The Star of Bethlehem

Many theories have been thought up about the star of Bethlehem. According to the Gospel, the Magi (wise men, astrologers) had seen "his" star in the East (on the ascendant?) and went on their way, stopping only when the star stood still, and there finding effectively a newborn destined to become king. The most convincing one is the one elaborated by my compatriot John Timperman:

"It must have been around this time of the year that more than 2000 years ago the Magi of the East ( Magus= wisest of the wise- astrologers) arrived in Bethlehem. They realised that they had reached their destination when they observed that the planet Jupiter was 'stationary' (stood still) before becoming retrograde.

"It was a long journey that started in September [of 3 BC] when they had witnessed an exceptionally rare astronomical phenomenon in the sky: the planet Jupiter, called the 'king's planet' (the biggest one) was heliacally rising and escaped from the rays of the sun.( was born again). A planetarium shows us that this time, the heliacal rise of Jupiter happened in conjunction with Regulus, the king's star, in the constellation of the royal sign of the Lion. Both objects were so close that, seen from the earth, they appeared as one star. The fact that this 'coming together' and so much symbolism of kingdom happened in the constellation of the Lion, the tribe of Judea, was a strong indication that the prediction of the profit Micah was fulfilled. For these Magi, it was a celestial omen that indicated that the King of Kings, the Messiah was born."

It is perfectly possible that the birth of Jesus was unconnected to this verifiable stellar phenomenon. Mohammed's birth was post factum connected to 570, the "year of the Elephant", when an Ethiopian army featuring an elephant besieged Mecca but was forced by an epidemic to withdraw, a sign of divine favour to the Meccans; but historians agree that the year of the Ethiopian siege probably fell earlier than 570. Except for children of royalty, most people didn't know their exact date or time of birth, and when they had acquired a following much later, a proper date or event befitting his glory was chosen as his "official" date of birth.

Indeed, if at all necessary, this constellation known as the star of Bethlehem may even be used as an argument against astrology. A configuration occurred, yet no king was born. Jesus was honoured as "king of the Jews" (INRI), yet the Jews never recognized him as king, and he is reputed precisely to have rejected this status, that some followers wanted to bestow on him. On the other hand, though he did not fulfil the scriptural prophecies (as Gospel writer Matthew and the Nicean Creed pretend), Jesus was undoubtedly an important haracter in history because of what others after his death made of him. In that case, the astrological expectation was fulfilled in whoever was born there and then, even if he was not genuinely what his followers believe(d) him to be.