The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1903-09-25
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
Evidence That Goes Far Toward
Confirming the Biblical story.

III
Confirming the Biblical story.
Nearly 300 years ago the great as
tronomer Kepler, a devout as well as 6
learned man, sought mathematically
to demonstrate the truth of the story
of the star of Bethlehem. Applying
the laws of the motion of the stars he
had discovered, he calculated that or
the night of Dec. 1926, 6 B. c., there
occurred, visible in Palestine, maxi
mum conjunction of Jupiter and Sat
urn.
That is, on that night the two planets
as seen from that part of the earth
were directly in line and for time
would be seen as one star, combining
the brilliancy of both. Kepler thought
this conjunction explained the appear
ance of the unusually bright strange
star which amazed the shepherds ant
which the wise men saw as they came
from the east.
Then scholars working on New TIES.
lament chronology became satisfied
that the dates of Dionysius, then gen.
orally received, were incorrect. They
found evidence that Herod the Great,
said in the gospels to have been living
at the time Of the nativity, died in the
fifth year before that then accepted as
the first of the Christian era. In fact,
it is generally admitted now, though
convenience prevents a change, that
this is not the nineteen hundred and
third year since the birth of Jesus, but
at least the nineteen hundred and sew
enth, and probably the nineteen hun
dred and ninth.
This discovery of the error in the
traditional chronology, though it con-
firmed Kepler's calculations indirectly,
did not cause his suggestion about the
star of Bethlehem to be wholly accept
ed That the conjunction of the two
planets occurred about that time was
admitted but it was not considered
proved that Jesus was born on exactly
that night. In fact, the tendency was
to regard the story of the star as a
wonder tale, produced by the universal
human habit of associating remark
able natural events with the births or
deaths of conspicuous personages.
But now Baron F. Won Aefele, in a
pamphlet published at Berlin, points
out that this maximum conjunction OF
Jupiter and Saturn is described in a
list of the positions of the planets
from II B. C. to 10 A. D., lately dis
covered in Egypt. Furthermore, the
old Egyptian star gazer gives a num-
Der of details that correspond closely
with those set down in the second
chapter of Matthew. Yet, again, the
Greek word translated "stood" in Mat
thew's account, which most commenta-
tors have declared to be a poetical
expression, turns out to be the tech
nical term used by the Egyptian as
tronomer to describe the conjunction
Of Jupiter and Saturn, which he re-
cords as occurring at a date CORE
spending to Dec. &c, B. G., OF our
calendar.
Baron Won Aefele draws from this
confirmation of Kepler's computations
and Matthew's narrative the conclu'
sion that the Christmas festival was
fixed on Dec. % not because 1t was
the time of the Roman saturnal1a or
the festival of some popular pagan
god but because the early Christians
knew exactly when the Founder OF
their faith appeared as child among
men.
The main interest of the matter to
Christians is that this old Egyptian
record, taken with Kepler's calcula
lions, confirms the gospel narrative
1t shows that the birth of the FOUNDER
of their faith was attended by an ex
ceptional aspect of the heavens. 1t
shows that the writer of Matthew's
gospel did not fabricate this incident
of the nativity, though 1t was one that
the human mind in all ages has tended
to associate with the births of great
leaders, as the Buddhist birth stories
show, and by thus confirming the care
full veracity of the gospel narrative in
that particular it strengthens belief In
its truth in all others.-Chicago Inter
Ocean.