In the wisemen story in the Bible, if they followed a star, wouldn't that lead them in circles??

Question

I am a Christian and Saved, but I have a brain & I use it. Please don't be offended by the question.

Answer 1

No. The stars do appear to move around somewhat in the sky, but not to that extent.

Pick a star. How about the top right hand one in the big dipper? Yes, it will change position somewhat over time. But it is always in basically the same location in the sky. It always appears in the north. Never in the east, west, or south.

I don't recall how long the wise men traveled. If it was for years then maybe their path could have been curvy at most.

Answer 2

As far as I understand it, these wisemen were believers in Astrology - or fortune telling through the stars. Somehow God influenced them to find Jesus even through the "truth" they saw in their own astrology. I don't think it would be unreasonable to think that they saw an unusual event in the sky, a rare comet, or alignment of the planets and took it as a sign in their religion to travel to Bethlehem and didn't require step by step directions to get there. The real work of God was not in creating the event, but that He called forth gentiles and they came.

Besides using stars to tell the future... humans first used the stars to tell time of day, time of year, and for orientation/navigation, especially at sea. It's safe to say that the wisemen knew how to navigate properly following the star(s), i.e. star charts.

Answer 3

The ancients were very skilled in astronomy, especially the wisemen who were devoted astronomers. Before the days of the compass and such, the only way to travel was following the stars or the sun.

Answer 4

The Bible calls these men magi, or “astrologers”.
The Oxford Companion to the Bible explains: “The connection between magic and astrology is reflected in the visitors’ fascination with the star that had led them to Bethlehem.” The Bible clearly condemns all forms of magic and the Babylonian practice of trying to get information from the stars.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Isaiah 47:13.

The information conveyed to these men did not lead to any good. It aroused wicked King Herod’s jealous anger. This, in turn, resulted in the flight of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to Egypt and the murder of all male children in Bethlehem “from two years of age and under.” Herod had carefully ascertained the time of Jesus’ birth from what he learned from the astrologers. (Matthew 2:16)
In view of all the troubles caused by their visit, it is reasonable to conclude that the star that they saw and the message about “the one born king of the Jews” came from God’s enemy, Satan the Devil, who wanted to do away with Jesus.—Matthew 2:1, 2.
So you are right to have suspicions about the star. It was no ordinary celestial body but a manifestation of something intended to achieve Satan's hopes of having the baby Jesus destroyed.

Answer 5

If you start at any point on a sphere and walk 'straight' (that is, given any three points A, B, and C along your path, A B and C lie are coplanar, for any arbitrarily three points along the path walked), you will of course go in circles -- specifically, a great circle.

If you walked truly straight on the earth, you'd walk in a near perfect circle... some 21,000 miles or so in circumferance.

Answer 6

With all things considered, is it possible god showed them something he didn't show everyone else. A neat fact: there were probably between 100 and 300 Magi (wise men) bearing three gifts and not just three, but for the sake of nativity scenes.... MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS YOU IN YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD.

Answer 7

Give them a GPS. Leave the stars use the satellites

Answer 8

NO Lisa, since you have a brain, read up on stellar navigation... Not interstellar like in star trek..

Answer 9

No it wouldn't. That star would have always pointed to a certain direction eg North.

Answer 10

lol....offended by you....never. Ask away.