Christian scientists assure that the Star of Bethlehem was a miracle

The planets Saturn and Jupiter will be closer on December 21 than they have been in 400 years, creating a light so bright that some relate it to what happened when a star led the Magi to the baby Jesus.

But the theory doesn’t hold up in science or scripture, a physicist at Cedarville University and an astronomer with Answers in Genesis told Baptist Press. Most likely, the biblical star of Bethlehem was a divine miracle, and the historically significant planetary conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter is… well, the planetary conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter.

“Several people have speculated about the Christmas star, specifically, whether it is related to astronomical phenomena or not,” he said. Steve Gollmer, who is a professor of physics and director of the physics program at Cedarville University, a Baptist-supported university in Cedarville, Ohio.

Gollmer mentioned the 17th century astronomer and astrologer, Johannes Kepler, who theorized that the Christmas star was the explosion of a supernova after a “triple conjunction” of planets in 7 BC; and most recently to the 2009 video “Star of Bethlehem” which theorizes that magicians saw the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in June 2 BC.

“It is interesting that this particular great conjunction is occurring on the first day of winter, the astronomical winter, which is also the shortest day of light in the Northern Hemisphere for us,” Gollmer said. “But other than that, I don’t see much of a connection to the Christmas star.”

Answers in Genesis astronomer and researcher, Danny Faulkner, deduced the same.

As an astronomer, I like this conjunction. It’s pretty weird to be so close to each other in the sky, ”Faulkner said. “However, I don’t see any particular meaning to it. I think that what aroused all the interest is the fact that this year it will come four days before Christmas.

“And one of the most popular theories that’s been around for a long time,” Faulkner said, “is that the Christmas star was a conjunction of planets.”

Faulkner also referenced Kepler and the “Star of Bethlehem” video: “These kinds of solutions, so to speak, to the Christmas star question have been basic… for at least half a century. … But there are problems with that kind of understanding ”.

As recorded in Matthew 2: 9-10, the wise men were delighted to see again the star they had seen in the East. They followed the star that went before them “until it came to a stop where the child was.” (RV)

“That kind of description doesn’t really fit any known astronomical body, particularly a conjunction of planets,” Faulkner said. “I am of the opinion that God probably created a special light in the sky for the magicians to see at certain times and to behave in a certain way in certain places. And it’s not very different from … what God used in the desert for the people. There was a column of smoke by day and a column of fire by night that guided them. AND I don’t think we should look for naturalistic explanations for that, nor should we look for naturalistic explanations of what that star that the magicians saw was “.

The planetary alignment of Jupiter and Saturn occurs approximately every 20 yearsBut the planets will be just 0.10 degrees apart this year. They haven’t been this close since 1623 when they were 0.08 degrees apart, and they probably won’t be that close again until 2080, Gollmer explained.

“Rare events are interesting and intriguing. The fact that we can predict these conjunctions and extrapolate them 2000 years back is surprising for the regularity of God’s legitimate universe, ”Gollmer said. “But associating it with the Christmas star, I doubt it.”

Gollmer also refers to the account in Matthew 2: 9 of the star moving over to where the child was and stopping there in the sky.

“No astronomical phenomenon is going to move to a certain place. Especially if the sages are traveling, the perspective of the stars will change as time passes. Then an hour later, the whole sky is moving at a 15-degree angle, ”Gollmer said. “You are not going to have, let’s say, this conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, resting in a place in the sky and just standing there for the wise to follow.”

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Published in: DIGITAL EVANGELICAL – SCIENCE
– Christian scientists assure that the Star of Bethlehem was a miracle

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