Apologia

Circa 2001 

Author's Note:  This article was written as I came to the realization that I could live a Christian life and be a Light Jedi.  In this, I resolved my cognitive dissonances and presented this as a logical argument for dovetailing the Jedi Path into Christianity. I referenced all cited work to the best of my ability but did not follow APA or Chicago style. At the time of this writing, there was no Mysticism for Dummies.  I really wished that there was one available.  In 2011, “Dummies” books began to abound.  I heard of the existence of a “Mysticism for Dummies” but was unable to find one.  Mysticism is such a broad and diverse topic that I do not believe one basic introductory book could ever do it full justice.  

Force Academy Declaration on Religion: 

The Force Academy recognizes the Force as a general aspect which covers a variety of topics and adopts several guises, which is why we allow each student to incorporate these aspects into their own religious belief systems as they follow their own paths through life. We define religion as being a set standard of beliefs and behaviors which have the goal of worshipping Deity and attaining closeness with the Divine. We do not express preference for any particular religion, instead being accepting of all religions, thus allowing for and encouraging personal spiritual growth and development. 

The Force Council Board is used as a general basis of discussion on issues that appeal to all, and all are welcome there. Religious postings are to be used tolerantly or in private between individual students. Religious propaganda, restrictive or disrespectful remarks and aggressive debates are discouraged.

Loremaster

LoremasterNC@aol.com

Officially trained Jedi Master of the Force Academy 

OK. So you are a Force adept. A mystic. You have discovered all these strange and unusual abilities - and by George, the more you learn the more you are convinced that God is calling you to do work in a new and exciting field, using your talents to the glory of God. And you have been reared in Christianity all your life. A whole new world is opening up for you - only to have the door slammed on it by those well-meaning but irritating people who are convinced that you are standing at the gates of Hell and it is their ultimate purpose in life to yank you from your doom. You may have heard "No man can serve two masters", "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life..." and other verses taken completely out of context for the express purpose of beating you over the head into that most "desirable" of all virtues: submission.

In order to set the record straight, to call for religious tolerance, understanding of our fellow humans (Jedi or no) and unconditional love and respect; and attempt to squelch the misconceptions, I have set forth this brief Scriptural  apologia, or explanation, of what the Bible truly says about "Jedi" and various related topics. And thrown a few thoughts of my own in about Christian Jedi simply as a matter of relief. 

What is the Force? 

“In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.” Gen. 1:1

In this Priestly account of creation, also known as P, we see that the name for the Divine here is plural (Hebrew ‘im denotes a plural). This does not indicate a simply polytheistic (many Gods) or even a pantheistic (God in Creation) theology. In other words, the Divine took many aspects and could not be placed in a neat little box. Elohim was beyond human understanding or control. This thread of thought runs through the Old Testament priestly philosophy. 

”This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day (yom = time) that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens - “ Gen 2:4 

Yet another, later, Creation account exists side by side with the P source. This one, called J (for the Divine name YHVH – it's a German theology thing, don't worry about it), explores the Divine as a personal entity, who cares about Creation, and who seeks an active relationship with humankind. The name YHVH is patterned loosely after the Hebrew verb hawer, “to be”, and is the name we see most used in the Mosaic tradition. 

And YHVH said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM AND WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and ...you shall say to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you.” Ex. 3:14 (see also Ex. 3,4 and 6, and Gen. 16:7) 

Hmmm. I don’t see anything here about gender, personal appearance, characteristics, anything. All I see is an all-powerful Divine who can take any form, assume any likeness, and demonstrate any characteristic wished. To know the name of the Divine is to witness the manifestation of those attributes and apprehend that character which the name denotes. (Ex. 6:3, 1 Kings 8:33ff, Ps. 91:14, Isa. 52:6, Isa. 64:2, Jer. 16:21) 

How was the universe created? 

Well, it started like this: 

“And Elohim said Let there be light, and there was light.” Gen. 1:3

“Elohim said, Let us make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.” Gen. 1:26 (c.f. Ps. 104:30, Heb. 1:2, Heb. 11:3) 

“So Elohim created man in Elohim’s own image, in the image and likeness of Elohim (God) created him (‘ish = man, generic and collective term), male and female (‘ish and ‘isha = male and female) (Elohim) created them.” Gen. 1:27 (c.f. Col. 3:9-10, James 3:8-9) 

The spoken word is a very powerful thing. Very powerful indeed. And Elohim, the Divine, created human beings, male and female, completely in the Divine image and charged humankind to be stewards over all Creation. You figure it out. Personally, I see no divine command for one gender to dominate another. Rather, they should balance and complement each other. As the Divine is balanced. We see more of Elohim and the creative Word in the New Testament: 

“In the beginning was the Word (Gr. logos), and the Word was with God. Logos was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through logos, and without logos was not even one thing made that has come into being. In logos was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it.” John 1:1-5 (c.f. Isa. 9:6) 

The logos emanates from the Divine, and created and sustains the world. Logos is life. It is the life force which we as Jedi feel. It is everywhere, ever present and binds all of Creation together. And spiritual theologian Matthew Fox reiterates this idea of God being in all things, much as we Jedi see the Force as an energy flowing through and permeating all things. 

Who and What is the Divine? 

We have touched on this briefly above. Before we get into this further, I will state that it is absolutely impossible for the finite human mind to fully know and understand the Divine. Forget it. There are as many aspects and characteristics (and manifestations) of the Divine as there are grains of sand on the world’s beaches. It is enough for us to realize that the Divine seeks us out as individuals and shows the Divine face in a plethora of mirrors, yet it is the same face. 

It is not our task to try to impose our image of the Divine onto another person, stating that we and only we hold the truth of the Divine. In trying to do so, however well meant our intentions, we are in essence stating that the Divine cannot work without our assistance. That, to anyone, would be looked upon as presumptuous and even obnoxious. Thus, as Linus says to Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts after a particularly vituperative argument on prayer with his sister Lucy, “You’re right, religion is a very touchy subject.” 

That said, I will only add that the Divine is a perfectly balanced, thoroughly unknowable Power and Entity. Thanks to cultural overlays, semantic aberration and centuries of church history, the common Christian concept of the Divine has degenerated into a decidedly androcentric Being. We as Christians learn that there are three aspects of the Divine: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A Trinity, all separate yet all Divine. To worship one is to worship all. Don’t worry - it is complicated. And it is true that Jesus addressed the Divine as “abba” (Father) and called himself the Son of Man. Hey, Christ was put into a very male-oriented culture, and Israel would not have paid any attention to him otherwise. We will get into Jesus’s teachings further on. 

But we can accept the fact, as Paul writes, "And Abraham believed, and it was counted to him as righteousness." (Rom. 4:3)  In other words, God is not really hung up on what we humans call the Divine. God sees the heart and the intentions of us mortal creatures. Salvation is between the individual and God, not the responsibility of any one denomination or sect. It is the INTENT and the FAITH which is important, not the doctrine. There is a Zen saying for example that there are 10,000 paths that lead to the top of the mountain but that, once the summit is obtained, the view of the moon is the same. Or, as Paul advises the Philippians, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to (God's) good purpose." (Phil. 2:12) Horrible translation, folks. This means awe and respect for the Divine, not terror of an "out-there", anal retentive, vengeful Deity. And don't let anyone tell you differently. Look it up for yourself. 

Back to the topic. The Divine also has equally powerful feminine characteristics which are frequently overlooked, or at best squelched. This is a deep and extensive topic, and frankly not best dealt with here. There are books available on the Divine Feminine should you care to research this topic further. For right now, we will deal with this strictly on a Scriptural basis. 

Who is Jesus? 

Sticky question, depending on whom you ask. Certainly Jesus was a historical figure, and the Jewish historian Josephus figures Jesus prominently in his accounts. We as Christians believe that Jesus is none other than the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, one aspect of the Divine. For his part, John takes great pains in his gospel to prove that Jesus and logos are one and the same. He wants to make this point, as it forms the basis for his theology. We again see the Divine wanting an active, loving relationship with Creation, especially human beings (things sure haven’t changed much from the J account, have they?). 

“For God so loved the world (Creation - and folks, that’s us) that he gave (God's) only begotten Son (OK, so John was decidedly biased in favor of the male. I can’t help that), so that whosoever believes in him (Christ) should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) 

The Bible, which we Christians accept as the inspired Word of God, has two distinct layers of meaning. There is the superficial “jot and tiddle” meaning in which one can get so caught up in minutiae and numerical discrepancies that he or she misses the entire message. I don’t know about you, but personally I couldn’t care less about how many people were killed at the battle of Ai. Forget it. There is just a numerical discrepancy in the Joshua and 1 Kings accounts. The sort of thing only a theologian with far too little to do would think about questioning. For starters. They seem to forget that the Bible was written by many different people, at different times, and human perception varies. 

Then there is the deeper, eternal meaning of the Bible. The one I happen to personally like. It can be summed up in three words: “God loves you” or “God is love” (1 John 4:7. However, somehow those three little words got twisted and changed around to where the message that comes across to the rest of the world is either “I was right” or “You are wrong”. Neither of these are correct. They are the product of proof texting (taking Scripture out of context), Elizabethan, Puritan, and Victorian culture and general emotional frenzy. 

How should we live? 

Well, as followers of Christ, we tend to want to pattern ourselves after Jesus’s example, correct? OK. To do this, let’s look at the general Judaic code of conduct, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20;1-17). Jesus boiled these down to their true meaning for us in Matthew 22:37-40, interestingly enough in answer to a legal question from a religious leader. 

“And (Jesus) replied to them, “You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. (c.f. Deut. 6:5) And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as you do yourself. (c.f. Lev. 19:18). These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 

Hmmm…nope, not a single word about doctrine, denomination or any other religious philosophy in the whole thing. In fact, if we didn't know better, we might take this to mean that we are to respect and love our fellow human beings (in the spirit of unconditional and "brotherly" love) regardless of their faith, color, gender, etc. My, what an amazing concept! Love should be the guiding principle in all a Christian does. We see this echoed throughout the New Testament. Read it sometime. This is also summarized in the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

I believe Jesus’s attitude toward Pharisees is well known. He had a real problem with their self-righteousness and hypocrisy. OK. Enough said. We all have met modern-day Pharisees, many of whom seem to stand in Christian pulpits every Sunday. 

“So observe and practice all they tell you (respect the Divine whom they represent), but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy loads, hard to bear, and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to help bear them. They do all their work to be seen of men...they take pleasure in and love the place of honor and you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to enter to do so.“ (Matt. 23:2-13) 

Let’s move on. By what behavior are we truly classified as belonging to God? God says to the righteous: 

"Come, you blessed of my father (you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation), inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you brought me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me with help and ministering care. I was in prison and you came to see me. Then the just and upright will answer (God), Lord, when did we see you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcomed and entertained you, or naked and clothed you? And when did we see you in prison and come to visit you? And (God) will reply to them, Truly, I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least of these my brethren, you did it for me." Matt. 25:34-40 (c.f. Prov. 19:17) 

I don’t know about you, but many people I come across who do not claim to be Christians act far more like Christ than many who are in a church every time the doors are open. And God knows the hearts of human beings. 

We see echoes of this in Micah 6:8, addressing Israel. “God has showed you, O (human), what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?” (c.f. Deut. 10:12-13) 

Let's see what Paul has to say about incorporating religion into daily life: 

"To the Jews, I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law – though not being myself under the law – that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." (1 Cor. 9-20-22) 

Does this mean that Paul is boasting about how he "faked the suckers out?" Is he being wishy-washy in his faith? Hardly. Paul is merely saying that he approaches others in an attitude of agape (unconditional love) and respect, finding common ground on which to build relationships. And religious fervor, however well meant, tends to act like TNT on whatever common ground might exist, destroying any potential relationships before they get started. 

I don’t know about you, but the above Scriptural quotes sound pretty much like the Jedi ideal to me. I do not see where we Christian Jedi are “serving two Masters” (Mt. 6:24) by following the Light side of the Force. We see the Divine, no matter which form it chooses to present to us, and we work with our Jedi colleagues of various background and belief structures following the teachings and ideals set forth by Jesus to make the world a better place. Nothing wrong with that. 

"…the great mystics of every religion live together at the summit of their own Olympus, far above the mists of religious doctrine, priesthood, liturgy, sacrifice, church discipline, and all the other tiresome things which separate the common run of men into religious groups." (Merton, p. 243) 

I believe it is safe to say that almost all who come to the Force Academy or other place of Jedi learning are mystics, people who are aware of a plane of existence other than that which can be measured in the material realm. What is the aim of a mystic? Simply put, a mystic seeks complete union with the Divine. And the Divine asks for nothing less. Look at the Institution of the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper: 

"And while they (the disciples and Jesus) were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, praised God and gave thanks, and asked God to bless it for their use. Then Jesus broke it and gave it to them, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. Jesus also took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank of it. And Jesus said to them, This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is being poured out for many.” (Matt, 26;26 c.f. Ex. 24:9) 

Now, just imagine that 12 (at least) shocked and unbelieving stares met these words, as well they might have. Why? No cheating from our Jewish friends. Well, aside from the staggering theological implications that God has changed the rules completely (New Covenant), Jesus put this in the form of a marriage proposal. He did, really he did. Look it up. 

Jesus was proposing nothing less than complete and total union of these human beings with the Divine. This included himself. Which is, after all, what a mystic seeks. See Caledvolc's lecture “What is a Mystic?”. Paul spent a great deal of time and verbosity in seeking this union with the Divine, whom he saw as Christ Jesus in a mystical vision. (Acts 26:15) And John the Baptist agreed: “He (Christ) must increase while I must decrease” (John. 3:30) 

What is this, after all, but mystics seeking to burn away the self and make room to fan the Divine spark that dwells in all mankind into a roaring flame? Now, our terms may differ, but the general idea is the same. We as Christians refer to this concept as Christ coming and dwelling within us. Others maintain that the Divine is already present in the Divine spark, the image of the Divine in which we are created. Guess what, folks? Everyone wins here. For those of you gleefully waiting for me to mire and trap myself in the doctrine of Original Sin, you can forget it. That comes under a whole different ball game, and will be addressed later in Caledvolc's next lecture. For now, suffice it to say that when we mystics burn away all separating us from the Divine, we make room for the Divine spark to spread and burn within us, making us pure, "holy and acceptable to God, as is (our) spiritual act of worship." (Rom. 12:1). Or, as Matthew Fox calls it, this realized eschatology – the idea that Christ returned and continues to return as He indwells his followers – is the actual meaning of the Second Coming. 

You can believe what you wish, but personally I think this makes a great deal of sense. Of course, the Divine has a plan for the world, and we humans cannot comprehend it fully. Eschatological (end times) literature really does not fit in here, but it is safe to say that the purpose of each example we have is to ease the mind of its audience by addressing a specific problem at hand. For example, Revelation was written to the baby Church during a time (@ 60 A.D.) when the sadistic Roman emperor Domitian and his boys were running around creating havoc and making life miserable in general for Christians. John was reassuring the Church that good will triumph over evil. Can this include a Parousia (a literal Second Coming)? Of course. The Divine does what the Divine wills, with or without human help. 

Back to the topic at hand. Who, after all, loves Christ but those who obey His commands and follow His example? Incidentally, this means loving your neighbor, showing your faith by your deeds, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit in your day to day life, and basically living what you believe…this is not easy, and there will always be various folks who don't like it. And let's face it - the Dark Ones have invested a lot of effort into lulling the church into a state of self-righteous complacency. What is easier than basking in the glow of denominational correctness, after all, and waging a Holy War against all those who are different than you? That requires no thought. No action. And let's face it, your War is much appreciated. In keeping other Christians occupied by doctrinal infighting, we allow the Dark Ones to sail in and do some REAL damage. Time to, as cartoonist Walt Kelly stated, "turn our guns on the Enemy". 

Incidentally, Jesus said nothing in the Eucharist about whom the “many” under the New Covenant would be. But the Bible tells us that “by their fruits shall you know them” (Matt. 7:16). In other words, the key to the human heart is found in human behavior. And the Divine does not favor one nationality or even creed over another. The fact remains, again, that either one follows the teachings of the Divine or one does not. The Divine teaches under many different guises, and we will address spiritual wisdom in a moment. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, writes: 

"But the fruit of the Spirit (the work which the Spirit presence within us accomplishes) is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), and self-control." (Gal. 5:22-23) Sounds like a Jedi to me. 

Paul also writes about the various gifts of the Spirit within us in 1 Cor. 12. Let’s read, starting at verse 4: 

"Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (extraordinary powers distinguishing certain persons, due to the power of Divine grace operating in their souls by the Spirit), and they vary, but the Spirit remains the same. And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but is the same (Divine) who is served. And there are distinctive varieties of operation (of working to accomplish things), but it is the same (Divine) who inspires and energizes them. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for good and profit." (1 Cor. 12:4-7) 

Now, how did Paul know about Force abilities? And again, we see that people have different strengths in the Force, but all Jedi, Christian and otherwise, serve the Divine within them. And these abilities come directly from the Divine for one purpose, glorifying the Deity and advancing the Kingdom of Heaven. We get this straight from Jesus himself in John 14:10-14: 

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. " 

No, this does NOT mean that we can summon up Big Brother as a sort of Divine Genie whenever we want a wish granted. This passage gives us allowance for our unique abilities, as long as they are used in the correct manner. We all know that there is only one proper use of our abilities - to glorify God. And we must be sure that our actions align with the will of God. God, after all, has given us these abilities for a specific purpose - to bring others closer to the Divine. And we are "laborers together with God" (1 Cor. 3:9, c.f. Isa. 61:3) in this work. 

Thomas Merton was quite clear about the fact that spirituality is not evil, nor is it related to religion. Many people throughout the centuries have been saying that religion has little to do with actual spirituality.  

"…mysticism has nothing to do with occultism. Mysticism is not magic. It is not divination. It is not spiritualism. It has nothing to do with magnetism. Not one of these things can be called "mystical" because not one of them is religious. On the contrary, these practices all involve (the human) spirit in sins against religion….Religion is the virtue by which (human beings) give expression to (their) complete dependence upon God. But the characteristic feature of all occult practices and of the inordinate use of magnetism is that they claim to give (humans) a natural command of the supernatural world. They pretend to put him in control of supernatural effects which are somehow "independent" of God. They all tend to deaden the religious instinct of man and to replace it by a morbid obsession with preternatural phenomena. The fundamental human need to worship God and to find the fullest expression of his spiritual capacities in the supernatural experience of his goodness and his truth is thus frustrated… (Merton, p. 63-64) 

Spiritual understanding of the higher Truth comes to us from God, free from doctrinal and cultural strictures - and it is a necessary part of a mystic's life. Why is wisdom so important anyway? Why study? Well, it is a known fact that the more you learn, the more you discover you need to know. When confronted with the collected wisdom of the ages, you find out very quickly that you are not nearly as important as you think you are, and thus wisdom begets humility. Humility begets virtue, as only when one is empty one can be filled with Christ. This idea is all OVER the New Testament. Yes, the being dead and raised to new life thing. The potter's clay, the wineskins and so forth. However, there is a good emptiness and a bad emptiness. We will discuss those later. 

           Thomas Merton and Teresa of Avila, among others, attempted to explain a music's source of wisdom, which is even now a daunting task in an age where science and logic reign supreme: 

          "Reason is in fact the path to faith, and faith takes over when reason can say no more." (Merton, p. 29) 

St. Teresa of Avila "…I think the devils are very much after learned men who are humble and virtuous, knowing these will find them out and defeat them." (Life, 13)

            So where does this wisdom come from? Let's take a look at some Biblical passages: 

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:15-17) 

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, of the Devil. For where you have envy or selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:13-18) 

"We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden, and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

No eye has seen,

No ear has heard,

No mind has conceived

What God has prepared for those who love him. 

But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. 2:6-15) 

In fact, knowledge can be found anywhere and everywhere. Shakespeare penned this in his play As You Like It: “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. I would not change it.”  Actually, neither would I. Indeed, we have only to look at the Creation around us to see the hand of the Divine. And this leads to further insights.  Merton found several: 

“The contemplation of God in nature, which the Greek fathers called theoria physica, has both a positive and negative aspect. On the one hand, theoria physica is a positive recognition of God as He is manifested in the essences (logoi) of all things. It is not a speculative science of nature, but rather a habit of religious awareness which endows the soul with a kind of intuitive perception of God as He is reflected in His creation. This instinctive religious view of things is not acquired so much by study so much as by ascetic detachment…It consists rather in the ascetic gift of a discernment which, in one penetrating glance, apprehends what creatures are and what they are not. This is the intellectual counterpoise of detachment in the will. Discernment and detachment (krisis and apatheia) are two characters of the mature Christian soul. They are not yet the mark of a mystic, but they bear witness that one is traveling the right way to mystical contemplation, and that the stage of beginners is passed. The presence of discernment and detachment is manifested by a spontaneous thirst for what is good – charity, union with the will of God – and an equally spontaneous repugnance for what is evil. The (person) who has this virtue no longer needs to be exhorted by promises to do what is right, or deterred from evil by threat of punishment. 

(Thomas Merton The Ascent to Truth, page 27-28) 

OK, a step in the right direction. This is an appetizer, if you will, for the Divine banquet - and one of the early steps to this Divine communion is meditation. Yes, there are many methods for meditation, and like anything else, what works for one will not work for another. However, the goal of meditation is increased awareness, not complete unconscious apathy. Remember the good and bad emptiness? Good emptiness means getting over our glorious selves (pride and ego, not self-abasement or mortification) and moving over, making room for the Divine presence to emerge, otherwise known as humility. 

However, we can use meditation to lull our minds into a stupor, which produces the following bad effects: 

"It is true that as soon as a man empties himself and abstracts from all images in the sensible part of his soul, and becomes idle, remaining inactive in his superior facilities, he enters into a natural state of repose…But the man who really loves God cannot rest here, for charity and the inward action of the grace of God do not long remain idle…The interior man cannot bear to stay for a long time closed up in himself in a state of merely natural repose…this kind of repose is not permitted…It brings man into a condition of complete blindness and to the ignorance of all knowledge…he collapses into himself and loses the power to act…it is a sterile idleness…in which he forgets not only himself but God and everyone else besides, especially when he is called upon to do a little work!" (John of Ruysbroeck in Merton, p.227, no source given) 

We see echoes of this in James and the book of Thessalonians. Why is this "repose" so harmful? Isn't the mark of a Jedi peace? Well, yes - but peace and repose are far from being the same thing: 

"This inertia quickly leads to the opposite pole of the spiritual life from contemplation and divine union because it makes a man incapable of receiving the light of Truth by confirming him in his own stubborn self-will…the only way a contemplative can avoid this disastrous mistake is to use the intelligence God has given in the service of faith and love." (Merton, pages 227-228) 

There are some helpful hints on meditation in the Addenda. Let's look at what we have learned. So far, we have seen that we, as Christian Jedi, are NOT serving two Masters. Our abilities, as we well know, come from God and will go back to God. We are laborers with God in God's work on this plane of existence. And we are working with other like-minded Jedi of all faiths to accomplish this Work. 

We are also, by living out our faith and following the example Christ has set, free from doctrinal and cultural overlays, working out our salvation (James, Paul) through the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Each person must follow his or her own path to enlightenment, as each person has different life lessons to learn, but the basic road map for Jedi, regardless of what they call themselves, is the same. 

The mark of a real Christian is peace and harmony, coming from a Christ-centered existence (truly Christ-centered, as discussed above, not just self-righteousness ego trips) and which manifests itself in the fruits of the Spirit. Those who have these attributes, regardless of what they may call themselves, truly show the world the face of the Divine.

ADDENDUM A: TIPS ON MEDITATION 

(based on Hanson, pp. 244-246) 

• Find the body and infuse it with consciousness 

Among all the individual things in the world, each human being is closest to him- or herself. Ironically, however, each human being is also the most distant from him- or herself. Self-awareness invariably builds self-esteem, and self-esteem is foundational for mental and emotional health. This is basic common sense. 

• Connect with wonder 

One of the most difficult tasks in a technological age is to rediscover the sense of awe, the unbridled curiosity we had about the world around us when we were children. When we lose the quality of wonder, we lose our keen edge for living; when we rekindle the wonder within us, we restore our zest for life itself. We see Jesus echo these thoughts when he tells his disciples, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven". (Matt. 19:14) 

• Enter into a new dimension

Recognize that there is much more to the universe than what we can observe with our senses. Cultivate an awareness of the unseen world by studying its various aspects. Then, learn to enter that realm through the regular practice of meditation. 

• Connect with love 

Love is another word for "connectedness". It means recognizing our interdependence with everyone around us. It also means acting on that awareness, to enrich, in a very personal way, the lives of those we touch. 

• Dissolve all routine patterns and boundaries 

"Routine" is the enemy of creative experience. It is important to open oneself to a new experience, to "take the road less traveled by", to listen to a higher voice in the minute details of daily life. 

• Consider that we are free 

Real freedom, it is argued, is not a matter of rights or laws or unhindered actions, but a state of mind. It is a matter of the way we conceive of ourselves, understanding that each day, we have an almost infinite number of choices to make. Our lives are in fact the sum total of those choices. Making wise ones is the essence of freedom. 

• Talk to the Uni-verse 

We must learn to recognize our interconnectedness – our oneness – with the universe. We must learn to hear the universe speak. And we must learn to talk back. Our relationship with the world around us is not to be one-sided; it is to be a dialogue. 

• Re-integrate as an individual self 

Interconnectedness is not the goal and the end of mystical experience. Kabbalah in its contemporary settings urges that the "higher awareness" we cultivate must be refocused on the individual. Since the meditative experience removes us from ourselves, we must learn to return to and ultimately restore the "self".

• Integrate the "Divine Meeting" with our higher mind 

The meditative experience is to change us, to make us better human beings. This involves integrating that which is experienced in the world beyond ourselves with our own self-consciousness. The appeal is not so much to "gray matter" – our rational capacity – but to the "Inner self", the "Higher Mind". 

• Come into a new integration with the attached sparks of our soul 

Recognize the concept of divine sparks, with respect to our own souls…our task is to find an internal harmony with those elements of the divine presence. 

ADDENDUM B: USING MYSTICAL PRACTICE IN DAILY LIFE 

(Based on Hanson, pp. 248-251) 

1. Cancellation. This is another word for the practice of meditation, which of necessity involves "canceling" the clutter that fills our minds. Meditation involves focusing down, within ourselves, becoming one both with ourselves and the world around us. Meditation is also a discipline that can be learned, and the body and mind can be gradually trained with practice. 

2. "Gerushin", or "mantra". This is a word or brief phrase which is meaningful to the individual. This helps us to cancel out the external world, and it has the effect of refocusing thought on the meditative process. 

3. Intention. This term describes the very ancient practice of letting go of the self and setting one's full attention on a higher reality. This involves slowing down our pace, living a more relaxed life, eating slowly, stopping every hour and a half during the day and breathing deeply, and making time to smell the roses. And also "feeling the Force" flowing through and around us, sensing our place in the world, and sensing the world aro