Luke Skywalker and His Crisis of Faith

TFA left many questions unanswered, as we head into the final six months of waiting for “The Last Jedi, we try to decipher what exactly that title means.
 During his training on Dagobah, Luke sees some Force visions- the Future always in motion he's told by Yoda. Scared, he rushes off to rescue Han and Leia, much to the protest of both Yoda and Ben. To be fair, he did what he was told by not giving in to his anger, but little else helped him. It turned out horrible, as he was nearly killed, wounded, right hand gone by Vader. He learned a really ugly uncomfortable truth and Leia ended up saving him and no rescue for Han. Luke used only the tools given to him and had nothing to compare it to other than stark warnings from Yoda and Ben.

Priorities and his life vision changed in an instant. By the time we see him in ROTJ, he's poised, stronger, focused. Notice too when he enters Jabba's palace, he force chokes the guards. Watto was never choked by Qui-Gon, nor was Obi Wan force touching the death sticks kid. In his time off screen, Luke took some hard lessons, unlearned what he had learned and redefined what it meant to be a Jedi. None of this negotiation bullshit. Luke's quest in Episode VI is to save his father- Anakin Skywalker.
 Notice too how he achieves this- Whether by fault or by strategy, he's constantly on the precipice of the Dark Side. Jabba's palace with the force chokes; he gives in to Palpatines taunts and makes a move to strike, but Vader blocks it. He makes a move to strike Vader down, but stops himself.  Is this the Jedi way?  Obi Wan and Yoda know Vader is bad, “more machine than man. Twisted and evil,” preach to Luke he must kill them both. I think by this time the Jedi philosophy is dead. Obi Wan and Yoda had reason to fear Vader yet they refused to believe there was still good in him. We know there was; Padme's final words were, “there's still good in him..... I know....” During his training between Episodes 5 and 6, Luke learned to deal with his new reality. He knew Vader was conflicted and Anakin was buried in there somewhere.
 The Jedi were defeated by being full of hubris, delusional and complacent.  Egotism ruled and Palpatine's egotism was bigger and more aggressive. Luke beats him by throwing his weapon away and refusing to give in to this anger. He nearly fails himself on two occasions, but near the end, he knows the only way to beat evil is through self-sacrifice and Love- two things the Jedi had never used as a weapon.
 Luke never really triumphs with his light saber.  Re-watch the throne room scene and ask yourself at what point does Luke triumph?  When is the titular Return of the Jedi? I submit to you that it is when Luke faces the Emperor, throws away his light saber, and says, in effect, “You can kill me, but I will not give in to my anger.”

This is the first time a Jedi on screen has stared death in the face and said, “I refuse to solve this problem by killing, no matter what.” In seven movies, it is still the only time a Jedi, or Force sensitive character, has had that kind of conviction. And this is what ultimately spurs Darth Vader’s last act of heroism, sacrificing himself to save his son. George Lucas always said this sequence was about love. Luke, loving his father and in his beliefs enough t o die for them and Anakin too no longer fearful, lets go of the hate. 

 Luke definitely wont become a hippie pacifist and throw down his weapon for good, but he will have redefined what it means to oppose evil. A simple act of pure and total conviction in his beliefs is what allowed Luke to succeed. He was willing to and nearly died for his actions, but it's purity led Anakin to spring forward and kill Palpatine.
 Years after misreading the prophecy and creating a monster in Anakin, the Jedi refused to use what was in front of them- the strength of character- not their weapons They used blood tests to determine the might of a potential. Not the strength of their character or the cultivation of it- but the mere presence of Midichlorians made them all go ape shit crazy and ultimately create Darth Vader.
 So ask yourself: is the way of the Jedi to oppose evil at the point of a light saber? Luke’s answer appears to be no. I put it to you that he is right, and that every other Jedi we have ever seen on screen is wrong, and that wrongness - and Luke’s rightness - is one of the central points of the first six movies. For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic - and look how that turned out. That’s how you get the Clone Wars. That’s how you get Darth Vader. That’s how you get the revenge of the Sith. In a very real sense, that is the revenge of the Sith.
  As The Last Jedi nears, we know Luke is likely damaged from something. Why is he in this self-imposed exile? I say self as he's too powerful to be afraid anything really, unless he's afraid of his owns powers. suspect that what we are going to find out in Episode VIII is that Luke has a very different sense of what a Jedi is supposed to be, ultimately rooted in that moment in the throne room.  I expect that by now, Luke is convinced (or at least deeply suspicious) that a Jedi Knight cannot simply oppose evil by light saber melees.
 Some obvious trouble spots to sort through as Luke is feeling massive guilt for losing his nephew to the cult side of the Force and perhaps even his daughter Rey?  He says some rather potent stuff in the trailer of this being the last of the Jedi for good.... He's correct, why revive and failed institution and flawed philosophy? Burn it to the ground and start over. The Sith were not entirely wrong in their pursuits, just in their ways of achieving them. The Jedi were almost always wrong in their pursuits as they failed to play up the strengths of character. 
 It would seem Luke is having a crisis of faith.  The Last Jedi indeed as Luke Skywalker returns to find the good in himself.