tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428721.post4109401488407764701..comments2024-02-27T09:21:28.279-05:00Comments on A bowl of Stew (art): Talking with an Atheist: The Magi TalkElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09013139973933821838noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428721.post-61662359052469464312012-01-15T18:24:18.564-05:002012-01-15T18:24:18.564-05:00Maybe they were astronomers, but could it be that ...Maybe they were astronomers, but could it be that God, in His grace, sometimes reveals Himself even to people of false religions... perhaps because they are sincerely seeking truth, not just blindly believing? Could it be He does this even through their own religions? Ultimately it led them to Jesus.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00489247861061790470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428721.post-35080112627724991532012-01-15T08:53:05.861-05:002012-01-15T08:53:05.861-05:00I admitt that I really haven't the biblical kn...I admitt that I really haven't the biblical knowledge, but very interesting that I seen a show on tv that addressed this question. The wise men where astronomers that studied the stars. The star that shone over Bethleham was the coming together of 3 other stars into line to become one unique light. There was reference to the name of each star I remember that one was the king star and one called david star. The wise men knew that this was an event that only happen once and would never happen again. It did mean that something very significant was taking place. It took quite a few years for the stars to line up and they remained that way for quite sometime also allowing the magi to follow it. I wish I had taped it and even now can't remember the name of the show. Mark warched it with me and we were very amazed by how it all came to be and the facts they stated show it was reliable information. Wish I had more hard facts instead of recall. Glad to be apart of the discussion Liz.Sharon Stockingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428721.post-84881428241476286622012-01-15T00:26:12.424-05:002012-01-15T00:26:12.424-05:00Gloria brings up a lot of points I had, about how ...Gloria brings up a lot of points I had, about how the Magi were not jews and not bound by Jewish law. They were simply "from the east"<br /><br />I always imagined that they saw what they thought was a new star that was moving and they tried to follow it. I imagine it was a comet or something like that, I also imagine they continued to follow it or returned home.<br /><br />So little is actually said about the Magi in the bible that people have speculated so much that a lot of people think there were three, they have names and they were kings. None of these things are known, it is just that people crave more information so it was essentially made up. These details aren't the important part of the story, the important part is that they saw Jesus and knew what he was even as a baby.<br /><br />Next, is divining really condemned? Joseph had prophetic dreams and saw the famine coming for egypt, so some divining is OK, but other is not. Prophecy is always mentioned in the bible and again isn't that kinda the same thing? I think the line that isn't to be crossed here is worshiping of false idols, so Joseph seeing 7 ears of corn and knowing that means 7 years of food is ok, but if you worship a star and think it to be god then it's not OK? I think that's the issue.<br /><br />Again, the details of this isn't the point of the story, and details could be argued a million times over, but the point of the story is what is important. Details get muddled in translation, details change over time, details are just the seasoning of the story, not the morel.Nuchtchashttp://nimlas.org/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428721.post-44940512689334624942012-01-14T22:06:25.096-05:002012-01-14T22:06:25.096-05:00a lot of these come from Greg and I talking but he...a lot of these come from Greg and I talking but here you go:<br /><br />it is a genera motif, a special birth is accompanied by signs. this is where it is important that the wise man are gentiles they are not called blessed or righteous gentiles. also the law against the divining of the stars is one of those laws that set the Jews apart. they are not in danger of worshiping other gods when their religion. <br /><br />in the gospels one of the very important features of the gospels is that it is not the classic righteous Jews who recognize Jesus as the messiah it is all the wrong people who know Jesus. his opposition comes from those who know the law and are righteous before the law. the era of you must be Jewish is over. there is the gentile mission and that is where the gospel of Luke is because Luke is writing in a style that is not for the Jerusalem church. this is why Luke's gerontology goes back to Adam because his concern is the gentile mission.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07730889350557930666noreply@blogger.com