The shows typically suggest that the christmas star was either a comet, a conjunction of bright planets, or maybe even a supernova. This is an astonishing and compelling use of modern astronomical tools to confirm events surrounding jesus birth and crucifixion. Yet another possible explanation for the star of bethlehem is the threetimes passing of jupiter and saturn between may and december in 7 bc. The star of bethlehem is a lovely symbol of christmas. In a dream, they are warned not to return to jerusalem, so they leave for their own country by another route. There are those who argue with admittedly good reason that the assumption is wrong and that we should not try to do historical astronomy with the birth narratives. The star appears only in the nativity story of the gospel of matthew, where astrologers from the east are inspired by the star to travel to jerusalem. Reprinted with permission from astronomy and the bible there have been many attempts to explain the christmas star scientifically, and three will be mentioned here. Below is a precise illustration, generated by software, of how these celestial. Oct 18, 2007 read evidence emerges for star of bethlehem s reality and more breaking christian news headlines from around the world. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the star of bethlehem. Dec 19, 2016 was the star of bethlehem a real astronomical event. Larson used the starry night astronomy computer program along with an article written by astronomer craig chester.
Weintraubs article can astronomy explain the biblical star of bethlehem. Australian astronomer dave reneke used complex computer software to chart the. There they meet king herod of judea, and ask where the king of the jews. Nicholl is the kind of book that i would not normally touch with a barge pole.
Star of bethlehem takes you to the time of mystery, in a planetarium show produced by the houston museum of natural science that answers these questions and more, as audiences search for a celestial object that could have led the wise men to the christ child. Mr reneke says the wise men probably interpreted it as the sign they had been waiting for, and they followed the star to christs birthplace in a stable in bethlehem, as described in the bible. The star was a sign that inspired, for instance, the magi to travel to judea to honor the newborn king of the jews. Some people have suggested that the christmas star was a supernova. But the significance attributed to these phenomena relies on. Follow the star of bethlehem as the wise men followed it. The astronomy is the centerpiece of larsons presentation, and the connections he draws are breathtaking. It takes someone, not a scientist or astronomer, someone just curious enough to do the research with software that anyone can buy to give a plausible explanation. Dec 24, 2016 the story of the three wise men who followed the star of bethlehem to find the baby jesus is an enduring part of the christmas story. This movie is an amazing presentation on the star of bethlehem. Yet, its amazing how a simple archaeoastronomy software program can comfirm that the unlikely is indeed a fact. The star of bethlehem and the work of a scholar on the relationship between science and faith. Ive studied god as our creator, but this proof is the best by far. Bright stars top christmas trees in christian homes around much of the world.
Experts weigh in on whether the gospel account of jesuss birth, including the wise men who were guided by a star in the east, has any. The celestial prelude, the star of bethlehem and the great. For many doubters, the account of the star is easily dismissed as myth. Dec 21, 2016 can astronomy explain the biblical star of bethlehem. My problem with this is the leap of logic from the star being a real event to it actually signaling the birth of jesus. That is the hypothesis for the star we developed in setting the stage. It is a mystery and a puzzle, involving not only theology and astronomy, but also history and even astrology. Searching for the star of bethlehem updated national. A popular explanation for the star of bethlehem is that it was actually a conjunction of jupiter and venus that presumably occurred on june 17, 2bc see in other words, in the evening hours of that day, jupiter and venus appeared so close together in the sky to observers in the middle east that they were visually indistinguishable. The star of bethlehem, also called the christmas star, revealed the birth of jesus to the biblical magi, and later led them to bethlehem, according to christian tradition. Dec 21, 2011 the creation museum planetarium program on the star of bethlehem that is offered at the museum around christmas time including during the christmas town events discusses the star, teaches creationist astronomy, deals with some misconceptions such as the actual number of wise men, and gives some solid biblical teaching about the birth of. Real star of bethlehem,astroarchaeology,astronomy,astrology.
The star of bethlehem is an intersection between christianity and science, in a. Nicholl makes the compelling case that the star of bethlehem could only have been a great comet. Motivated by this star in the east, they first traveled to. Our process of elimination has knocked out meteors, comets and novae as candidates.
By the signs and constellations of the primeval astronomy, and the legends connected with them, interpreted as we have been contemplating them in these lectures his book. The text doesnt say that the star was bright or the star led the magi to jerusalem. Star of bethlehem takes you to the time of mystery, in a. Rick larson has made the star of bethlehem documentary, which suggests that revelation 12 is a record of what the magi saw.
The star of bethlehem is one of the greatest mysteries in astronomy and in the bible. To do this, larson used starry night, software that runs on virtually. Or, perhaps it was jupiter alone in the constellation aries, according to a newer thesis that got new york times headlines a few years ago. Journey back in time to see the night sky 2000 years ago. Astronomers theory of the star of bethlehem youtube. In this dvd, larson presents his journey to determine what the star of bethlehem was.
The story of the star in the east omeone once observed, the universe is composed of stories, not atoms. Its unique story, told here by astronomer craig chester, was. Larson started his journey when he could not reconcile. The creation museum planetarium program on the star of bethlehem that is offered at the museum around christmas time including during the christmas town events discusses the star, teaches creationist astronomy, deals with some misconceptions such as the actual number of wise men, and gives some solid biblical teaching about the birth of. Learn about all the theories in a free webcast today dec. So the christmas star need not be a star in the modern technical sense of the word. As a biblical scholar convinced that the true star would prove a more perfect fit with matthews account than larsons theory was, i launched into the field of astronomy in a quest to find the true star of bethlehem. Dec 25, 2015 the star was a sign that inspired, for instance, the magi to travel to judea to honor the newborn king of the jews.
I thought it would be fun for those of us that like to conjecture around this to have a thread on it. Using astronomy software, and an article written by astronomer craig chester based on the work of ernest martin, larson thinks all nine characteristics of the star of bethlehem are found in events that took place in the skies of 32 bc. To understand the star of bethlehem, we need to think like the three wise men. One of the topics on the biblical astronomy of the birth of christ that makes our approach to this pivotal point in history unique, concerns the coma supernova that ive entitled the general sign of the celestial prelude. Taking a fresh look at the biblical text and drawing on the. My christmas gift was a dvd of larsons the bethlehem star. That this occurred in the constellation of pisces he thought was important as well. And with this interpretation one easily solves the astronomy puzzles, enumerated in prof. If matthews wise men actually undertook a journey to search for a newborn king, the. Read evidence emerges for star of bethlehems reality and more breaking christian news headlines from around the world. For millennia, believers, scoffers and the curious have wondered at the biblical account of the star. It might seem churlish to dissect such an enduring image of christmas as the star of bethlehem, but a quiet astronomical debate has been bubbling away for decades. The magi in the east saw something in the heavensthe star of bethlehemthat alerted them to the fact that the jewish messiah was born.
This debate requires one very big assumption that the story of the star and the journey is true. How the planet of kings created a powerful visual effect that looked like a. Or simply an inspired idea to emphasize the spiritual importance of the story. Moreover, he claims that the star was a natural event, and claims to have used astronomy software to identify the specific event. Jesus birth the star of bethlehem truth in scripture. Fishtank mediashow marquee stellarium worldwide telescope. Nov 25, 2016 follow the star of bethlehem as the wise men followed it. Dec 24, 2002 reprinted with permission from astronomy and the bible there have been many attempts to explain the christmas star scientifically, and three will be mentioned here.
How the planet of kings created a powerful visual effect that looked like a spectacular celestial dance. The star of bethlehem was probably a triple conjunction of saturn and jupiter in the constellation of pisces, the significance of which was only obvious to. Dec 18, 2016 and with this interpretation one easily solves the astronomy puzzles, enumerated in prof. Cosmos and culture if nothing else, the story of the star of bethlehem tells us of a time when looking up to. Larson used the starry night astronomy computer program along with an article written by astronomer craig. Rick larson to show what he found when he searched for clues about the star of bethlehem. The rest of this article will be based on the assumption that there is, in fact, an astronomical event or events that was the star of bethlehem. Dec 10, 2008 mr reneke says the wise men probably interpreted it as the sign they had been waiting for, and they followed the star to christs birthplace in a stable in bethlehem, as described in the bible. These events present us with our first astronomy puzzle of the first christmas. Astroarchaeological star of bethlehem an ancient mystery decoded an illuminating journey into astroarchaeology, the roots of the present age, the birth of christ and the discovery of the lost capstone of the great pyramid. And it turns out there is historical and scientific evidence.
Evidence emerges for star of bethlehems reality christian. The star of bethlehem is an excellent example of an event that occurs right at the intersection of christianity and science, in a world created by a god who chose to institute natural laws but who nevertheless continues to carry out his own purposes. And all of this information came from the amazing documentary, the star of bethlehem. Dec 23, 2016 what cosmic light could have guided the three wise men to the newborn baby jesus 2,000 years ago. One of the classic images of the christmas holiday is that of three wise men or kings traveling to. How did it prompt the magi to set out on a long journey to judea.
An evaluation of the star of bethlehem dvd answers in genesis. The modern search for the star of bethlehem began with johannes kepler imperial astronomer for rudolph ii of germany, who shortly before christmas in 1603 observed a conjunction pairing of jupiter with saturn from his observatory in prague. The faithful sing about the star of wonder that guided the wise men to a manger in the little town of bethlehem. The star of bethlehem is certainly a story as is most of the bible, first and foremost. Astronomers have made several attempts to link the star to unusual celestial events, such as a conjunction of jupiter and.
Lawyer and professor uses the bible alongside history and science to verify existence of the christmas phenomenon. Dec 21, 2016 the astronomy behind the star of bethlehem. In the traditional artistic representations of the nativity of jesus of nazareth, there is a reference to an astronomical event, commonly known as the star of bethlehem. However, if you consult planetarium software, youll see that they are wrong. The christmas star, or star of bethlehem, that drew the magi, or wise men, to the birthplace of jesus has long been debated. On a personal note, larsons dvd was my initiation into the debate regarding the identity of the bethlehem star.
Just one second stellarium and the star of bethlehem. My problem with this is the leap of logic from the star being a. Any luminous point will do, and so we need to consider this in our analysis. This is the star that the wise men from the east followed to jerusalem in the nativity story of the gospel of matthew.
As we celebrated epiphany january 6th, 2019, on the 12th day of christmas, 2018, i once again found myself wondering about the marvelous star of bethlehem the bright star that led the three magi, wise kings of the east, to travel by camel a thousand miles or more to. The star appears only in the nativity story of the gospel of matthew, where astrologers from the east are inspired by the. As the atheists and agnostics try to explain the celestial sky, the dvd reveals its our creator and his reason why. What astronomer dave reneke found was that in 2 bc, venus and.
What cosmic light could have guided the three wise men to the newborn baby jesus 2,000 years ago. The legacy of the magi kindle edition by molnar, michael r download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The star of bethlehem, or christmas star, appears only in the nativity story of the gospel of. This documentary was the reason for the research behind the book the star of bethlehem and babylonian astrology astronomy and revelation 12 reveal what the magi saw.
Can astronomy explain the biblical star of bethlehem. The story of the three wise men who followed the star of bethlehem to find the baby jesus is an enduring part of the christmas story. The celestial prelude, the star of bethlehem and the great pyramid. What was the star of bethlehem astronomy at bellaonline. Cosmos and culture if nothing else, the story of the star of bethlehem tells us of a time when looking up to the skies in awe and wonder was part. The text implies the star of bethlehem appeared only to the magi in the east most likely the area of persia, or modernday iran. One of the classic images of the christmas holiday is that of three wise men or kings traveling to bethlehem, over which hangs a brilliant star. Dec 23, 2011 yet another possible explanation for the star of bethlehem is the threetimes passing of jupiter and saturn between may and december in 7 bc. In a recent cnn story on jesus the mystery of the star of bethlehem may have. What is wrong with rick larsons star of bethlehem dvd. There is no biblical record of anyone else observing the star of bethlehem. If the aries astrological explanation for the birth of jesus occurring in the spring of 6 b. Learn about all the theories in a free webcast today. After seven years research in field astronomy western astrology i locatedphenomenal star which, i am certain, historical star bethlehem.
Each holiday season, planetariums present their star of wonder show, which offers astronomical explanations for one of the most famous stars of allthe star of bethlehem, or christmas star. Rick larsons documentary on the star of bethlehem has become very popular in. With the christmas season here, the topic always comes up in various publications of conjecturing what astronomical or astrological event of the time could align with the historical accounting of the story. Recent advances in knowledge of the stars and planets have given us a. Dec 21, 2018 so the christmas star need not be a star in the modern technical sense of the word. The star of bethlehem is a 2007 documentary by frederick a.
We use 3rd party analytical software to gather statistical information about our. Some scholars think this star was a comet, an object traditionally connected with important events in history, such as the birth of kings. In my view the lunar eclipse at the crucifixion something that might appear to be tacked onto the talk is almost more significant than the identification of the bethlehem star. The wise men were likely accomplished greek astrologers, watching the stars for signs of a kings birth. Anything that offers us new insight and the key to understanding scripture usually deserves to be put on the shelf with all the other wacko conspiracy theories.