14 January 2005

Lamb of God in your stars?

Quite rightly this site is being used by many in reflecting on the lectionary readings. The latest I found really interesting, not leat, in Epiphanytide, for the link to the Magi and a link with the gospel of MAtthew thereby that goes beyond sharing an honour/shame cultural background. "if we want to understand the significance of the term 'Lamb of God,' we too need to look to the night sky.
Specifically, we look to the constellation we (following the Romans) call Aries, which Jews of the Second Temple period (i.e., of Jesus' time) as well as Greeks saw as a male lamb. And across numerous traditions in the ancient world, it was a pretty kickass (can I say 'kickass' in a biblical blog?) lamb at that. Ancient descriptions of Aries mirror that of the first-century astronomer Nigidius Figulus, who called Aries 'the leader and prince of the constellations' (Malina and Rohrbaugh, pg. 51). Aries the divine Lamb was the ruler of the other constellations, and the starting point from which all other constellations were mapped."
One of the reasons this appeals in apologetic; it gives us another tool to engage the newagey trends of our society, don't you think? REad the article and you'll get plenty of ideas how as well as an answer to the question of whether this astrological angle is biblical or not.

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