Posted on 12/21/2001 5:11:00 AM PST by blam
Early Christians hid the origins of the Bethlehem star
13:15 21 December 01
Marcus Chown
A US astronomer claims he has found the first mention of the star of Bethlehem outside the Bible. The reference is in a 4th-century manuscript written by a Roman astrologer and Christian convert called Firmicus Maternus.
Photo: Bridgeman Art Library
Michael Molnar, formerly of Rutgers University in New Jersey, is the originator of the idea that the star of Bethlehem was not a spectacular astronomical event such as a supernova or a comet but an obscure astrological one.
The event would nevertheless have been of great significance to ancient Roman astrologers. After studying the symbolism on Roman coins, he concluded that the "star" was in fact a double eclipse of Jupiter in a rare astrological conjunction that occurred in Aries on 20 March, 6 BC, and again on 17 April, 6 BC (New Scientist magazine, 23 December 1995).
Molnar believed that Roman astrologers would have interpreted such an event as signifying the birth of a divine king in Judea. But he lacked proof. Now he says he has found it, in the Mathesis, a book written by Maternus in AD 334. Maternus described an astrological event involving an eclipse of Jupiter by the Moon in Aries, and said that it signified the birth of a divine king.
No names
"Maternus did not mention Jesus's name," says Molnar. "But Roman astrology was a popular craze at the time and everyone reading the book would have known the reference was to Jesus and that the astrological event was the star of Bethlehem."
So why did Maternus not mention Jesus by name? According to Molnar, early Christians hated pagan beliefs and did not want to justify the Biblical story with astrological mumbo-jumbo. The idea that the stars govern our fate flew in the face of belief in a Christian God as the controlling force in the Universe.
"Being a pagan who had converted to Christianity during his lifetime, Firmicus was torn," says Molnar. "Hence his use of astrology to support the Christian story, but in a veiled way."
According to Molnar, it was essential to early Christians that the true nature of the star be hidden, otherwise theologians would be mired in debate about celestial influences that were not part of Christianity. So they buried the knowledge of the star's astrological roots and in time it was forgotten.
"I take Molnar's work quite seriously," says Owen Gingerich, a historian of astronomy at Harvard University. "Anything he comes up with along these lines has to be considered as being very likely correct."
13:15 21 December 01
I guess we can see that by your own actions, you are feeling convicted.
That's a good start...it leads to confession and repentence.
Keep praying about the truth and love thingy John.
Gee...it would appear that you aren't telling the truth here John...
I count at least 6 references that I've made to the Bible, either by direct quotes or with chapter/verse in the past posts to you, not to mention at least one Biblical reference in the private freepmail that I sent to you John.
Start telling the truth. You're fleshing-out John!
But back to your inquiry. A search of those two words returns:
2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield [4043], and the horn of my salvation [3468], my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour [3467]; thou savest [3467]me from violence.
2 Samuel 22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield [4043] of thy salvation [3468]: and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Psalms 18:2 The LORD [3068] is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler [4043], and the horn of my salvation [3468], and my high tower.
Psalms 18:35 Thou hast also given me the shield [4043] of thy salvation [3468]: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
04043 magen {maw-gane'} also (in pl.) fem. m@ginnah {meg-in-naw'}
from 01598; TWOT - 367c; n m
AV - shield 48, buckler 9, armed 2, defence 2, rulers 1,
scales + 0650 1; 63
1) shield, buckler
(Star of David lit. Magen David, shield of David)
***
03468 yesha` {yeh'-shah} or yesha` {yay'-shah}
from 03467; TWOT - 929a; n m
AV - salvation 32, safety 3, saving 1; 36
1) deliverance, salvation, rescue, safety, welfare
1a) safety, welfare, prosperity
1b) salvation
1c) victory
>>>
03467 yasha` {yaw-shah'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 929; v
AV - save 149, saviour 15, deliver 13, help 12, preserved 5,
salvation 3, avenging 2, at all 1, avenged 1, defend 1,
rescue 1, safe 1, victory 1; 205
1) to save, be saved, be delivered
1a) (Niphal)
1a1) to be liberated, be saved, be delivered
1a2) to be saved (in battle), be victorious
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to save, deliver
1b2) to save from moral troubles
1b3) to give victory to
>>>
2424 Iesous {ee-ay-sooce'}
of Hebrew origin 03091; TDNT - 3:284,360; n pr m
AV - Jesus 972, Jesus (Joshua) 2, Jesus (Justus) 1; 975
Jesus = "Jehovah is salvation"
03091 Y@howshuwa` {yeh-ho-shoo'-ah} or Y@howshu`a {yeh-ho-shoo'-ah}
from 03068 and 03467;
AV - Joshua 218; 218
Joshua or Jehoshua = "Jehovah is salvation"
Thanks for the link. I currently use the Blue letter Bible, which is exclusively an online resource, as they have yet to make it available in a CD format. Last time I talked to them, they said that it was too large of a program to be made available in CD format. Thought that was rather odd.
Anyway, I really prefer hard copy/book resources and am looking for an exhaustive Strongs cross reference book...one which will list all the uses of each strong's number in both the OT and NT.
Take care TG.
By the way, I was very ill last year and at my request, many freepers were praying for me to be well. I believe in prayer and have witnessed the power of prayer.
However, other things whatever they are, cannot be denied. I remember when I was an innocent child in grade school and we had a big family reunion. I always had a good appetite and my Aunt Opal looked at me and said "pick a number between one and a hundred." Well, I guessed the number and got to be first in line to eat. I'll never forget the look on my aunt's face.
There are many things about life that are beyond my understanding except for faith. Faith is my cornerstone giving me strength to take care of my mother and support my friends.I do not insult people who are different from me at free republic or in my daily life. I try to live "Love one another." What I am reading here instead is "insult one another." You have a Merry Christmas anyway.
I haven't seen this one answered so I thought I'd explain.
This was under a different Ceaser than when Jesus lived. Roman rule under Jesus' time was much more tolerant of other religions. As long as taxes were paid, the Romans didn't bother themselves with the religion of occupied lands.
Doh! We should all accept the advice we so freely hand out to others, eh?
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Others have made the connection with Aries. Some have pointed to a nova which seems more likely to me. Bright Jupiter is in the sky at least as often as not. The presence of Jupiter in Aries wouldn't have heralded the beginning of an astrological "age". There are no astronomical or astrological clues in Matthew, and this Aries connection is just a supposition. The Romans may have commemorated their conquest by minting coins showing Aries fleeing in vain. A portent of Jupiter in Aries would have looked pretty good in retrospect to the Romans.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
>Christmas star? That ain't the freakin' Christmas star. It's the light from the sewage treatment plant!<
Rebel Without A Cause?
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