Posted on 12/09/2008 11:28:16 AM PST by Free ThinkerNY
Astronomers have calculated that Christmas should be in June, by charting the appearance of the 'Christmas star' which the Bible says led the three Wise Men to Jesus.
They found that a bright star which appeared over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago pinpointed the date of Christ's birth as June 17 rather than December 25.
The researchers claim the 'Christmas star' was most likely a magnificent conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, which were so close together they would have shone unusually brightly as a single "beacon of light" which appeared suddenly.
If the team is correct, it would mean Jesus was a Gemini, not a Capricorn as previously believed.
Australian astronomer Dave Reneke used complex computer software to chart the exact positions of all celestial bodies and map the night sky as it would have appeared over the Holy Land more than 2,000 years ago.
It revealed a spectacular astronomical event around the time of Jesus's birth.
Mr Reneke says the wise men probably interpreted it as the sign they had been waiting for, and they followed the 'star' to Christ's birthplace in a stable in Bethlehem, as described in the Bible.
Generally accepted research has placed the nativity to somewhere between 3BC and 1AD.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Merry Christmas!
Thank God. As a Sagittarian, I don’t get along with Capricorns. ;)
Bookmark.
Is December 25th Special?
marbren
Posted on 12/20/2001 2:53:57 PM PST by marbren
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/594665/posts
Were the Magi who visited Jesus — Persian?
Christian Farsinet | 12/23/03 | Christian Farsinet
Posted on 12/23/2003 10:55:46 PM PST by freedom44
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1045904/posts
Why December 25? The origin of Christmas had nothing to do with paganism
WORLD Magazine | Dec 10, 2005 | Gene Edward Veith
Posted on 12/07/2005 2:36:38 PM PST by Charles Henrickson
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1535969/posts
The Christmas Star
http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/christmasstar.shtml
Posted on 11/30/2006 7:59:42 AM PST by truthfinder9
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1746432/posts
The Star of Bethlehem [Bristol Astronomical Society]
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution | Rod Jenkins
Posted on 12/19/2006 9:31:25 AM PST by Alex Murphy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1755792/posts
Texas A & M Professor Claims Proof Of Star Of Bethlehem
Ft. Worth Local 11 News | November 22nd, 2007 | Maria Arita
Posted on 12/20/2007 3:32:58 PM PST by shield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1942521/posts
Gospel Records of Jesus’ Birth — Bible Discussion
http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/68371 | December 26, 2007 | Mary Harwell Sayler
Posted on 12/26/2007 11:50:03 AM PST by Salvation
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1944440/posts
Was Jesus really born on December 25th?
A Newt One | 12/18/08 | SonlitKnight
Posted on 12/18/2008 4:27:24 AM PST by SonlitKnight
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2150747/posts
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of PlanetsThe Star of Bethlehem has been called many things by many people: a comet, a conjunction of planets, a supernova, a miracle, a myth. With just one biblical account, in the book of Matthew, of the star and how it caused the wise men to come to Judea in search of the newborn Jesus, exactly what it was, if indeed it was anything at all, remains an open question.
by Henry Fountain
Dr. Michael R. Molnar, an astronomer and physicist and former teacher at Rutgers University, proposes that the star was the planet Jupiter, seen in the constellation Aries the ram on April 17, 6 B.C. A Roman coin, which Dr. Molnar bought for $50 at a New York show for his collection, was minted in Syria around A.D. 6. It showed Aries looking back over his shoulder at a star. The Romans, he learned, annexed Judea in A.D. 6, and Aries first appeared on Roman coins in that year. That told him that Aries was a symbol for Judea, a fact confirmed by reading Ptolemy.
Dr. Jack Finegan, an emeritus professor at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., and author of "The Handbook of Biblical Chronology," a standard reference on the subject, now puts Herod's death more likely at 1 B.C. John Mosley, program director at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and an expert on the Star of Bethlehem, said that while it may never be possible to know what the star was, "when Herod died was an actual event and should be knowable." And if Herod died in 1 B.C., he added, "you can't stretch the birth of Jesus back to 6 or 7 B.C."Searching for the Star of BethlehemIn 5 BC, Chinese sky watchers saw a "broom-star," a comet with a tail that seemed to sweep the sky. Colin Humphreys, a researcher at the University of Cambridge in England, thinks it was this celestial fireball, which probably looked much like Comet Hyakutake, that guided the three wise men on their journey. The Chinese observers saw the comet for 70 days, plenty of time for the wise men to reach Jerusalem from their homes in Persia, Humphreys claims. Matthew's description of the star of Bethlehem, "lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was," could easily describe a moving comet... Henbest suggests Matthew could have made up the tale of the star to enliven the story. Or maybe the guiding star was a miracle, the result of divine intervention. The only sure bet is the origin of the star will remain a mystery for many Christmases to come.
by Ned Rozell
Alaska Science Forum
December 12, 1996
The Magi and the StarFurther evidence of how ancient astronomers would have understood this conjunction has been revealed by excavations in Babylon, which have uncovered four clay tablets bearing astronomical computations for the year 7 B.C.E. This almanac indicates that, from the beginning of the year, Jupiter and Saturn were continuously visible in Pisces for 11 months. In other words, for most of the year the constellation Pisces served as a backdrop for the planets Jupiter and Saturn as they traveled slowly through the night sky. The movements, stationary points, risings and settings of both planets are accurately registered month by month. They came closest together on three nights in May, October and December. It appears from the almanac that toward the end of the conjunction, Mars also moved into Pisces; it was visible near Jupiter and Saturn in mid-February.
by Simo Parpola
http://members.tripod.com/~PetraGrail/page5.html
Most previous attempts at determining the birth time were based upon astrology and dating the Star of Bethlehem. No one considered 3 BC because that year had erroneously been assumed to follow Herod’s death. However, Dr. Martin has proven that Herod did not die in 4 BC, but in 1 BC. Scholars are now generally accepting the new chronology for Herod, and this in turn has allowed the confirmation of the New Testament date for the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, many churches continue to promote the critics’ errors and paganized traditions about the Nativity.
The Star of BethlehemAn oft-missing element in comprehending the story of the Star of Bethlehem is the vital role that astrology played in ancient beliefs about the natural world. Even today, a 1997 poll found that 37 per cent of Americans believe in astrology -- up from 17 per cent in 1976. The doctrine linking celestial events to earthly activities -- "as above, so below" -- influenced all levels of society, from nobility to peasantry, and all forms of activity, from politics and science to medicine and agriculture. Rome at the time of nascent Christianity was no exception.
by Anthony F. Aveni
Revealing the Star of Bethlehem
Michael R. Molnar
http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/index.html
The Magi's StarResearching possible explanations for a more accurate telling of the "Star of Bethlehem" has led to a rediscovery of the "method" used by Johannes Kepler to determine important dates in world history. (Kepler argued that great events in history occurred every 800 years using multiples of Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions.)...
by Garry T. Stasiuk
The three great conjunctions of 7 B.C. are unusual in that "triples" are rare and do not happen in a predictable pattern. There was however a "triple" conjunction in 146 B.C., so it was probably known that triple conjuctions do occur. I suspect, as do the authors of Hamlet's Mill, that there are many mythological stories connected with conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter, because of their association with "measures of creation and of time!" We will likely never know them all.
Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of PlanetsDr. Michael R. Molnar, an astronomer and physicist and former teacher at Rutgers University, proposes that the star was the planet Jupiter, seen in the constellation Aries the ram [on] April 17, 6 B.C. On that day Jupiter reappeared as a morning star (after days when it rose, invisibly, only during daylight hours) and was also hidden briefly by the Moon. The fact that Jupiter appeared in Aries, in the east, had further significance, Dr. Molnar said, as Aries was considered the symbol of Judea... A Roman coin... which Dr. Molnar bought for $50 at a New York show for his collection, was minted in Syria around A.D. 6. It showed Aries looking back over his shoulder at a star...
by Henry Fountain
Dr. Jack Finegan, an emeritus professor at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., and author of "The Handbook of Biblical Chronology," a standard reference on the subject, now puts Herod's death more likely at 1 B.C.
I use complex computer software to run my computer. It's called Windows, and it's often unreliable... /grin
Well probably the Magi (if in fact the biblical "Wise Men" were actually "Magi".)
Magi were Persian astrologers among their other duties. Besides what would count would be Farsi astrology, not the bastardized Greek astrology of today.
They found that a bright star which appeared over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago pinpointed the date of Christ's birth as June 17 rather than December 25.
These twits are totally ignorant of the fact that
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
the wise men arrivied up to two years after Yah'shua's birth.
Would any magi worthy of the name confuse a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus (or anything else) with a “star?”
We have a book around here somewhere, “Historical Supernovae and Their Remnants” by Stephenson...it provides a list of same, as recorded by the Chinese and other ancient observers. There’s one around 5BC or so, I don’t recall this stuff as readily as my esteemed professor of trivia who is not here at the moment. The book’s on amazon and it’s fascinating if a bit heavy on the technical details. (I.e., Astronomy 101 would be helpful.) It does not refer to the nativity star, but it gives a list in which a likely candidate appears; most of the book deals with a few of the more notable supernovae, but the list includes dozens of them going back to ancient times.
Anyway, if it wasn’t just something to spice up the story, it was more likely a star than a conjunction. Would have lasted much longer, too.
Interesting... that the Magi were Persian (Zoroastrian)astrologers.
What moved them to follow the star, to offer gifts to the Infant Jesus?
When warned in a dream not to report back to Herod, but to return to their land by another route, just what tidings did the Magi carry back to their native Persia?
It is my belief that Zoroastrianism was no enemy of Christianity, unlike the invader Islam that later conquered Iran.
A very joyous Nativity to all!
Oh, ye astronomers of little faith!
He began to dwell with us December 25th, when He was concieved.
He was born in Spetember, almost certainly during the Feast of Tabernacles.
His birth date is NOT exactly recorded, because it was His CONCEPTION that was important: His spirit, like all souls, began this mortal life at CONCEPTION, not birth.
Elizebeth concieved John 6 months previous, at the end of the Course of Abiah, which is a FIXED DATE of Temple service, during which Gabriel appeared to Zechariah while he served at the Altar of Incense, to announce his prayers had been heard, and that Elizabeth, his wife, would concieve...and she did. John, 6 months in the womb, lept with joy when Mary hurried to tell Elizabeth about her conception, because John recognized the spirit of Jesus within Mary.
IF John were concieved during the other, 6 months later, Course of Abiah, then he would have been concieved in June, and born during Passover, at Easter!
Had I read this post of yours, I would not have had to pound it to death in my #79.
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