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Jedi Knight Now (Not) Officially a Religion
osiris writes: "The Register is reporting that being a Jedi Knight is now an official religion in the UK after the 2001 census conducted earlier this year. The final number of 'Jedi Knights' has not been confirmed yet as only about 95% of the census forms have been returned. As you could probably imagine, the Home Office is none too pleased. Apparently though, you can't get fined for lying about your religion in the census." Actually, according to the story, this gives the Jedi way no more official status than Plumbing would have if everyone put that down.
http://www.snopes.com/religion/jedi.htm
contains the complete info on this BORING (IMHO) urban legend.
ZOMG I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ON MACINTOSH VERSUS WINDOWS, VI VERSUS EMACS, AND HOW YOU'RE NOT A DORK
Does this "religion" at all involve paying for the same "holy text" over and over again, in varying "special release" formats?
Is our bible written as such: "Saul begot Jim... yes... mmmm-hmm.... Help him he could... yes..."
Atheist: You take a definite position that there is no God (which ironically is actually a position of faith, but that's another debate).
Agnostic: You take the position that the existence of God is not knowable. This IMO is the most intellectually honest position.
None: I guess this means that you take absolutely no position at all on the subject.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
I've checked out the UK Statistics Office list of religions and it is indeed coded as 896.
Satanism is 331.
They even allow you to have your "Own Belief System" (code 344).
The Jedi religion does in fact have many stated ideas that aren't too far from "real" religions, so who is to say that one can not actually proclaim themselves Jedi followers?
The question is a whole lot like asking "Is Discordianism Real?"
Any Discordian will tell you with absolute uncertainty that it probably isn't unreal. But just because the Discordian religion probably appeared first in a fictional novel doesn't mean that the beliefs are not valid, even if a bit loony.
I say if someone wants to be a Jedi, so be it. They have every bit as much a right to create miracles as any Christian, Jew, or Muslim. In fact, they're probably just as good at it!
Hail Eris! fnord
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
... the Immaculate Misconception: Believing that Jar-Jar Binks was a good idea. Ever.
"It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
No, that would be Scientology.
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I believe a friend of mine said it best when he called himself an 'apatheist'. ; )
"We obviously need a new moderation category: (-1, Woo-fucking-hoo)" --Mr. AC
*sigh*, another statement of faith masquerading as an argument.
God has made himself known through many ways, and it behooves us to seek Him.
Please show scientifically testable/repeatable proof.
As for agnostics being lazy, you are accusing people who have spent a lot of time thinking about the issue and evaluating the evidence but came up with the an intellectually honest answer : "We don't have sufficient evidence to decide on whether God exists" of being lazy. I think that's a strawman argument.
I am an agnostic. I spend all my time seeking the Truth as a physicist. That's my job. And if I get lazy, my advisor will kick my butt. Perhaps you should widen your views about what constitutes "Truth" and what constitutes "Faith."
Feynman once said, "It's hard to sit on the Fence." Agnostics sit on the fence all the time, and Feynman's is right : it's not easy.
Mode (3) smart-aleck mode. Press * to return to main menu.
You can not create a religion that violates the law without a lot of precedent. For example, a group of Indians, I dont recall the tribe, but they are the only group who may use peyote legally. Why? It's their religion, and they've been doing it for hundreds of years. If you had been doing this for many years before the DMCA, and all these laws, you might stand a chance. Otherwise, better just spend your time writing your local representatives.
Linux: Because a PC is a terrible thing to waste.
James Brents
Dyslexic, Agnostic Insomniac: Lies awake at night wondering if there is a Dog.
I/O Error G-17: Aborting Installation
Calvin: Why do you suppose we're here?
Hobbes: Because we walked here.
Calvin: No, no, I mean here on Earth.
Hobbes: Because Earth can support life.
Calvin: No, I mean why are we anywhere? Why do we exist?
Hobbes: Because we were born.
Calvin (angry): Forget it.
Hobbes (angry): I will, thank you.
Prove that anybody who puts down Buddhist has been reencarnated.
Prove that anyone who puts down Catholic suffers the consequences of original sin.
Kind of missing the point of belief, aren't you?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.