Was the star of Bethlehem Satan's Star?

[Sacramentalist]

1. Even if we grant that the Magi were not intentionall removed from God, or evil, it still does not follow that the Star was sent by Satan.
2. The fact that the star and even the flight from Egypt were prophesied does not preclude the reasons for the star an the flight being Satan.
3. Why would God have sent this star? What purpose did it ultimately serve, except to lead the Magi to anger Herod who killed all those innocent babies and drove the Holy Family underground? It makes more sense to me to read this as a botched attempt by Satan to kill Jesus than a useless act of God.

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

1) Even if we grant that the Magi were not intentionall removed from God, or evil, it still does not follow that the Star was sent by Satan.

1. The fact that the star and even the flight from Egypt were prophesied does not preclude the reasons for the star an the flight being Satan.
2. Why would God have sent this star? What purpose did it ultimately serve, except to lead the Magi to anger Herod who killed all those innocent babies and drove the Holy Family underground? It makes more sense to me to read this as a botched attempt by Satan to kill Jesus than a useless act of God.

Okay, believe the JWs interpretation of this Scripture, rather than ours… the ones who deny the divinity of Jesus, yep… smart idea

 

[Marilena]

Semper Fi:

Okay, believe the JWs interpretation of this Scripture, rather than ours… the ones who deny the divinity of Jesus, yep… smart idea

I was jw once, and when I freed myself from the falsetower, It was
as Martin Luther King Jr. Said: " free at last free at last!"

 

[Rhubarb]

I dunno. If any group of people were to notice a huge bright star out of place over Bethlehem I think it would be Astrolagers. The usual Christmas story seems to hold water to me.

 

[Pentecost2005]

Sacramentalist:

How do we respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses who say it was?

The best way to respond to a Jehovah’s Witness is not to. Either that, or show them your Rosary, and keep walking.

 

[amgid]

Sacramentalist:

I would appreciate it if someone would seriously try to answer this question, rather tha just say it’s a stupid one. Here’s the Watchtower explanation:
…

Where exactly is the flaw in this logic?

There are lots of flaws in that logic!

They receive an unexpected visit from a number of foreigners. Despite what countless Nativity scenes depict, Matthew does not specify how many of these men came,

Well, he does not mention the exact country where they came from. But he does give us an idea; he says that they came from the East; and with the following info we can piece together where they came form:

nor does he call them “wise men,” much less “three kings.” He uses the Greek word ma’goi, which means “astrologers.”

Wrong! Magi are the name of the priestly casts of the Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia. They were not astrologers. This also gives us pretty good idea who they were and where they came form.

This alone should give the reader a clue that something evil is at work here, for astrology is an art that God’s Word condemns and that faithful Jews scrupulously avoided.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Isaiah 47:13, 14.

They were not astrologers. Just because a “star” is mentioned in the narrative, it does not mean that they were astrologers.

These astrologers have followed a star from the east and are bearing gifts for “the one born king of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:2) But the star does not lead them to Bethlehem. It draws them to Jerusalem and to Herod the Great.

The most obvious conclusion that we can draw from this is that it was the will of God that the religious and civic rulers of that generation should be informed by that means that the Christ Child was born.

No man in the world holds such means and motive to harm young Jesus. This ambitious, murderous man had killed several of his own immediate family members whom he viewed as threats.* Disturbed to hear of the birth of a future “king of the Jews,” he dispatches the astrologers to find that One in Bethlehem.

Yes, Herod was an evil man and a murderer. But God does often allow evil men to do their evil, in order to accomplish His designs in the grander scheme of things, which we may not be so obvious to us. “…for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” (Matthew 18:7.) Just because the wise men went to Herod, it does not mean that they must have been led there by the devil.

As they go, something strange happens. The “star” that led them to travel to Jerusalem seems to move!—Matthew 2:1-9.

Now, whether this was an actual light in the sky or simply a vision, we do not know. But we do know that this “star” was not from God.

We have no justification for reaching that conclusion.

(Continued in the next post…)

amgid

 

[amgid]

(Continued from the previous post…)

With sinister precision, it leads these pagan worshipers right to Jesus—a child vulnerable and helpless, protected only by a poor carpenter and his wife. The astrologers, Herod’s unwitting dupes, likely would have reported back to the vengeful monarch, leading to the child’s destruction.

There are some fundamental flaws in this reasoning:

(1) The Magi evidently recognized the divinity of Jesus, and came with the intention of worshipping Him. Why would Satan lead a bunch of people to go and worship the future divine King?

(2) Their intentions were obviously genuine, and they found the newborn King, and worship Him. So the purpose for which they set out was accomplished. Then they are warned by God not to return to Herod. They were obviously righteous enough to receive such divine communication. If the whole thing was a trap set up by the devil, why didn’t God warn them not to go in the first place? Why did He wait until they had completed their journey, found the newborn King, worshipped him, offered him their gifts, told an awful lot of other people about it as well, and then warn them not to go back to Herod?

(3) The whole thrust of the story, as told by Matthew, is intended to convey the idea that these were a bunch of righteous guys who were led by God to the destination of the divine King, with the aim of witnessing to the world of the birth of the newborn King. This is not unlike the story of the shepherds who received a similar message (Luke 2:8-20); and likewise the prophecies of Simon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38). All of these have had one obvious purpose, to testify of the birth of the divine King. The experience of the magi fits perfectly into this pattern. It would be as absurd to suggest that the magi were led to the Christ child by the devil, as it would be to suggest that the shepherds, Simon, and Anna were led to the child by the devil!

But God intervenes through a dream and sends them back home by another route.

God could have given them that warning from the start. There is no reason why He shouldn’t have, if they were being led by the devil.

The “star,” then, must have been a device of God’s enemy Satan, who would go to any lengths to harm the Messiah. How ironic that the “star” and astrologers are portrayed in Nativity scenes as emissaries of God!—Matthew 2:9-12.

My reading of all of that is very different. My understanding of the whole story is that it was the will of God by this means to inform the civic and religious rulers of Jerusalem that the Christ child has been born, and thus allow them the freedom to act out the evil (or good) that is in their hearts (as well as bearing further witness to the world of the future King). That has been the pattern of God’s dealings with mankind.

Still, Satan does not give up. His pawn in the matter, King Herod, orders that all infants in Bethlehem under two years of age be killed. But Satan cannot win a battle against Jehovah. Matthew notes that God had long ago foreseen even this vicious slaughter of innocent children. Jehovah countered Satan again, warning Joseph through an angel to flee to Egypt for safety. Matthew reports that some time later Joseph again moved his little family and finally settled them in Nazareth, where Jesus grew up with his younger brothers and sisters.—Matthew 2:13-23; 13:55, 56.

There is no logical basis for any of this reasoning.

amgid