Jesus was a Gemini?
Damn those scientists and all of their damn science! Just kidding. This is a cool story, and it makes us happy to be a Gemini, too:
They found that a bright star which appeared over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago pinpointed the date of Christ's birth as June 17 rather than December 25.
The researchers claim the 'Christmas star' was most likely a magnificent conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, which were so close together they would have shone unusually brightly as a single "beacon of light" which appeared suddenly.
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Australian astronomer Dave Reneke used complex computer software to chart the exact positions of all celestial bodies and map the night sky as it would have appeared over the Holy Land more than 2,000 years ago.
It revealed a spectacular astronomical event around the time of Jesus's birth.
Mr Reneke says the wise men probably interpreted it as the sign they had been waiting for, and they followed the 'star' to Christ's birthplace in a stable in Bethlehem, as described in the Bible.
Generally accepted research has placed the nativity to somewhere between 3BC and 1AD.
Using the St Matthew's Gospel as a reference point, Mr Reneke pinpointed the planetary conjunction, which appeared in the constellation of Leo, to the exact date of June 17 in the year 2BC.
Read the whole article in the UK Telegraph. Previous research has pointed to the appearance of a comet to explain the "Star of Bethlehem."
Gee, and all this time I thought he was a Capricorn. So, does this mean we should cancel Christmas this month and celebrate it next summer instead? If so, I'm all for the idea. I'm broke this month.
December 10, 2008 2:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, we celebrate on Dec. 25th because that is the date of the traditional pagan holiday that marked the winter solstice. The Christian church has a long history of supplanting traditional holidays with their own. Here's a great run-down of Christmas history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
December 10, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Honey, I know all about pagans. Trust me.
But thanks.
December 11, 2008 12:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Did they take into account the precession of the equinoxes? Over two thousand years the earth should have shifted about 1/12 rotation relative to the night sky, which would change the "signs" for each period.
December 10, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good question. It seems to have been an author comment as opposed to a statement by the research team. Where does one look up this info?
December 10, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am a Gemini. I have known other Geminis and Jesus was no Gemini.
December 10, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, it would explain a lot of the duality/contradiction aspects of the faith.
December 10, 2008 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might not be a Gemini if your birthday is in the early part of it. Precession has made those traditional dates three weeks wrong. The cusp is now three weeks later.
Of course, current astrology is bunk, but fun.
December 10, 2008 7:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm ordering a new Tee Shirt:
WWGD - What Would Geminis Do?
December 10, 2008 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fact check:
"According to the Gospel of Matthew, the magi found Jesus by following a star. The Biblical text indicates that they found Jesus around two years after his birth, rather than on the exact day (Matt. 2:7–8, 16)."
I'm guessing you saw the play rather than read the book.:)
December 10, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jesus Christ Superstar was a pretty cool play.
December 10, 2008 6:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
But seriously, according to tradition, the star marked Jesus' birth, the wise men saw it, and set off for Bethlehem.
wikipedia entry you linked to:
December 10, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Christmas has always been known to be a co-opting of the solstice, not the literal birthday.
December 10, 2008 8:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
And yet it is surprising how many followers of the faith don't know this.
December 10, 2008 9:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why would that be surprising? I've never known them to question anything.
December 11, 2008 8:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
After some extensive research and very complex calculations, I have determined that Jesus was born in the year of the Monkey. I will be publishing my results in a reputable periodical.
PS I have also determined by a similarly painstaking process that Adam - of Adam and Eve fame - was born in the year of the Dragon.
December 10, 2008 9:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
2001, Bush inaugurated, Year of the Snake.
2009 Obama takes office, Year of the Ox.
December 10, 2008 10:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ha! Interesting, though, how no one wants to talk about the actual science here, just the details of the myths and legends. People are funny.
December 10, 2008 10:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
And did you know that Barack H. Obama was born in the year of the Metal Ox??!!
Yeah. Ponder that...
December 10, 2008 11:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jesus of Nazareth was a myth. Never actually existed.
December 10, 2008 10:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know, I just realized that I left out the most important part of the article, the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, so I've added that to the main post. (Someone needs new reading glasses...)
Anyway, research has shown that Nazareth didn't even exist until the third century or something like that. It's been confused with "Nazarene" which meant something quite different.
Anyone seen the cool photo of Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon making a big smiley face in the sky?
December 10, 2008 10:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hayzeus was a Gemini???!!!
No wonder I have such a hard time with him, his theology and his church and all his followers.
And most frikking assuredly he was NOT born in the year of the Monkey. Jeeez!!!!! I'm sick of people pickin' on us. Really. People need to stop beating down us Monkeys and take up tarot reading instead. Jeez. Seriously!
As for Venus and Jupiter an' the Moon smiling on us:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081202-venus-jupiter-photo.html
December 10, 2008 11:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the link, Yva. I've just added the photo to the top of the post. Lovely. The Great Smiley Face in the Sky.
December 11, 2008 12:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
So, astral66, could you tell me how to add photos to this new and revised TPM? I've been trying to figger that out. Any tips would be appreciated...
December 11, 2008 1:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Me too!
December 11, 2008 2:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know, I still haven't figured out how to do it the proper way. Someone explained how to do it once, with the correct way to size the photos and everything, but I can't find the post now.
So I cheat: I just right-click and "copy" an image I find, and "paste" it into the post. If the picture is too big, it spills over the margins. You can resize by grabbibg on of the corners, but it is easy to throw off the proportions and the image gets a jagged look to it.
Maybe someone will step in and remind us of the proper way, but until then, if you find an image you like and it's about the size of this box, good old cut-n-paste works.
December 11, 2008 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
And to show just what a Luddite I am, I had a photo saved in my "My Pictures" file, and the only way I could figure out how to post it here was to email it to myself, and cut and paste it from my email. But it worked.
December 11, 2008 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink