What the Bible says about astrology
A response to the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB) What The Bible Says About Astrology
On What the Bible Says about Astrology the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB), using the King James Version (KJV) has come to the erroneous conclusion that there is some contradiction. They have come to this conclusion due, not to any discrepancy in the Bible but rather a confusion of what the Bible is actually saying regarding the sun and moon being a sign of the seasons, of the stars being used in a figurative sense, etc.
An attempt to understand more carefully what the Bible teaches about such things would easily clear up any confusion the earnest Bible student may have regarding astrology. Part of this educational process would logically include a brief examination of the history of astrology.
As far back as 1800 BCE star catalogs were kept in Mesopotamia, they were instrumental to the Babylonians for predicting astronomical events such as lunar eclipses, marking the movement of planets and the rising and setting of constellations. Ancient people such as the Assyrians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Native Americans, Romans and others watched the sky and kept records of astronomical events. They were thus able to make calendars and plan yearly events such as planting and harvesting of crops.
To a superstitious people astronomy became astrology when they began to think that since the signs of the sun, moon and stars allowed them to predict the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tide, the flood of the Nile followed by the appearance of Sirius, then perhaps they could predict one's future or fortune.
The Babylonians thought of the stars as the heavenly abode of the gods. Bright stars, eclipses, and comets were thought to bring wrath upon the earth from the gods. Wars were fought and kings looked to their astrologers to ascertain the future.
The form of astrology that we know today comes from the Greeks. In the second century CE Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy from Alexandria, Egypt compiled a four-book astrological record entitled Tetrabiblos. This has served as a basic text for what is today called natal astrology, a means of predicting one's future by charting the position of the stars, sun, moon and planets on the date of one's birth.
In the 13th century the Zohar or Sefar ho-zohar (Hebrew Book of Splendor) read: "On the firmament which envelops the universe, we see many figures formed by the stars and planets. They reveal hidden things and profound mysteries. Similarly, upon our skin which encircles the human being there exist forms and traits that are the stars of our bodies." This work inspired the reading of the face and palm for predicting the future.
By the 14th and 15th centuries astrology had gained a great deal of respect in the West. Universities were teaching it as a discipline which required skills in language and mathematics. Astrologers were thought of as scholars. It had a tremendous influence on human affairs, from building, wars, travel, business, in the lives of noblemen and the royal court. The writings of William Shakespeare are full of references to the astrological influences on human affairs.
In Strasbourg in 1531 Johannes Indagine wrote a book on the subject which quoted Jesus at Matthew 6:22 and concluded that large, bright, and round eyes indicated integrity and good health but sunken and small eyes were signs of envy, suspicion and malice. Just two years later Bartolommeo Coclé, in his book Compendium of Physiognomy, claimed that large and round eyes were an indication that a person was fickle and lazy.
Chiromancers (palm readers) believed that the hands reflected the forces from above and they searched the Bible for references to that effect. Misapplying Bible verses like Job 37:7 and Proverbs 3:16.
Though the work of astronomers like Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, who have clearly demonstrated the unscientific reasoning behind astrologers from the past - that the planet Earth is not the center of the universe, that some stars that appear in a constellation are not bound to a specific group, that planets are lifeless rock masses or gases, as well as the discovery with the telescope of planets not known to exist in ancient times such as Uranus, and Neptune which would have influenced the charts we still use today, many people remain enchanted by astrology.
Genetics tells us that our traits are formed upon conception, not nine months later at birth, and we see that the sun is about one month behind what it was 2,000 years ago when the charts we use today were drawn up. That would mean that a Cancer (highly sensitive, moody and reserved) would actually be a Gemini (communicative, witty and chatty.)
Edit: the last paragraph of this article was removed as it was included by mistake. It was supposed to be the first paragraph of a follow up entitled Does the Bible Condemn Astrology
https://similarworlds.com/astrology/4673495-Does-the-Bible-condemn-astrology-A-Response-To-Does-The
On What the Bible Says about Astrology the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB), using the King James Version (KJV) has come to the erroneous conclusion that there is some contradiction. They have come to this conclusion due, not to any discrepancy in the Bible but rather a confusion of what the Bible is actually saying regarding the sun and moon being a sign of the seasons, of the stars being used in a figurative sense, etc.
An attempt to understand more carefully what the Bible teaches about such things would easily clear up any confusion the earnest Bible student may have regarding astrology. Part of this educational process would logically include a brief examination of the history of astrology.
As far back as 1800 BCE star catalogs were kept in Mesopotamia, they were instrumental to the Babylonians for predicting astronomical events such as lunar eclipses, marking the movement of planets and the rising and setting of constellations. Ancient people such as the Assyrians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Native Americans, Romans and others watched the sky and kept records of astronomical events. They were thus able to make calendars and plan yearly events such as planting and harvesting of crops.
To a superstitious people astronomy became astrology when they began to think that since the signs of the sun, moon and stars allowed them to predict the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tide, the flood of the Nile followed by the appearance of Sirius, then perhaps they could predict one's future or fortune.
The Babylonians thought of the stars as the heavenly abode of the gods. Bright stars, eclipses, and comets were thought to bring wrath upon the earth from the gods. Wars were fought and kings looked to their astrologers to ascertain the future.
The form of astrology that we know today comes from the Greeks. In the second century CE Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy from Alexandria, Egypt compiled a four-book astrological record entitled Tetrabiblos. This has served as a basic text for what is today called natal astrology, a means of predicting one's future by charting the position of the stars, sun, moon and planets on the date of one's birth.
In the 13th century the Zohar or Sefar ho-zohar (Hebrew Book of Splendor) read: "On the firmament which envelops the universe, we see many figures formed by the stars and planets. They reveal hidden things and profound mysteries. Similarly, upon our skin which encircles the human being there exist forms and traits that are the stars of our bodies." This work inspired the reading of the face and palm for predicting the future.
By the 14th and 15th centuries astrology had gained a great deal of respect in the West. Universities were teaching it as a discipline which required skills in language and mathematics. Astrologers were thought of as scholars. It had a tremendous influence on human affairs, from building, wars, travel, business, in the lives of noblemen and the royal court. The writings of William Shakespeare are full of references to the astrological influences on human affairs.
In Strasbourg in 1531 Johannes Indagine wrote a book on the subject which quoted Jesus at Matthew 6:22 and concluded that large, bright, and round eyes indicated integrity and good health but sunken and small eyes were signs of envy, suspicion and malice. Just two years later Bartolommeo Coclé, in his book Compendium of Physiognomy, claimed that large and round eyes were an indication that a person was fickle and lazy.
Chiromancers (palm readers) believed that the hands reflected the forces from above and they searched the Bible for references to that effect. Misapplying Bible verses like Job 37:7 and Proverbs 3:16.
Though the work of astronomers like Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, who have clearly demonstrated the unscientific reasoning behind astrologers from the past - that the planet Earth is not the center of the universe, that some stars that appear in a constellation are not bound to a specific group, that planets are lifeless rock masses or gases, as well as the discovery with the telescope of planets not known to exist in ancient times such as Uranus, and Neptune which would have influenced the charts we still use today, many people remain enchanted by astrology.
Genetics tells us that our traits are formed upon conception, not nine months later at birth, and we see that the sun is about one month behind what it was 2,000 years ago when the charts we use today were drawn up. That would mean that a Cancer (highly sensitive, moody and reserved) would actually be a Gemini (communicative, witty and chatty.)
Edit: the last paragraph of this article was removed as it was included by mistake. It was supposed to be the first paragraph of a follow up entitled Does the Bible Condemn Astrology
https://similarworlds.com/astrology/4673495-Does-the-Bible-condemn-astrology-A-Response-To-Does-The
