The Star of Bethlehem: myth or truth?
As the December days continue rolling on the calendar, Christmas and the festive holidays are approaching. No matter which religious or non-religious group you belong to, this is a time that we all experience together, celebrating in our homes.
The story of the birth of Jesus, the heavenly banner in the form of a star, the three kings who visited Jesus and Mary in the stable where Jesus was born, has not escaped us.
What is myth and what is reality?
Let’s try to break it down in a sane and factual manner.
Was Jesus a real person? Is it really about the son of God, does God even exist?
Some will tell us that believing in it is unquestionable. The second, third, fourth will convince us that the God of these first ones is not the true God, but that their God is the only right one.
Of course, everything gets complicated, since there are also those who have more than one God, but everything happens according to desire and need.
Well, a discussion about God would distract us from the Christmas star. Let’s assume that the date of Jesus’ birth is correct, that we have correctly positioned it with all the perturbations of the calendar.
Considering that the religious records about that time are contradictory, our job is not easy at all.
Christmas star, the Bethlehem star!?
It is widely believed that it was a gorgeous comet in the sky.
Diligent and meticulous observers from China, Arabia, and the Roman Empire at that time did not record anything like that!
Is it possible that it was the explosion of a supernova whose brightness was exceptionally striking in the sky, but was visible only for a short amount of time?
There is no record of that either, so that possibility is lost. On the other hand, the sudden appearance of a striking celestial phenomenon (event) that persisted in the starry sky could not go unnoticed in the historical records.
Perhaps it was an occultation (covering) of Jupiter by the Moon on April 17, 6 B.N.E. in the constellation of Aries, which is the symbol of Judea.
While the symbolism would fit, the time of day when it happened would make no sense. At ten o’clock in the morning, the stars are not visible!
Furthermore, the rare conjunctions of bright planets or so-called close apparent meetings in the sky, are striking. One such conjunction between Venus and Jupiter occurred on June 17, 2 B.C.E.
There are several other similar heavenly events and phenomena, but none of them are “quite” striking enough to be recognized as the undeniable day of the announcement of the birth of Jesus.
Today, we have the technological ability to check celestial objects and “go back in time”, that is, to know exactly where an object was in the past.
Astronomers, historians (and not only them) were looking for proof of the Star of Bethlehem. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t find it.
And yet, what could have happened in the sky above today’s Middle East, that could have escaped the careful eye and record of the old astronomers, historians and chroniclers of time?
It seems that one of the acceptable answers to that question would be how the night sky was lit up like powerful lightning by the appearance of a fireball – a meteor that has a brightness that can be greater than the brightness of the full moon.
This left behind a luminous trail, similar to the tail of a comet.
Such an event remains remembered in the memories of eyewitnesses.
The phenomenon has a local character and is visible within a radius of two to three hundred kilometers.
Such an event could have, therefore, been avoided by the eyes and pencils of the then- diligent recorders of celestial events outside the geographical circle, the ellipse, from where the appearance of the fireball can be seen.
Whatever and however it was, let’s try and enjoy the Christmas holidays with our loved ones.
The sun began to set behind Bethlehem and the beams were breaking through some white and gray clouds. There was a slight and beautiful chill from the autumn air. I gave thanks for that beautiful day and for the fact that the sun does not know Palestinian from Israeli, Christian from Muslim or Jew, and Asian from American or African, and I asked myself: If the sun shines on all of us as one, how much more does the sun’s Creator see and love us all as one? – Ted Dekker
