Stars Proclaim Bible Message (original) (raw)
Related papers
David Clive Rubin, 2019
The Jewish Bible emerged against a backdrop of paganism and astrolatry, surrounded by the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. A millennium later, in enclaves of the Sasanian Empire of pre-Islamic Iran, a melting-pot of heterogeneous religious and ethnic communities dominated by Zoroastrian culture, the Babylonian Talmud, the culmination of generations of Rabbinic oral discussion of Torah law, was born. Divinatory practices prevalent in the pagan cultures of Classical Antiquity were seemingly reviled in both the Bible and the Talmud. Yet, beneath that apparent veneer, there was evidence of an attitude towards celestial phenomena that paralleled that of contemporaneous culture, the cognition of a relationship between the stars and the Earth that belied a wholesale rejection of astrological belief. Whilst spurning astral religion, both the Jewish Bible and the Talmud incorporated a cosmology and attitude that recognised the significance of the celestial bodies beyond the physical. This paper seeks to analyse the nature and extent of that attitude, comparing and contrasting the Bible and the Talmud’s conception of the heavenly bodies’ significance. It will also seek to clarify the relationship of the conceptual worlds of the Tanach’s authors and classical Rabbinic Judaism [Talmudic] to astrology (and its various categories), to determine whether or not the rabbis’ theological stance vis-à-vis astrology differs substantially from that of the Bible.
ASTROLOGY’S UNIVERSAL PARADIGM: The One Universal Language (Part 2)
Astrology is in every sense a wholly mystical religious paradigm. It is the sine qua non of all religions that ever was, is or ever will be. Its innumerable mysteries cannot be fathomed by the human intellect. This article investigates the origins of Astrology. Where did the idea for Astrology come from and how did it develop globally?
Methodology of astrology on the example of the phenomenon of the Star of Bethlehem
Western Europe since the Middle Ages, astrology has always fought for the right to be an academic science. There were periods of success when astrology was taught at universities (Cambridge, Bologna, etc.), but there were periods of disgrace. The reasons for such fluctuations are uneasy relations: first of all, relations, which formed between astrology and theology, and then, between astrology and natural sciences. Through the prism of these difficulties, we will observe the views of modern scientists on astrological ideas. And the biblical story of the ancient magi who came to greet the birth of the Messiah can serve as a vivid example for that. We will consider one of the latest hypotheses expressed by the scientist Michael R. Molnar (formerly an astronomer at Rutgers University, New Jersey) in his book, «The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi» (1999). And also get acquainted with the comments to it, which have made at the interdisciplinary colloquium in the University of Groningen, «The Star of Bethlehem: Historical and Astronomical Perspectives» (2014). Proceeding from this, we will distinguish the features of astrological approaches, which make astrology rather complicated for superficial familiarization, but deep enough for scientific research. Also, we will try to assess the relevance of the astrology ideas during crisis of scientific paradigms.
Fools, Heretics, and The Zodiac: Questions Concerning the Biblical Purpose of the Constellations
Even though The Bible claims that God alone created the stars, and gave each one a name of their own, anyone who even suggests The Zodiac is anything more than Satan’s exclusive domain is instantly branded a fool or heretic. Instead of seeing the stars of Heaven as divine instruments of creation, Christians insist they’re vile tools of Hell to be avoided at all cost. However, a thorough examination of Scripture clearly reveals that not only were the individual stars named by God but the constellations were also designated by Him: Arcturus, Orion, the Pleiades, and the like. What’s more, these stars and constellations weren’t created just to be mere ornaments beautifying the night sky but are, says Scripture, intended to convey signs and wonders to humanity, which expressly declare the glory of God.
Astrology as Heresy in Contemporary Belief
Journal for The Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2019
Astrology has been characterised as a heresy by many Christian thinkers, from the time of the early Church Fathers to the present day. In contemporary discourse, astrology is often treated as if it were a heresy against science. I provide examples of astrologers being treated as heretics in the name of science, and an alternative conception of astrology as a form of divination, not dependent on scientific substantiation. I argue that the 'astrology' often criticised in the name of science may be defined as much by scientism's need for a construction to define itself against, as by the actual views of horoscopic astrologers. The emerging picture is that criticisms of astrology are typically based on a mixture of legitimate objections and scientistic belief. I conclude that scientism's unspoken aspiration to orthodoxy emerges through the parallels between its approach to astrology and that of the Church. 1