They did follow a star to find Jesus and they may very well have used astrology to figure out the birth of Jesus. And yes, the Catholic Church does condemn astrology. However, that doesn’t mean that God can’t use it to bring about some good. On that same note, just because God can use it to bring about a good doesn’t mean that we should practice it. I am simply saying that God can bring good out of anything, even an evil practice such as astrology.
What about if there were really a star?
We don’t know if there were 3 wise men. The Bible does not state how many there were and gifts of gold, frankencense, and myrrh do not evidence the number of wise men.
They used astronomy, not astrology to find Jesus.
Yes!
Your concern stems from a misunderstanding of astrology.
There are numerous references in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to there being signs in the stars, including some that accompanied the death of Jesus.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice** goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
What the wise men were doing was not astrology. Astrology is the belief that the stars themselves are “gods” and control our lives. Astrologers believe that depending on what time you were born and the relative position of the stars, you will have a certain personality and course of life events. The stars determine your fate, in other words. This is not what the wise men believed. The wise men were looking for messages from God IN the stars. Not the same thing.
There is a fascinating (and faith affirming) documentary on this subject called “The Star of Bethlehem.” You can learn more about it (or buy it) at www.bethlehemstar.net** . There’s a good deal of info on the site. It went beyond my wildest expectations.
I, personally, think every Christian ought to see it. I’m pretty sure you can get it on Netflix or Blockbuster By Mail, if you use either of those, also.
I think you have confused astrology and astronomy.
For me, there was a star. Till somebody proves that there was not star, there was a star.
Yep. Also make sure to check out the special feature “Revealing the Ram.” It wasn’t just the Star of Bethlehem. Jesus’ life was mapped out in the stars (and moon).You can access the documentary THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM by Stephen McEVeety on You Tube. This is the one EWTN shows at Christmas.
It is amazing because it will answer all of your questions. There really was a “star” which they believe, was a combination of two planets crossing paths. The meaning of that is explained to you. They combined in a constellation all of which sent the Magi on their way to Bethlehem.
You really should watch it.
Astrology always depended on astronomy for the its ‘science’, and at times it is not easy to tell them apart, that is why, back in the first century, people sometimes called astronomy astrology. I am not saying that astrology is good, just that they could have been mistaken for the other 2000 years later.
Viewed it. AMAZING!! Just WONDER—FILLED.