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Unavailingly Mad As Hell

by J. Burrello Mar 04, 2019

Reading Time: < 1 minute This is Part 3 of a critical examination of the MMEL hypothesis of the Star of Bethlehem. Go to the index here. So far in this critical appraisal of the MMEL hypothesis, there has not been much attention paid to the actual theory of what the Star of Bethlehem was other than to say it deals with conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus in the years 3 and 2 BCE. While already it is falsified as an explanation of Matthew’s account since it takes place after the death of Herod the Great (see Part 1 & Part 2), I shall not ignore what possible astronomical or astrological explanations are here. Perhaps they can explain the Star in another way (including helping create the narrative based on a back-calculation rather than an authentic historical tradition), or the conjunctions of another type can be related to what the Magi were interested in.

Reading Time: < 1 minute