Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-14
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
Evidence That Counts for Much To
ward Confirming the Biblical Story.
Chicago Inter OCEAN,

Nearly three hundred years ago the
great astronomer, Kepler, a devout as
well as a learned man, sought rnathe- +
fnatically 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 OH the night of December 25-a6
6 B. c.. there occurred. visible in Pal
estine, a maximum conjunction of Ju-
piter and Saturn. -r' ,t..t 10
That is. on that night, the two plan
cts. as seen from that part of the earth.
were directly in line and for a 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 and
which the Wise Men saw az they came
from the East. '.''
Then scholars working on New Tesla
ment chronology became satisfied that
the dates of Dionysius, then generally
received, We're 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 con-
Nenience prevents a change, that this
is not the 1903d year since the birth of
Jesus. but at least the 1907th, andN prob
ably the 19G9th s.s.ssE
This discovery of the erler la the
traditional chronology, though it con-
flrmed kepler's calculations Indirectly,
did not cause his suggestion about the
Star of Bethlehem to beSwholly 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 wasf
TO regard the story of the star asa al
wonder tale. produced by the universIl z
human habit of associating remarkable !
natural events with the birthss0r deaths i
OF conspicuous personages.
But now Baron F. Won Aefele, in a
pamphlet published at Berlin, points /
oltout that this maximum conjunction j
OF Jupiter and Saturn is described in AZ
list of the positions of the planets from
IL b. c. to 10 A. D., lately discovered in
Egypt Furthermore, the old EgyptiaiiS
star SaZer gives a number of detailss
that correspond closely with those set
down in the second chapter of Matthew. !
Yet again, the Greek word translatedS
Stood in Matthew's account, which
most commentators have declared TO
be poetical expression, turns out to'be
the technical term used by the E,gyp-
tan astronomer to describe the con-
junction of Jupiter and Saturn, which9
ne records as occurring at date cor
responding to Dec. 26, 6 L. c., of our
calendar.
Baron Won Aefele draws from this
confirmation of Keplers computations
and Matthew's narrative the conclu-
sion that the Christmas festival was
liked on Dec. %, not because it was the
time of the Roman Saturnalia or the
festival of some popular pagan god,
out because the early Christians knew
exactly when the Founder of their
1aith appeared as a 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
Oh their faith was attended by an cx-
ceptional aspect of the heavens. 1t
SHOWS that the writer of Matthews
Gospel did not fabricate this incident
or the Nativity, though it 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
careful veracity of the Gospel narrative
IN that particular, it strengthens belief
in its truth in all others,