...the existential consequences of assuming Cartesian doubt, the method of modern philosophy, to its last consequences.
Was There Really A Star of Bethlehem?
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In this fascinating video from CNS, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno of the Vatican Observatory talks about the possibility that the Star of Bethlehem was a real astronomical event.
It was a real ASTROLOGICAL event. The Magi had their own astrological system, which, being the source of their livelihood, was a trade secret and not written down. We do know that Mesopotamian astrologers did not limit themselves to objects outside our atmosphere; in some of their texts, they even refer to a ring around the moon as a "star". Precisely NOTHING in astronomy -- certainly none of the events mentioned here -- could act as the "star" is described as acting -- particularly when it comes to resting over where the Child lay. That just means that a modern astronomer has no special insight into a 2000 year old extinct astrological tradition, which is no surprise at all. (To say that the whole story is cooked up as a lie concealing the truth of the divinity of Christ is still to make it a lie, though. Jesuits once knew better.)
Please see also this: http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2012/01/it-is-mistake-to-try-to-discover-which.html.
No, and I am not willing to spend an hour trying to find out what your point is. The intro makes it look like the kind of well-meaning but hopelessly naive Protestant production I grew up with -- the sort of thing that believes that "Joshua's long day" was discovered somehow by NASA computers (it was probably a local miracle only, like the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima). If you want me to watch that video, I'll need to know it's worth my time, so could you tell me what I would be watching? (After all, I didn't just point you at BABYLONIAN STAR LORE by Gavin White and tell you to read the book before answering.) Otherwise, I'll stick with Catholic tradition and say that the Star of Bethlehem, which is after all described in a way incompatible with astronomy, was not astronomical.
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It was a real ASTROLOGICAL event. The Magi had their own astrological system, which, being the source of their livelihood, was a trade secret and not written down. We do know that Mesopotamian astrologers did not limit themselves to objects outside our atmosphere; in some of their texts, they even refer to a ring around the moon as a "star". Precisely NOTHING in astronomy -- certainly none of the events mentioned here -- could act as the "star" is described as acting -- particularly when it comes to resting over where the Child lay. That just means that a modern astronomer has no special insight into a 2000 year old extinct astrological tradition, which is no surprise at all. (To say that the whole story is cooked up as a lie concealing the truth of the divinity of Christ is still to make it a lie, though. Jesuits once knew better.)
ReplyDeletePlease see also this: http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2012/01/it-is-mistake-to-try-to-discover-which.html.
Ever seen this Howard?
Deletehttp://youtu.be/zPHKg0M3mEo
No, and I am not willing to spend an hour trying to find out what your point is. The intro makes it look like the kind of well-meaning but hopelessly naive Protestant production I grew up with -- the sort of thing that believes that "Joshua's long day" was discovered somehow by NASA computers (it was probably a local miracle only, like the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima). If you want me to watch that video, I'll need to know it's worth my time, so could you tell me what I would be watching? (After all, I didn't just point you at BABYLONIAN STAR LORE by Gavin White and tell you to read the book before answering.) Otherwise, I'll stick with Catholic tradition and say that the Star of Bethlehem, which is after all described in a way incompatible with astronomy, was not astronomical.
Delete