The world has debated whether the Star of Bethlehem was fact or fiction... Many believed that it was just a legend created by the early Christian church to help mark the Advent or Birth of the Christ child!
But if you are a seeker of the Truth and have a open mind read on!!
Exactly what did they see as the Star of Bethlehem??
We will never absolutely know because the earliest written description
dated at least 80 and probably over 96 years after the event.
Worse, those first writings have long since disappeared
and the only existing written shreds are from the
third century; that’s over 300 years after the
event. While this discrepancy seems insurmountable,
recall that the Iliad and the Odyssey were
passed verbally over many centuries before being
put on paper. Although those great classics are
filled with exaggerations, mythology, mysticism
and spirituality, the events they depicted actually
happened and the people involved actually lived.
Scientists have separated myth from reality in
those classics and since the “Star” is more recent
history by comparison, we should be able to do
the same.
In 1604 Johannes Kepler was first to
try and identify the “Star.”
Scientific insight results when knowledge,
experience, data and events come together in a
mind that’s prepared. In 1604, Johannes Kepler
had been sifting through prodigious data while
attempting to explain the motions and periodicity
of the solar system objects when a nova
appeared in the middle of a spectacular planetary
conjunction. Kepler’s insight enabled him to identify
the “Bethlehem Star” within the science of
the time and moved the “Star’s” identification from faith-based belief
to fact-based inquiry.
Kepler came to a preliminary erroneous conclusion but then identified
and corrected his mistake. His conclusion stood into the 20th century. It
clearly ranks him as a great scientist and his interest in astrology
(in modern terms) helps us realize the Magi are the
people we must understand to identify the “Star.”
As Jupiter, Mars and Saturn conjunction and Nova-1604 that led Kepler to
identify the Star of Bethlehem. He accurately predicted a similar
planetary conjunction 1,610 years earlier which
was identified as the “Star” into the 20th century.
Come with an open mind and check preconceptions at
the door.
The number of books, articles and web
pages on the Bethlehem Star are difficult to
count let alone read; for instance, starting with
the idea that it’s just a story contrived to jump
start a new religion and ending with the notion
that the “Star” was an undiscovered (by modern astronomers)
planet known only to those who can read certain obscure Sumerian
texts made infamous by the 1960’s book, “Chariots of the Gods.”
However, beginning with Kepler, there have been some serious
investigations which have provided some excellent candidates
to explain what the right people saw. Interestingly, serious astronomers
who investigate the phenomenon must delve into astrology
although it was probably the astronomy of the day. It requires us to think in
terms of people who thought the sun, moon and planets were embedded in
spheres, closer than the fixed stars, rotating over Earth. More, they believed
these heavenly bodies had powerful influences on mortals. Does it sound
familiar? It’s the stuff you find in astrology columns today.
Our inquiry begins by accepting that it was a real astronomical event
that meets the criteria found in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke.
This places many possibilities on our table because between about 6 and 1 BC, several spectacular astronomical events occurred that any modern professional
and amateur astronomer would have observed and imaged.
One of them meets the criteria that would have caused the “Wise Men of
Matthew,” the Magi, to make the journey from Persia (or was it Babylon?) to
Judea and to the area of Bethlehem.
However, to do an adequate job we’ll explore aspects of population demographics,
astrology, astronomy and even some sociological issues to objectively
explore the question.
Nevertheless, no matter how compelling a case anyone makes, no eyewitness
account, including Sumerian texts, has ever been found that yields an
unequivocal answer. That leaves us to take our own personal conclusion. I sincerely hope that my exploration provides sufficient information to help you
to reach a personal conclusion or encourages further searching on your
own. Either way, I will have succeeded.
BTW: Then there is a DVD " The Star Of Bethlehem " by Rick Larson; MPOWER Pictures #80676
plus a web site @ http://www.bethlehemstar.net....