tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post4653589109900777369..comments2024-02-19T07:24:42.397-08:00Comments on Anglican Curmudgeon: When Herod Ruled - Resolving the DatesA. S. Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-59288874340358461502009-12-17T17:13:21.872-08:002009-12-17T17:13:21.872-08:00Nice work Peter. I've done some reading up on...Nice work Peter. I've done some reading up on the subject myself, and also observed a 1 BC makes best sense of surrounding historical events...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-27297327947671360252009-12-16T18:40:26.192-08:002009-12-16T18:40:26.192-08:00I have been mentally tracking the life of Jesus of...I have been mentally tracking the life of Jesus of precisely 2,000 years ago. 2,000 years ago today, if Herod died in 1 BC, Jesus would be about 12 years old and would, later this year, become separated from his parents in Jerusalem.Rolinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13251910335736110149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-85094823422965023032009-12-16T16:13:00.324-08:002009-12-16T16:13:00.324-08:00Dave, thank you for that comment. When we come to ...Dave, thank you for that comment. When we come to examine the events that occurred in the sky in 3-2 BC, you will see that all the points that you make apply even better to them. As I said at the beginning of the post, I first thought the Star might be a supernova, too, but I became convinced it was not after seeing and reading about the astronomical events which I will describe in my post on the Nativity.<br /><br />Perpetua, there were no lunar eclipses in either 7 BC or 6 BC.A. S. Haleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-25747326331826681822009-12-16T15:50:06.259-08:002009-12-16T15:50:06.259-08:00Was there a lunar eclipse in 7 BC, and if so, how ...Was there a lunar eclipse in 7 BC, and if so, how many days before passover?Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16632860530530786486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-11419812925262057042009-12-16T14:43:44.798-08:002009-12-16T14:43:44.798-08:00Dear Mr. Haley,
In addition to Dave's points ...Dear Mr. Haley,<br /><br />In addition to Dave's points concerning the better fit of a triple conjunction with the facts, there is the fact that the Gospel account refers to the star "stopping in the sky over the place where the baby was." A supernova in a distant galaxy, or even on the far side of our own galaxy, would not exhibit an apparent motion that would allow deviation from any other star's ascension, transit across the sky and descent below the horizon, faithfully repeated every night.<br /><br />However, an event involving the alignment of a planet with another celestial body has the possibility of apparent retrogade motion, <i>i.e.</i>, the planet might appear to stop, or briefly reverse, it's apparent motion, subsequently resuming it's normal apparent motion. This could easily give the impression that the planet had ceased to move in the sky relative to the other "fixed stars." One more aspect of the conjunction that might allow it to better "fit" the Gospel account.<br /><br />Pax et bonum,<br />Keith TöpferMartial Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11679584221923893460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-70757469542102242662009-12-16T12:37:23.193-08:002009-12-16T12:37:23.193-08:00That triple conjunction you mention in 7 BC actual...That triple conjunction you mention in 7 BC actually fits the Gospel quite well for a number of reasons: <br />1. It rose in the east.<br />2. It occurred in a constellation related (in Persian astrology) to Israel. <br />3. Jupiter (in Persian astrology) was related to events having to do with kings. <br /> <br />The Wise Men (astrologers) would have seen the star in the East, recognized it as portending the birth of a Jewish king, and would have made a bee line to Jerusalem to check it out. <br /><br />All of the above I gleaned from a PBS broadcast last year. Worth viewing if you get the chance.<br /><br />This explanation seems more plausable to me than the generic supernova, which, depending in what part of the sky it appeared, could have meant a number of things to an astrologer.<br /><br />But in the end, the birth is the important thing. Its timing, while of interest, shouldn't detract from the miracle of the incarnation.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516976657472893045noreply@blogger.com