STAR OF BETHLEHEM

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 1 (Supplement)

STAR OF BETHLEHEM

THE MAGIAN ASTROLOGERS

(By the

Rev. B. Dudley,

F.R.A.S.)

Many and varied attempts have been made to account for the interesting story of the visit of the wise men from the East to the birth-place of Jesus, and of the star that is said to have guided them to the spot. Some of these have been far stranger than the story itself. By way of explanation, the star has been connected with this or that natural phenomenon, either real or imagined as fancy has been allowed full play or restricted within the bounds of common sense and reason. For example, it was once suggested quite earnestly that the object referred to was, perhaps, a great central star around which the material universe revolves, whose light, after travelling for ages, readied the earth at the time of Christ’s nativity.

The guiding power of this light, it was alleged, was miraculously exercised through refraction or some other natural law. Needless to state, this was an invention, though put forward in perfectly good faith, and with the best of intentions. Other equally impossible attempts to explain the narrative on natural lines have been made, but these need inot be referred to here. More worthy efforts to discover unusual astronomical phenomena which might have aroused the attention of the Magi, should, however, be mentioned. Kepler, for example, calculated that a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn took place in the year 7 B.C. More recently, Ideler and Pritchard, who repeated the calculations, came to similar conclusions, Pritchard (in the memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society) showing that three conjunctions took place between May and December of the year just named. Whatever the explanation may be worth, such a conjunction would present a rare and splendid spectacle enough, and cause much interest on the part of those engaged in the study of the heavens. A still closer conjunction of stars which took place in 66 B.C. might have aroused similar interest. It has been thought that perhaps a peculiarly coloured temporary star may have appeared between Jupiter and Saturn, very much like the one that made its appearance at a conjunction of the two planets named (as observed by Kepler) in 1004. Chinese tables seem to indicate the appearance of such a star in February of the year 4 B.C. All suggestions of the kind have grave difficulties attaching to them.. But there are none so fraught with difficulty as the one that the whole story should be regarded as mythical. As Holtzmann truly says, the narrative is of “great poetic beauty,” but it does not follow that it rests on no historical basis. A wooden interpretation of the story is in ' any case to be deprecated, whether adopted in the supernatural or anti-superna-tural interest. The question is not whether a star can.lead men and stand’ over a given place, but whether it can .appear to do so. The only other sound conclusion to come to is that some as-: tronomical occurrence that was sufficient to lead these astrologers to undertake their long journey of five months duration did take place. The incident fits in well with the secular history of the period. About the time under cons:.? mation the Great, being alarmed by a prophecy that the Royal power was about to pass away from him and his line, ruthlessly put the originators of the hint to death. •

The word Rab-mag used in the Book of Jeremiah (39: 3, 13) for “chief of the Magi” signifies a religious caste among the 'Persians, worshipping God under the form of fire. In the court of Nebuchadnezzar their influence is said to have brought about a corruption of faith among the Chaldeans, and their operations were for the most part given up to divining, to the interpretation of dreams and to astrology. Just prior to New Testament times the name Magi had come to be connected with trickery of all kinds. Throughout the Roman Empire there were great numbers of imposters bearing the name. Simon Magus, it will be remembered, was tiie name of the trickster mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. But the word has also an honourable significance in various connections, as in the case of the “wise men from the East.” That these should.be interested in Jewish Messianic expectations is not a surprising matter, for all through the East there were synagogues, and these exercised a considerable influence. At Damascus, Josephus tells us, it was commonly believed that the Messiah’s coming was imminent, and that signs would be given from heaven to indicate his advent. There would be sufficient inducement to the astrologers to venture on the journey westward in the event of anything happening in the heavens of an exceptional nature. Such events were matters of extreme interest to them, and they would be prepared to go to almost any length to fathom their mystery and meaning. The moral of the story lies near enough to the surface for anyone to see. for when Herod and the Jews were ignorant of, or indifferent to, the birth in their midst of the Messiah, and when, informed of it, they were moved with hatred toward Him who was born “King of the Jews,” strangers and foreigners from 1 afar were sympathetic—a class of fact which has many parallels. These aliens > pay Him reverence, whilst, coming to His own, His own receive Him not. In that way the story serves as a kind of prophecy of the history of the succeeding centuries which show how “the chosen people” themselves rejected the Christ, while the Gentiles have accepted Him. And if one may draw a further parable from the incident it would be to point out that there is a happy relation of science to religion which may well be encouraged. Though astrology cannot be defined as true science, it was, at least, such science as then existed. And in the persons of the wise men science paid homage to religion. There is fortunately an improved relation between the tw r o branches of study to-day. Science is no longer of necessity hostile to religion, as once it was. The scientist of to-day is not so sure of things as formerly, and the theologian much less dogmatic, and more inclined to learn from and accept the accredited findings of science than, say, 30 or 40 years ago.