What Was the "Christmas Star"? When Can You See It?
Was the Star of Bethlehem a real astronomical object? Many religious scholars believe the bright star never existed as a physical object. Instead, when the account was written fifty years after Christ’s death, the star was meant as an astrological omen.
I take both religion and science seriously. In and of itself, the mixing of science and religion is shaky, but it can be helpful in specific cases; science should be present whenever it can be helpful. When the Shroud of Turin controversy raged, the use of Carbon-14 dating provided an unambiguous answer: The cloth that once supposedly covered the just-crucified body of Jesus proved to be less than a thousand years old. It wasn’t the genuine shroud but a hoax from the Middle Ages.
The Christmas Star is a different story. It’s not meant to be proven through science. You don’t need some scientific explanation for the Star. You have faith, or you don’t.
Read Next
So, when astronomers have their Star of Bethlehem science show at the planetarium, it really doesn’t serve science or faith. Every backyard astronomer knows you can’t get anywhere by following something in the sky. Earth’s rotation quickly makes the contents of the heavens change position. Whether planet or supernova, everything rises in the east, arcs rightward during the night, and sets in the west. You’d go in a giant semicircle if you followed any celestial object. Plus, no astronomical body can come to a screeching halt over Bethlehem or anywhere else.
The only place where objects don’t move is in the middle of the northern sky, where Polaris hangs motionless (learn how to use Polaris to navigate!). But that eliminates planets, which are never in the north, and besides, the Magi weren’t going north to get to Bethlehem, but southwest.
What Was the Star of Bethlehem?
So, what was this Star that, according to Matthew, “Went before them, and stood above where the Christ child lay.” Most religious leaders believe the bright star never existed as a physical object. Instead, when the account was written fifty years after Christ’s death, the star was meant as an omen or sign.
After all, great kings were accompanied by auspicious astrological configurations; presumably, Jesus should also have one. At that time, the sign of Aries was linked with Judea, and Jupiter was its ruling planet; the merging of those two, as occurred in the year 6 BC when some (but not most) scholars tag the Birth, would have been precisely the kind of prophetic omen that should accompany the coming of a Savior. A further case against its existence is simply that Luke, generally regarded as the most historically accurate of the gospels, never mentions there being any star.
In any case, astrology eventually fell into total disfavor with both the church and, later, with science, so that explanation is popular with neither. Another problem with bringing up astrology is that it suggests that astrologers were correct in foreseeing the Birth. Such tacit support for pseudoscience is the last thing educators want to impart, nor does it win approving nods from religious leaders.
On the other hand, sticking with strictly astronomical explanations (a comet, a conjunction, a supernova, etc.) is so scientifically wrong that many planetariums are uncomfortable with it. But it’s been running more or less continuously since the 1930s when it was first introduced. The public keeps coming, and, as one director explained to me, “We’re just giving them what they want.”
A Miracle Is Outside Laws of Science
All this has nothing to do with religious faith. If you believe the Magi were led by an actual star, fine: Why not a star only the Wise Men could see?
After all, suggesting that some natural celestial object, such as a comet, just appeared at the right place and then just happened to stop and hover over the manger is already indistinguishable from a miracle. Why introduce a scientific “explanation” that has to unfold entirely outside the laws of science?
Faith in the Miraculous
Again, I ask: Why bother offering a scientific “explanation” that has to unfold outside the laws of science?
Religion is similarly mistreated because the search for the real Christmas Star suggests that faith in the miraculous is unnecessary because there’s some rational scientific explanation for the Star. In short, neither science nor religion is well served.
The silver lining in this yearly December exercise is a marvelous confirmation of why science and religion make strange bedfellows. Their marriage always produces odd offspring, and in this case, it’s twins: a planetarium show with fictitious astronomy plus the implication that faith in the miraculous is superfluous because there’s a logical explanation for everything.
No matter. And as far as the planetarium programs go… They have become a holiday tradition, so we might as well sit back and enjoy!
Learn More
Bob Berman
ADVERTISEMENT
Apparently, the author of the article has not kept up with the shroud of Turin. It has been several years since they discovered that the sample of the shroud that was studied was actually from a repair that was made of cotton and woven into the linen fabric. They have also added that the image was possibly made from a massive burst of power as would have been expected during the Resurrection. Scientists say that the body wrapped in the shroud appears to have
de-materialised and the shroud dropped onto itself. The new findings are all over youtube and are explained by trustworthy scholars and people of religious affiliation. The shroud is miraculous as is the tilma of Juan Diego left by Our Lady of Guadalupe.
I was like all Christian pewples, singing Silent Night and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear and being led to believe in a mystery that could not be confirmed by science (a.k.a. historical astronomy). It has become entrenched tradition, to believe Jesus was born at night and three Wisemen showed up with gifts for him.
Then it dawned on me. And, when I say "dawned," I mean a divine inspiration came to me. The "star of Bethlehem" was the Star of the Earth … our Sun. Science proves that every day. We all have faith that the Sun will rise in the east and set in the west. The Sun give life to the Earth; and, the Sun represents Jesus, who is the Light of the world.
The Magi were astrologers; and, astrologers back in ancient times predicted the future trends, so the kings who employed them would know how to prepare future moves. Sun Sign Astrology is what you read in the funny page of the newspaper (when those days existed), such that the signs of the zodiac reflect when the Sun is between a certain collection of stars in the zodiac belt and earth. People say, "I am an Aries (or whatever sign aligns with his or her birthdate)" because that is where the Sun is (not every other planet or the Moon). This means the Magi saw something most special in an alignment of planets, well before that day came; and, they told the King of Persia about it. Most likely with angelic assistance (a visit from Gabriel, who most likely was the one who told the Magi to return home via a different route, to avoid being stopped by Herod), the Magi knew the future birthday alignment that calculated was that of a most special person - the Messiah promise to the Israelite people. Most likely, the Magi were descended from Jews in captivity in Babylon, who remained to advise the Persian king, but had long lost their deep knowledge of Scripture. However, they most likely were men of deep faith in the One God and knew astrology was a useless tool unless a divine spirit guided their understandings of planetary alignments.
This means there was no traveling by night, which is unwise, because Jesus said, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world. But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.” (John 10:9-10) When the angel appeared to the shepherds who "tended their sheep by night," the Jewish clock says there are twelve hours of day (6:00 AM to 6:00 PM) and twelve hours of night (6:00 PM to 6:00 AM). It is not always dark at 6:00 PM. No boys (children) tend flocks of sheep at night. Just like walking in the dark, trying to watch for wolves in the dark can be deadly. The shepherds tended their flocks after 6:00 PM because it was still light outside and they led the flocks home to a sheepfold, where an adult would watch over them after dark. When Herod asked the Magi (privately), "What time did you see the star?" That says two things: 1.) Herod never saw anything in the night sky; and, 2.) the key element for casting an astrological chart is the time of birth. Herod wanted to see this chart that had led Magi (with a letter of marque from the King of Persia, most likely) to his palace, asking "Where can we find the King of the Jews?"
As to the time of the year, when it is still light after 6:00 PM, when Gabriel appeared to Mary and said she was pregnant with a baby to be named Jesus, it was the sixth month of the year. The sixth month was not the June we know, but the sixth month in the Hebrew ecclesiastical calendar: Elul. The month of Elul aligns with the Gregorian months of August-September (or when the Sun is in the sign Virgo). Mary was the Virgin who was told she was divinely pregnant. Add nine months to that and you get the Gregorian months May-June (or when the Sun is in the sign Gemini). Jesus was the Twin that had the soul of Adam within the flesh of Jesus, like a resurrected Dioscuri: Castor & Pollux - the Sons of Zeus. When the Sun is in the months of May and June, then it stays light until about 8:00 PM. So, the angel told the shepherds, "This day has been born in the city of David," meaning during the day, when the boys had their flocks in the fields. They ran off to find the mother and child, seeing them before nightfall, still able to get home for dinner and go to bed before waking up at first light to go tend their flocks again.
There is a book that tells about this. Look it up. The Star of Bethlehem: The Timing of the Life of Jesus.
Those interested should check out https://bethlehemstar.com/.
Everyone could see the convergence, not just the Magi. They were from the east, most likely modern day Iran. They knew of the writings by the prophet Daniel which gave the timeline of Messiahs birth and of the prophet Balaam who mentioned a 'star coming out of Jacob' they were looking for the signs and seasons which was written also in Genesis 1 vs 14. God can communicate with us through the sun moon and stars..
The Bible is quite incredible! We are living in very perilous times right now. Thank God we as Bible believers know of the time.. fig tree prophecy, Israel became a nation in 1948..Jesus said starting matthew 24.. that not a generation shall pass that will see the Son of Man coming (rapture). Generation psalms 90:10, 80 to 90 years. Sorry. Lol. I'm getting off topic. I just get excited about this stuff!
As much as I know it was an astronomical phenomena of 3 planets which merged at the same point at 1 specifically given moment plus their reflection of the sunlight produced the "miracle". This phenomena marked the place which happened to be at the manger in Bethlehem. So, the time of merging marked the place.
Ancient wise people were excellent an accurate astronomers.
We, by the use if logic know that the planets kept on moving & the "Star of Bethlehem" disappeared like lunar & solar eclipses are temporary, not permanent.
If God can lead the Jews thru the desert with pillars of fire and smoke then leading the magi with an actual moving star is perfectly reasonable.
That is absolutely true, Dave! I believe that God can do anything that seems scientifically impossible.
You're wrong about the Shroud. It is authentic - the burial Shroud of Jesus. https://www.shroud.com/
Correct! Disappointing that the article dismisses the shroud with very little back up on facts. When writing articles dismissing articles of faith one must be very diligent in researching before making blank statements like that. I expect better from The Almanac.
This article is very disappointing. Where "science" and the Bible disagree. The Bible is right and everyone else is wrong.
