Persuasive evidence of the Star of Bethlehem.
Eric Hedin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Taylor University and Ball State University in Indiana, as well Biola University in Southern California, is also a science writer. In a recent book review for Evolution News, he writes,
A few years ago, while I was living in Southern California, a local church asked me to present a talk on the Christmas Star as part of their Christmas outreach events.
Taken by the request, he researched the matter by reading several books on the subject. One of them in particular struck him: The Great Christ Comet, by Colin R. Nichole, with the seemingly audacious subtitle: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem.
Nicholl, like Hedin, is an academic, holding a doctorate in theology. He also holds a firm belief there really was a Star of Bethlehem. Before writing his book however, he consulted extensively with astronomers, seeking their informed opinions how scriptural accounts of the Star might jibe with astronomical phenomena.
Hedin, in his review, writes Nicholl
suggests that part of the difficulty with arriving at a satisfactory theory for the Star stems from a compartmentalized approach, with astronomers or theologians undertaking the task within their separate disciplines. Astronomers are largely ‘untrained in Biblical studies’ while Biblical scholars find themselves ‘in alien territory’ when considering the astronomical possibilities.
After teasing out possible explanations for the Star of Bethlehem, planetary conjunctions, super novas, and comets, Nicholl concludes the star was in fact a comet, as the orbital characteristics of them fit nicely with scriptural descriptions of the star
From The Great Christ Comet:
A comet with orbital elements within certain ranges could have heliacally risen in the eastern sky and, shortly thereafter, shifted to the western evening sky, and then migrated to the southern evening sky on schedule to usher the Magi to Bethlehem and point out the location of those where baby Jesus was….The setting of a tailed comet on the western horizon is uniquely qualified to be perceived to ‘stand over’ a particular house.
Hedin provides just a small sample of Nicholl’s explanations of the complex and puzzling apparent movements of comets in their orbits, but enough to illustrate his scholarship when seeking explanations that complement scripture; for example, the account of the Magis in Matthew: 2:2 (ESV), when they ask, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” He thus provides substantive support of a significant astronomical phenomenon occurring at the time of the birth of our Lord.
h/t Instapundit.
The Taos Tatler 