kitsu Tails]

I sure don't connect "God" or "Gods" with the force. They are two different things entirely IMHO

[Andy]

Which is why i left it at belief in a force. Any spiritual energy falls into that category, be it God, thor or chi.

[Moonshadow]

I agree with Brandel, Kitsu, and Andy.

--Moonshadow

[Charles]

@Andy: The difference for those particular few (bust existing) Jedi who don't view the force as something that can be interacted with and Deism really isn't all that much. Yet they are Jedi all the same.

@The Whole God Thing: You know I'd think if the Force is capable of great things, any God or Goddesses would have access to it. That is if it's a universal binding energy. If it's a life based universal binding energy they might very well still be using it. This also gets into a definition of what do we REALLY view the Force as?

[Brandel Valico]

Andy the way you phrased it works for me.

Charles If such beings exist they would indeed have access to the Force as well as be part of it. I know for myself I accept that Gods and or Goddesses exist for those who believe in such things. I simply view them differently then others. For myself they are simply aspects of part of the Force that people have chosen to focus upon. The same as some people focus on the Living Force. Nothing wrong with it. Some are more comfortable putting a perspective on it that feels comfortable to them.

For myself it's all simply energy the only persona or Conscious I see in the Force is that put there by everything. (But thats drawing away from the topic here so I'll let it go.)

*** Now let me stress I'm not saying others should accept my view nor am I saying their views are wrong. I simply am explaining why for myself I don't equate the Force as a God. For myself it's because God's don't exist in my view. For others their God is the source of the Force and how they interact with the Universe. For others they are one in the same. All those views make any statement beyond "We accept the Force exists and we interact with it each in our own way" Very dangerous. I'm sure some can even find things they disagree with in this statement.***

[Setanaoko]

There are so many different takes on "the Force". You can listen to the, roughly, two hour class I gave to my friends on Youtube (under Setanaoko). Because of this, I have to totally agree with Andy, that it is a belief in "the Force" (however you may perceive it) rather than in a deity.

Jedi also believe in improving themselves, spiritually, mentally, physically. Light Jedi do this in order to help others. Shadow and Dark are not opposed to helping others, but growth for the sake of others is not necessarily their goal. It's really just for them.

And that's just touching on the subject of other philosophies within the Force Realist community. ("Force Realists" meaning those who believe in "the Force"-which encompasses everyone from Light, Dark, Universal, Shadow/Grey, Sith, Independent, etc)