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Christianity Today, December (Web-only), 2008 |

Searching for the Star of Bethlehem

A new theory makes the news. But are 21st-century astronomers looking in the wrong place?

Gordon Govier | posted 12/19/2008 08:10AM

Using powerful computer software, an Australian astronomer says that he has re-created the night sky over Bethlehem in the year 2 B.C. and discovered a planetary conjunction that may have been the Star ...

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mduke

Posted: December 31, 2008 11:10 AM


See bethlehemstar.net for the most original, scholarly work in the Star as well as the Crucifixion's astronomical events.

sister

Posted: December 29, 2008 5:34 PM


I found the program compelling. Since the Magi came from the east, they may have been part of the school spoken about when Daniel was taken to Babylon (now Iraq). It is even possible that they were Jewish, a remnant waiting for the Messiah. Stranger things occur!

Clinton

Posted: December 29, 2008 9:13 AM

For those who are asking "whether it has to be an astronomical event and couldn't God do whatever He wants?". Yes, He can, but you'd be embarking on a really slippery slope. Someone might then ask, "Does the Virgin Birth or the Resurrection have to be real events?" This sort of reasoning also implies that Luke and the early Christians were somewhat stupid and don't know the difference between angels and a "star" especially since Luke and Matthew keep talking about angels throughout their narratives. I'd much rather prefer to believe the Biblical text for what it says and listen to the testimony of the Church. God is able to make "stars" align to herald the birth of His Son - the greatest historical event since the Fall- and like the angel said to Mary, "Nothing is impossible with God".

Charlie Wassell

Posted: December 22, 2008 3:34 PM

Throughout the Bible the presence/glory of God is shown by a cloud or fire - the burning bush; the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night; on Mt Sinai; on the Ark of the Covenant; in the Temple with Solomon; the departure from the Temple with Ezekiel; the re-appearance of the glory with the shepherds; the guidance of the Magi; on the Mt of Transfiguration. Moses saw the glory of God and could only describe it in his experience as 'a burning bush' - the Magi saw the glory of God and could only describe it in their experience as 'a star'. A star approaching so close to the earth would have destroyed us! It was the Shekinah glory of God they saw. It travelled from West to East as far as Jerusalem - slowly enough for them to follow; then from North to South to stop over the house where Jesus was. May our 21st Century stargazers have the same revelation as those of the 1st Century - and learn to travel by a different road!

Galileo Bruno

Posted: December 22, 2008 3:50 AM

a)Secrets of the Vatican - UFO's in the Ancient Art: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/11/secrets-of-vatican-ufos -in-ancient-art_10.html b)THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/10/star-of-bethlehem .html c)Jacques Vallee: FATIMA EVENT WAS UFO - More seriously, the description made at Fatima, Portugal, OF ASILVERY DISK WHICH FLEW THROUGH THE SKY, WAS SEEN BY SEVENTY THOUSAND WITNESSES AND WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AS IT MANEUVERED: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/12/j-vallee-fatima- event-was-ufo.html d)VATICAN OFFICIAL DECLARES EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT IS REAL: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/11/vatican-official-decla res.html e)Messiah - His Spaceships: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/10/messiah-his-spac eships.html f)The Bible and the Third World War - the 1000 Year Kingdom: http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2008/10/bible-and-third-wor ld-war-1000-year_25.html

Rod Spidahl

Posted: December 21, 2008 10:17 AM

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings (Proverbs 25:2) As one who heard Karlis Kaufmanis (Univ of Minnesota) lecture on the the Star of Bethlehem as a pairing of Jupiter and Saturn, I enjoyed the article immensely. Archeology, biblical studies, remnants of the flood in geological and ancient historical records are not meant to "prove" our faith, but to give enough reason to show that the first book written by God, the book of nature and the heavens, is "proclaiming the glory of God" (Psalm 19). Faith in a God who has ordered all things so that Christ has preimmanence is a part of the great mystery of faith, hinted at in all creation, revealed clearly in the Gospel. Thanks for stimulating our research minds to discovery and reflection.

Anita

Posted: December 21, 2008 5:53 AM

In Christianity the Christmas star that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem is believed to have been a miraculous occurence. The shepherds were led there by the appearance of an angel. Religion is not about science or astronomy. Why are people always wanting to minimize the workings of Our Creator and trying to find a human explanation for what He does? Leave religious beliefs alone and use science to explain those things that it is necessary to have answers for through it. Religion has to do with faith, scinece with physical proof of particular things.

Lyne	Posted: December 20, 2008 11:22 PM


I have seen plenty of events in our family life to believe that God could have well shown something to the Magi so they could be guided to where Christ was at his time of birth. God is the creator and to Him it would not be impossible to "rearrange" what He has done if He sees it fit in order to fulfill His purpose. Merry Christmas everyone!

Todd Morton

Posted: December 20, 2008 10:35 PM

IMHO, what the magi observed is the same thing the shepherds observed the same night. . . you know, "a multitude of the heavenly host." How else does Matthew 2:9 happen ? - "And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, THE STAR, WHICH THEY HAD SEEN IN THE EAST, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." No heavenly, celestial manifestations I'm aware of in the sky above will do that! See Isaiah 14:12, Rev.1:20 & 9:1 where angels are referred to as stars, holy or otherwise.

Noam Hendren

Posted: December 20, 2008 3:47 PM

I second Rex Miller's feedback. Rick Larson's acclaimed research has been available for years on the excellent Bethlehem Star website: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/. Having interacted with the best of scientific and biblical/historical scholarship, Larson's conclusions and presentation are original and unique, while also being a powerful presentation of the theological implications of the Celestial pageant surrounding Messiah's birth. The DVD is a fantastic gift for believers and inquirers alike, especially at this season. Highly recommended!

Bradford Rosenquist, D.D.

Posted: December 20, 2008 1:33 PM

The answer to the "star question" is really a lot simpler than suggested by astronomers and other night sky scientists. The whole story of Jesus birth, childhood and life is attended to by the angels of God. Angels are referred to as stars in Revelation, Job and in othe biblical passages. If the magi were guided by a star, then the work of the angels would be a perfect match, "messengers of God." The angels are so brilliant that they are overwhelmingly bright and can obviously move in a guiding direction. So, standing over the place of where Jesus lay, would be no problem for an angel. The protector of God's people, the one who brings the messages of God, and the one who proclaims the birth of a King...of course, Gabriel was over the birthplace of Jesus...it is only right...royally right.

Peggy Benson

Posted: December 20, 2008 9:46 AM


Did it have to be an actual astronomic event? Could not God have cause the Maji to see whatever he wanted them to see? While speculation and investigation are interesting the Bible clearly tells us that nothing is impossible with God. So however God caused it to happen, the event that it heralded is what is most important.

Rex Miller

Posted: December 19, 2008 11:46 PM

Gordon Govier certainly should have mentioned Rick Larson's research. Perhaps no other researcher has used the tools and the extensive time that he has used. His research is presented in the popular DVD avaiable in Christian bookstores, or on line entitled THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM. The DVD's ISBN number is 1594448930 or SPCN number 796019806763. The price is only $9.99 and is worth many times that amount. All of the other research always matches only some of the Biblical data. Larson's research fits every detail, many of which I was unaware of before seeing his presentation. Larson is an attorney, a former college professor, Texas A&M, and now a full time presenter of his research. Anyone wanting information about the STAR must not ignor, as Govier did, Larson' research.

Douglas McHenry

Posted: December 19, 2008 11:19 PM

I'm with Anonymous. Check out the site www.bethlehemstar.net for a complete bunking of this article. CT should retract it right away. The idea attributed to astronomer Gingrich that "no reconstruction agrees with the New Testament in every detail, there is always some discrepancy." is completely discredited by the astronmical and biblical research presented by Rick Larson on this website and in the video/DVD Anonymous mentioned.

Wyteyes

Posted: December 19, 2008 10:26 PM

I don't think it was a star at all. It looked like a star no doubt but I'm thinking that from the Persians view point, what they were actually seeing that was described as a star was the glorious light that surrounded the angelic host of angles. Just imagine looking across the horizon and seeing such a bright light in the lower sky. Heavenly light is mentioned several time in scripture and I believe this is one of those instances.

ounbbl

Posted: December 19, 2008 8:09 PM


Did he refute E.L. Martin's conclusion: Date of His B.C. is Sep 11, B.C. 3? Magi's visit fell on Dec. 25, B.C. 2. Jesus was about 15 months old. See the link to read the book online, The Star of Bethlehem – The Star that Astonished the World, accessible online at http://www.askelm.com/star/index.asp . Also a web page by Barry Setterfield http://www.ldolphin.org/birth.html .

Peter McCarroll (Registered User)

Posted: December 19, 2008 5:34 PM


The legacy of Daniel's prophecies, written during the Captivity, gave the Eastern philosophers a precise timeframe for the advent of the Messiah, so when signs appeared in the heavens, they would have known right away what those signs were about.

Anonymous

Posted: December 19, 2008 5:07 PM

Frederick A. Larsen - www.bethlehemstar.net - researched and presented what seems to be a very similar theory several years ago. He too postulated that June 17, 2 BC was the actual birth date of Christ. He went further to suggest that December 25 was the date that the Magi visited Christ because computer simulation shows how Jupiter (The King Star), by means of retrograde motion of planets in the night sky, came to a stop over Bethlehem on December 25, 2 BC. Ronald A. Schorn, Ph.D, former Chief of the Planetary Astronomy department at NASA and former Technical Editor of Sky & Telescope magazine called Larsen's theory "well-researched and reasonable." I'm interested in knowing why this astronomer is now getting credit for something previously theorized and defended by Larsen.

Douglas Coe

Posted: December 19, 2008 4:12 PM

I would just like to say that the BBC in the UK did some research a few years ago. They used astronomic evaluations based on information found in the dead sea scrolls which includes records of what areas of the sky have significance that differs in particular ways. The result was that by working the models around what the sky was like between 6 BC and 6 AD they found that the only occurrence that fitted ALL the criteria occurred on 17th April 6 BC. This one would have resulted in virtual twilight throughout that area of the middle east. I hope this helps in all that you are looking for..... D.C. coeorg@btinternet.com

Anonymous

Posted: December 19, 2008 2:38 PM


Old news and way off. This is the definitive book on the star: http://askelm.com/ This is the Dove Award winning movie: http://thestarofbethlehemmovie.com/ Get a clue CT

Charitas

Posted: December 19, 2008 12:21 PM

This heavenly light must have been much closer than a star or even a planet. The angle of view required to direct land travelers (without precision navigation tools) almost certainly places this light source well within the earth's atmosphere. This is one situation best explained by something miraculous, at the very least astronomy is not the appropriate science for explaining what happened. I believe it delights God to leave us with this puzzle, it's OK for parents to have fun with their kids at Christmas.

JPvdGiessen

Posted: December 19, 2008 11:46 AM


This is very old news, in the 80ties I've already calculated it and read some articles about it.

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