Re: [asa] The Christmas Story

I saw (Larson's?) presentation of the star of Bethlehem when he was in Manhattan
a few years ago. http://www.bethlehemstar.net/
I hadn't remembered, though, that he placed the birth date at Dec. 25th. Were
you referring to him as having done that? His explanations seemed very plausible.

Regarding a star "stopping", his explanation about the retrograde motion of
Jupiter providing this feature seems right on. It wouldn't have stopped
specifically over one Terran location such as a stable, of course, but
presumably they weren't being led by a local phenomenon such as would need to
exist in the atmosphere. If they had that kind of guidance, they wouldn't have
needed to stop in Jerusalem to ask directions to discover that Bethlehem was the
place to go.

--Merv

Quoting David Campbell <pleuronaia@gmail.com>:

> The mention of the star indicating the house in which Jesus was when
> the magi arrived has been taken to indicate that it would need to be a
> phenomenon within the atmosphere. However, I know that the precise
> alignment of objects (buildings, columns, etc.) with the rising or
> setting of astronomical bodies was noted in other cultures. Could the
> "star" rising or setting behind a particular building from the
> viewpoint of the magi as they arrived be a way to point to a
> particular spot?
>
> There were censuses conducted around this time-one sparked a Jewish revolt.
>
> The possibility that the sheep in question were being kept
> specifically for Passover would suggest a winter date, but I don't
> know how well-grounded such ideas are. It's theologically attractive
> and has some justification in evidence of Jewish traditions, but I
> don't recall full details-probably heard in sermon rather than read
> with good references.
>
> There's some textual debate about the exact governor name and timing
> ("when" or "before") for the census in Luke, on top of the difficulty
> of pinning down an exact time for a census hat would have taken some
> time to coordinate and implement. Even if we had precise
> administrative details from Judea, we don't know how far in advance of
> the deadline Joseph and Mary traveled, though the crowded inn suggest
> that they didn't beat the rush. Waiting until the last minute would
> run the risk of missing the deadline due to unforseen delays and being
> charged with taking leave of their census.
>
> --
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
>
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Received on Mon Jan 7 17:47:10 2008