Was the star of Bethlehem a real astronomical event?

[CoxRox]

I'm going to email Larson regarding this. I'll continue to check it out.

You do that. And while you're waiting read this:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/r...inius.html

Conclusion

There is no way to rescue the Gospels of Matthew and Luke from contradicting each other on this one point of historical fact. The contradiction is plain and irrefutable, and stands as proof of the fallibility of the Bible, as well as the falsehood of at least one of the two New Testament accounts of the birth of Jesus.

Bible-thumpers have a tendency to make up any silly excuse for their nonsense and proclaim themselves satisfied with the answer. ("Whew - dodged that bullet!") This is called "apologetics." Carrier dissects these various claims in his essay.

The Matthew and Luke 'contradictions' are worthy of a thread of their own. I will check the infidel article and research the discrepencies listed. You've given me my next project.

In the meantime, I'm trying to determine whether the 'star' referenced by Larson, is a likely candidate for the 'star' mentioned in Matthew's gospel. Larson's 'star' certainly seems to fit all the distinguishing features as listed in Matthew. I'm waiting on Stimbo's findings.

By the way, does anyone know if Stellarium will let you run the stuff that Larson shows on Starry Night? (You have to pay to get the Starry Night programme).