Once, at the beginning of a semester, on the second meeting of an Astronomy 101 class, one of my students piped up with a comment.  She said that when she had told a certain person (her grandmother, if I recall correctly) that she would be taking an astronomy class, that person had responded by saying that astronomy in particular and science in general was the stuff of devil-worshipers. My student thus offered the class a wonderful comment.  She was seeking from the outset of class to engage the material, her professor, and her fellow students with a very honest comment, expressing honest fears (her grandmother’s, and perhaps hers, too).  Her comment reflected a sentiment that is not uncommon among students taking science classes—a fear that there is something about science that is contrary to their religion, and in that way there is something about science that is the work of the devil.  (This view is not limited to grandmothers of … Continue reading →

It is now the Epiphany (almost).  In my last post (click here for it), just before Christmas, I discussed how the Star of Bethlehem as described in the second chapter of Matthew was no big, blazing beacon like is seen on Christmas cards.  Rather, it was something only astro-nerds—that is, magi—would notice.  The question next is, what was The Star? In the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science pages you will find an entry for The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, an interesting 1999 book written by Michael R. Molnar of Rutgers University, and published by Rutgers University Press (click here).  Molnar presents an interesting argument for the Star of Bethlehem being the planet Jupiter.   Molnar studied the astrology of the Greco-Roman world during the time of the Caesars.  He argues that a particular celestial event—namely Jupiter being eclipsed by the moon while in the constellation of Aries the Ram, with the sun just to the east of … Continue reading →