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Black Friday makes me sad and angry (Page 2)
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Chongo
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Dec 4, 2013, 09:36 AM
 
Here is the segment from a video done by a Prof. Frederick A. Larson (not Catholic), in which he use astronomy software to determine when the Magi arrived.

The Star of Bethlehem: Documentary (2007) - YouTube
     
Laminar
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Dec 4, 2013, 10:50 AM
 
I prefer all of my documentaries in meme form, please.
     
lpkmckenna
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Dec 4, 2013, 06:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
Here is the segment from a video done by a Prof. Frederick A. Larson (not Catholic), in which he use astronomy software to determine when the Magi arrived.

The Star of Bethlehem: Documentary (2007) - YouTube
A one hour YouTube video on a subject that screams "crackpot?" No thanks.

And there's no way any scientific calculus could track down the Star of Bethlehem. The Bible says it pointed to a specific point on the surface of the Earth. Are you familiar with stars? Because they can't do that. If the Star of Bethlehem was a real thing, it definitely couldn't have been an actual star or other natural phenomenon. Unless it was a meteorite that landed on the friggin' manger while Jesus in it, there's no way an astronomical event could point to a place on the Earth.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 4, 2013, 07:30 PM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
A one hour YouTube video on a subject that screams "crackpot?" No thanks.

And there's no way any scientific calculus could track down the Star of Bethlehem. The Bible says it pointed to a specific point on the surface of the Earth. Are you familiar with stars? Because they can't do that. If the Star of Bethlehem was a real thing, it definitely couldn't have been an actual star or other natural phenomenon. Unless it was a meteorite that landed on the friggin' manger while Jesus in it, there's no way an astronomical event could point to a place on the Earth.
Are you familiar with comets?

They're not a new phenomenon.
     
lpkmckenna
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Dec 4, 2013, 08:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Are you familiar with comets? They're not a new phenomenon.
Are you? Comets cannot point to a specific spot on the surface of the Earth.

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
There is no astronomical phenomenon that can produce this effect. Full stop.
     
ebuddy
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Dec 4, 2013, 09:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Downloadable software plug-ins are difficult to classify as "surplus".
good point.

If anyone's interested: it's Bernie from Nomad Factory. Go get his plug-ins at Dontcrack.com — Magnetic II is $19!
Not bad at all. Interesting what we go through digitally, to reproduce analog tape.
ebuddy
     
Chongo
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Dec 4, 2013, 10:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
A one hour YouTube video on a subject that screams "crackpot?" No thanks.

And there's no way any scientific calculus could track down the Star of Bethlehem. The Bible says it pointed to a specific point on the surface of the Earth. Are you familiar with stars? Because they can't do that. If the Star of Bethlehem was a real thing, it definitely couldn't have been an actual star or other natural phenomenon. Unless it was a meteorite that landed on the friggin' manger while Jesus in it, there's no way an astronomical event could point to a place on the Earth.

I selected the point in which he uses commercially available astronomy software like the type used at a planetarium to show the movement of the planets as they appeared in the skies at that time. It's only about two minutes. He tracking Jupiter the "king planet" through Leo (Judah), and Virgo (The Virgin). You can do it yourself if you wish.
     
Shaddim
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Dec 5, 2013, 02:07 AM
 
If you see a astronomical object in the sky, you can move until it appears to be directly overhead. It may take a while, but you can do it. How is that so hard to understand?
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
ebuddy
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Dec 5, 2013, 08:37 AM
 
There are some popular misconceptions to be sure. For one thing, the star wouldn't have pointed to a manger per se as "the young child" had already been born and was chillin' with Joe and Mary in a house when the magi came in to find him. Herod's "two-year old" male condemnation was necessary to encompass the potential age of the King-threat and for all we know Jesus was already stacking pillows to get to the cookie jar by the time the magi arrived. If there was a natural, celestial event that would be visible to all, certainly only the magi understood it. Strangely, the star had been lost to them for some time after having arrived in Jerusalem so the magi straight up asked Herod where Jesus was born. They would've been about 6 miles East of his birthplace by this time. And then the star was visible again.

Maybe there was a period of cloudy days or maybe it wasn't a purely natural, celestial event that only they could see or understand because after all, there is no natural cause for a virgin birth. I don't see why it's important that the star or a celestial movement be affirmed. People who want to believe that, will and people who do not want to believe it, will not.

Yes, holidays are a human contrivance, but then -- our need for solidarity in commemorating events important to us seems as innate to our being as breathing. There's nothing wrong with celebrating holidays or holding a particular day in higher regard than all the others.
ebuddy
     
Chongo
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Dec 5, 2013, 11:36 AM
 
In the video, Larson explains it was a conjunction of Jupiter and another planet whose combined light made them brightet object in the sky. Jupiter begings to go into retrograde(stopping its motion) on 12/25 2BC
     
subego
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Dec 5, 2013, 12:10 PM
 
I recall hearing the virgin birth was a mistranslation.
     
osiris
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Dec 5, 2013, 12:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I recall hearing the virgin birth was a mistranslation.
So the Biblical scholars mis-translated the Hebrew word for "young woman" into the Greek word for "virgin," which was a pretty easy mistake to make, since there is only a subtle difference in the spelling. But back then it was the "virgin" that caught people's attention. It's not every day a virgin conceives and bears a son. So you keep that for a couple of hundred years, and the next thing you know, you have the Holy Catholic church.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Dec 5, 2013, 12:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
So the Biblical scholars mis-translated the Hebrew word for "young woman" into the Greek word for "virgin," which was a pretty easy mistake to make, since there is only a subtle difference in the spelling. But back then it was the "virgin" that caught people's attention. It's not every day a virgin conceives and bears a son. So you keep that for a couple of hundred years, and the next thing you know, you have the Holy Catholic church.
     
 
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