Introduction
Years ago, I was requested to immediately
counsel a young man on the verge of suicide. He was severely undernourished (a
year ago, he had weighed 90 kgs / 198 lbs).
This young man was extremely troubled
about his encounter with a roadside astrologer who read his palm. Apparently, the
astrologer challenged this young man by boldly claiming to predict his future. The
astrologer asserted his credibility by precisely stating the favorite color, favorite
flower, and the date of birth of the young man.
Then the astrologer dropped a
bombshell upon the unsuspecting young man saying that he would die within a year.
The young man went into a depression and consistently lost weight and his
emotional health. Thus he contemplated suicide.
This is astrology, in its evil glory.
But by the grace of God, the young man was delivered and began to live a
healthy life.
A concise introduction to Astrology
is that “the exact alignment of the
heavenly bodies (planets, stars) at a person’s birth greatly influence, if not
determine, an individual’s life, including character, temperament, and
accomplishments. People who practice astrology seek to discover their
horoscope—a forecast of daily, monthly, or yearly events in light of their
birth sign under the Zodiac. The practice of astrology can be traced as far
back as ancient Mesopotamia and was a common practice among the ancient
Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, and Romans.”1
Does astrology truly play a role
in man’s life?
Scientists Expose Astrology’s
Deceit
Interestingly, scientists
consider astrology as nothing but a waste of time and energy for man. They term
astrology as a pseudo-science. Their strong conviction is that astrology plays
no role in man’s life.
In 1975, a group of leading
astronomers, astrophysicists and scientists that included 18 Nobel Prize
winners denounced the pseudoscience of astrology through their publication, “Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186
leading Scientists,” in the Humanist magazine.2
Prominent non-Christian scientists
Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, and Bill Nye debunk astrology. They deem astrology
as a primitive belief system that places humans as the focal point of the
universe.
They contend that astrology is as
vague as it can be and has not considered the astronomical developments after 2
AD. They also declare that astrology refuses to consider the discovery of new
planets and ignores the shift in the earth's rotation axis.
Eminent Christian astrophysicist Dr.
Hugh Ross describes astrology as that which…
“bases horoscopes on the moment of birth, not the moment of conception
when, in fact, one's genetic characteristics are fixed;
ignores the gravitational forces of non-solar system bodies (e.g., the
pull of gravity by the obstetrician on a newborn child is about six times
greater than that of Mars);
treats the various nuclear, magnetic, and gravitational forces exerted
by solar system bodies (e.g., the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc.)
as if they were of the same magnitude. In reality, differences of many orders
of magnitude were long ago verified by research;
ignores significant solar system bodies, e.g., Uranus, Neptune, Pluto,
asteroids, comets;
fails to take into account tidal forces, also gravitational differences
resulting from the irregular shape of some solar system bodies;
ignores the motion of the sun with respect to other stars and with
respect to the center of the galaxy;
ignores the wobble in the earth's rotation axis, which by now has
shifted the astrological sun signs by one or two constellations (making a
typical Leo in reality a Gemini);
omits two constellations along the ecliptic (the "path" of
the planets and other bodies in our solar system);
fails to provide conclusive evidence of a direct causal link between
celestial positions or "aspects" and human personality and
interactions.” 3
Even the most secular American
sitcom, Big Bang Theory, denounces astrology through its character Sheldon
Cooper. Sheldon debunks astrology as, “…the
mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily
defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your
personality.” That astrology is a “mass
cultural delusion” is a strong statement!
Sheldon speaks here...
It is interesting to observe the non-Christian scientists
debunking astrology. This should motivate our non-Christian friends to
sincerely reconsider their position on astrology, especially if they consult
astrology and zodiac signs.
The Bible Condemns Astrology
More interestingly, quite a
number of Christians consult astrology. Some even take pride in their zodiac
signs!
However, the Bible, in no
uncertain terms, condemns astrology.
Astrologers are considered as God’s
opponents and worthy of God’s judgment in Isaiah 47: 13-14.
The context of Deuteronomy 4 is
to urge God’s people to follow HIM and tightly hold on to HIM amidst all
temptations and distractions that tend to draw us away from God. In this
context, God’s people are commanded not to worship or serve the sun, moon or
the stars (Deuteronomy 4: 19).
The sun, moon and the stars do
not offer anything to a Christian. It is futile for a Christian to follow and
respect (worship) these heavenly bodies.
A Christian sins against God when
he consults the heavenly bodies - sun, moon and stars.
There were days when I, while being
a devoted Christian, stepped into my workplace and consulted the horoscope / astrology
section in the newspaper as my first task for the day. The seemingly prophetic
words in the horoscope either made or ruined my day even before the day began,
so to speak.
It took me less than a minute to
read and integrate that which was written for my zodiac sign. But those few
seconds of consulting my horoscope was like injecting a slow poison into my
veins.
I was a slave to astrology and my
life was determined by the words that were in my zodiac sign for that day.
Instead of allowing God to lead
my life and following God’s will for my life, I intentionally and mindlessly removed
God from my life. Although God was in me, I did not recognize or respect HIS
presence when it came to running the matters of my day to day life.
I did not worship God for I had
more faith in astrology than God. I worshipped astrology and not God.
I was also imprisoned in another
weird esoteric (mysterious) belief.
Since I belonged to the zodiac sign
Pisces, I somehow believed that, by default, I would be friendlier with another
Piscean. This mechanically motivated me to alienate myself from people who were
supposedly antagonistic to a Piscean. What a great killjoy!
This imprisonment led me to
disobey God’s second greatest commandment of loving my neighbor (Mark 12: 31).
In other words, I loved a Piscean more than anyone else. In the process, I was being
godless and walking away from the one true living God.
There are more Scriptural
affirmations (Leviticus 20:6, Deuteronomy 17: 2-5, 18:9-13; 2 Kings 17: 16; 1
Corinthians 10: 21) that mandate us to avoid astrology in any form, manner or
size whatsoever.
As the real life story narrated
in the introduction suggests, astrology could also partner with the demonic. When
astrology partners the demonic, the consequences are disastrously evil.
False Teaching in
Christianity
“Gospel in the Stars” theory (GIS)
is a good case in point. GIS was published in the mid 19th century
by Ms. Frances Rolleston.
Minimally, GIS claims to have
uncovered the gospel message present in the stars and constellations. Rolleston
also claimed to have found many zodiacal connections in the Bible.
GIS in another instance of
truthlessness for it contradicts the Bible through poor scholarship. Therefore
there is no excuse for a Christian to seek the counsel of astrology.
Few online resources that satisfactorily
debunk GIS are mentioned in the endnotes for those interested in a deeper
pursuit of this theme.
Conclusion
Christians sin against God if and
when we consult astrology. A Christian should repent and seek forgiveness from
God and discard astrology from his / her life totally.
If you are a Christian and if you
still consider astrology as harmless, then I pray that you would see the truth
spoken in God’s Word against astrology.
There is no mid-position in
Christianity. As Christians we ought to realize that we are either for God or
against HIM.
We either worship the one true
and living God or worship the sun, moon and the stars. We either follow the
counsel of the Spirit of God or follow the sun, moon and the stars.
These words are written in the
context of the unpardonable sin, and I pray that these living words from the
Bible would open the eyes of our heart and mind, “The man who is not on my side is against me, and the man who does not
gather with me is really scattering. That is why I tell you that men may be
forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit cannot
be forgiven” (Matthew 12: 30-31, PHILLIPS). Amen.
Endnotes:
1 http://www.reasons.org/articles/testing-the-claims-of-astrology
2http://americanhumanist.org/what_we_do/publications/Humanism_as_the_Next_Step/Chapter_9:_The_American_Humanist_Association
&
http://digilander.libero.it/astroitalia/cialtrones.pdf
3 http://www.reasons.org/articles/astrology-help-hoax-or-harm
Further reading to debunk GIS (Gospel
In The Stars):
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n1/gospel-in-stars
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/arj/v6/n1/gospel-in-stars-further-examination
http://www.equip.org/articles/is-there-a-christian-zodiac-a-gospel-in-the-stars/
Useful Read:
http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/what-is-wrong-with-astrology/
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