Orson Scott Card: Memo to Would-Be Jedis (Buddhism, church, catholic)

DeepShadow · #1 05-26-2005, 10:48 PM

http://beliefnet.com/story/167/story_16700_1.html

LDS science fiction author Orson Scott Card shares his views on the new Jedi religion and Episode 3.

I'm a fan of Card in general, though a few of his comments here and other places made me wince. I'll finish reading and mull things over before I respond in full.

Master Vigil · #2 05-26-2005, 11:41 PM

No where in that article did he address Taoism, Buddhism, Shaolin Monks, Chi, etc... Clearly from reading that article he had no clue of any kind about the philosophy behind the force, and the jedi. That article was a horrendus attempt at best to discuss The Force.

DeepShadow · #3 05-27-2005, 12:18 AM

Yeah, it's odd he didn't address those things, because in his writing he displays an understanding of them.

Fluffy · #4 05-27-2005, 06:42 AM

Ouch. His criticisms could be likened to me criticising the state of the Catholic Church in Europe during the Reformation rather than me actually looking at the religion as a whole. Which is fair enough. Unless I am claiming to do the latter rather than the former as he claims to be doing.

Feathers in Hair · #5 05-27-2005, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluffy

Ouch. His criticisms could be likened to me criticising the state of the Catholic Church in Europe during the Reformation rather than me actually looking at the religion as a whole. Which is fair enough. Unless I am claiming to do the latter rather than the former as he claims to be doing.

"I must spread some Karma around again..." Curses!

Fluffy · #6 05-27-2005, 06:00 PM

Quote:

"I must spread some Karma around again..." Curses!

Its the thought that counts you kind person

.

Quoth The Raven · #7 05-28-2005, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeepShadow

Yeah, it's odd he didn't address those things, because in his writing he displays an understanding of them.

Whether he had an understanding of them or not, I think the point of the article is that people are not necessarily having an understanding of the underlying philosophy themselves. Many of them will be following an incomplete idea based on movie fandom, which is something akin to people watching Charmed and deciding they're witches.

Master Vigil · #8 05-28-2005, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_lazarus

Whether he had an understanding of them or not, I think the point of the article is that people are not necessarily having an understanding of the underlying philosophy themselves. Many of them will be following an incomplete idea based on movie fandom, which is something akin to people watching Charmed and deciding they're witches.

I didn't get that out of the article either. While that may be true, the article was pitifully written. I would suggest that he may play off that he understands them, but if he didn't even touch on them in the slightest bit when dealing with "The force"; he didn't understand them.

The Black Whirlwind · #9 05-29-2005, 06:59 PM

He only discussed the Nerd Sect of Jediism. Most of the sects of Jediism, including mine, are based on the Jedi Code and all the wisdom in the movies, but fairly loosely. As MV said, we have our roots in Taoism and Buddhism, and the Living Force can be akin to Chi/Ki/Prana/Mana/Fo-fana. He really should have done his homework before writing an article.