The Gospel in the Stars Controversy

In this article I wish to address a subject that has of late stirred up not a little bit of controversy. It has been called the "gospel in the stars controversy" (hereafter referred to as GIS). The Christian Research Institute reports that the GIS theory was originally formulated by, "Miss Frances Rolleston, A nineteenth-century English classicist and linguist" who "popularized the theory with her book, Mazzaroth- The Constellations, published in 1863" (The “Gospel In The Stars’ Theory, Christian Research Institute, Statement DG 205, available at this web address: Http://www.equip.org/free/DG205.htm). GIS was further popularized in the second half of the nineteenth century by E. W. Bullinger (Witness of the Stars, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1893, 1967) and J. A. Seiss (The Gospel in the Stars, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1882, 1979).

 

Dr. Kennedy’s Support for GIS

Unfortunately, one of the major proponents of this theory today, Dr. D. James Kennedy is well known to evangelicals. Dr. Kennedy is one of the great Christian leaders of our day, and has done excellent work in the area of apologetics. His support of GIS is disappointing in that it tarnishes his otherwise outstanding reputation and ministry. Dr. Kennedy has promoted the GIS theory in his book The Real Meaning of the Zodiac, and on his radio broadcast as well. Dr. Kennedy is just one of many proponents of GIS, both past and present. An internet search yields a large number of sites, both critical and supportive of GIS.

 

What is "The Gospel in the Stars" Theory?

In brief, the theory claims that mankind can learn the "gospel" by observing the constellations of the zodiac. For instance, Dr. Kennedy states, "the fact remains that there was a God-given Gospel in the stars which lays beyond and behind that which has now been corrupted" (Kennedy, The Real Meaning of the Zodiac, as quoted on the Apologetix Index Website: http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/h13a02.html. Proponents of the theory, therefore, believe that constellations of the zodiac present a "gospel" message consistent with the Bible, which message has been corrupted by pagan peoples through history.

 

Dr. Kennedy claims that the zodiac and its constellations were known by the time of Job. He says, "I would call your attention to Job 38:32a: “Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?’ Mazzaroth is a Hebrew word which means “the Constellations of the Zodiac.’ In what may be the oldest book in all of human history, we find that the constellations of the zodiac were already known and understood" (ibid).

 

Proponents of GIS believe that they have recovered the original meaning of the zodiac (the gospel) that had been distorted by pagan cultures.

 

A Chart Explaining GIS

 In an article on the website called Christian Answers Network, (http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c019.html), a helpful chart is given which I repeat in substance.

 

 

 We are informed that this chart is a fairly representative example of the "Gospel in the Stars" theory.

 

Further Examples of GIS

Furthermore, Larry Pahl produced a chart entitled: "The 48 Zodiacal Constellations and Their Fulfillment in the Gospel Story," in which he gives both the "pagan" meanings of the constellations and their alleged real gospel meanings. He lists a total of 48 constellations, four in each of the twelve houses of the Zodiac (Web address is: http://members.aol.com/larrypahl/5stars.htm. As an example, in the house of Scorpio, Pahl list the pagan meaning of the constellation of Hercules as "wounded in his heel, the other foot over the Dragon’s head, holding in one hand the Golden Apples and the three-headed Dog off (sic?) hell, and in the other the uplifted club." Pahl then lists what he thinks is the "true" gospel meaning of the same constellation as "Christ, the true Hercules, the toiling Vanquisher of evil, wounded in His heel (the cross) but crushing Satan, the head of evil."

 

Problems with the Theory

This theory is interesting and provocative on the face of it. None the less, when one digs below the surface, a number of objections arise which seem to be fatal to the theory. For example, if the real meaning of the zodiac had been corrupted by pagan peoples and lost to mankind, how was it recovered? How would you know if you have recovered it accurately? Has a copy of an ancient document containing the original or real meaning been found somewhere?

 

Also, if the gospel was already written in the stars from the beginning of creation, then it follows that Adam and Eve would have understood it, even before their fall into sin. It seems strange that Adam and Eve would be able to understand that man would fall into sin and need a redeemer, before they in fact, fell. It would also mean that anyone could have known about the virgin birth long before it was "revealed" by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14) and fulfilled in the birth of Christ (Matthew 1:22-23).

 

GIS proponents assert that the real meaning of the zodiac was corrupted and/or lost by ancient man. If this is the case, how did early mankind learn the "true" meaning in the first place? Did God tell Adam and Eve himself? There is no mention of this in the Bible itself, and hence it is mere conjecture to suppose that ancient man had such an understanding. In fact, there is not the slightest bit of solid evidence that anyone in ancient times believed this gospel in the stars theory.

 

Another option could be that the "gospel in the stars" message was so clear that Adam and Eve (and the rest of mankind) could understand it without needing God to explain it to them. But if this is the case, how could it have ever been lost or corrupted? Anyone, at anytime, should be able to read it!

 

Is GIS "Natural" or "Special" Revelation?

This leads to the problem of how to classify this "gospel revelation." Theologians normally distinguish between two types of revelation: "Natural" and "Special." Special revelation is a specific verbal or written (or both) message from God to man such as the various writings which make up the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Natural (also called "general") revelation is a message from God that man can (and should) receive by observing the created order (Romans 1:18-23).

 

I would like to know how proponents classify the "gospel in the stars." Is it natural or special revelation? With "special" revelation, hermeneutical principles are used, so that anyone can arrive at the correct interpretation of a passage. Through the use of sound exegetical tools, the reader can arrive at the meaning intended by the original author (and by God). This removes the subjectivity from the process. However, the GIS theory is loaded with subjectivity. Even though it claims to give a very specific message, it is fraught with inconsistencies. It is not a specific verbal message given through a prophet or other messenger that can be written in an inspired, infallible, and inerrant text, and therefore cannot be classified as special revelation.

 

On the other hand, proponents claim that GIS is a very specific (gospel) message. So much so, that they can fill pages with detailed explanations of the 48 constellations found in the 12 houses of the Zodiac. This seems to go way beyond anything that could be classified as natural or general revelation.

 

IS GIS Salvific?

Further, GIS supporters should tell us if this "gospel in the stars" is salvific. GIS proponents claim that the zodiac constellations tell mankind of his lost and sinful condition (Scorpius the Scorpion), that our sin must be paid for (Libra the Scales), that there would need to be a sacrificial death (Aries the Ram), that the one who would die for our sins would be born of a virgin (Virgo the Virgin), that he would have a dual-nature being both God and man (Gemini the Twins), that he would rise from the dead (Taurus, the Bull), as the victorious King of Kings (Leo the Lion).This seems to be a rather explicit presentation of the gospel, similar to that presented in Scripture. Do GIS supporters believe that people can be saved by observing this Gospel in the stars alone, or do they need more?

 

Scriptural Arguments Used by GIS Proponents

At this point, let us consider the alleged scriptural support for GIS by its proponents. One of the most often quoted passages is Psalm 19:1-6 which says, "1. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2. Day after day they four forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5. which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6.It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat"(All scriptural quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society, New York).

 

Despite the efforts of GIS adherents, this passage says nothing about a "gospel in the stars." It is describing the wonders of the universe and how this natural phenomenon brings glory to God. It is describing "natural" revelation as was discussed earlier. Some GIS supporters point to the description of the sun as it makes it "circuit" and suppose this is evidence for the zodiac. Such an interpretation if fanciful and foolish. The passage merely describes (in a poetical way) the daily course of the sun as it advances from sunrise to sunset.

 

Romans 1:19-20

In Romans 1:19-20, the apostle Paul said, "19. since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." GIS advocates believe that this passage supports their claim. There is no doubt that the natural order does "tell" mankind something, but it is total and unfounded conjecture to suppose that Paul was referring to the idea that the gospel message was spelled out in the stars.

 

Theologian Charles C. Ryrie gives an overview of what "natural" revelation does tell man about God. "The relevant biblical passages tell us authoritatively what can be learned from general revelation. This is not to say that everybody will understand all or any of these things, but these are what God has communicated through the various avenues of general revelation. 1. His glory (Ps. 19:1). 2. His power in creating the universe (v.1.). 3. His supremacy (Rom. 1:20). 4. His divine nature (v. 20). 5. His providential control of nature (Acts 14:17). 6. His goodness (Matt. 5:45). 7. His intelligence (Acts 17:29). 8. His living existence (v. 28)." (Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, Scripture Press Publications- Victor Books: Wheaton, IL, 1986, p. 33).

The GIS theory goes well beyond these basic things that one can reason or deduct from nature and claims that the stars give a detailed and explicit description of the "gospel." Unfortunately, simply wishing it to be so, does not make it so. What we need is evidence, scriptural evidence, and yet there is none.

 

Genesis 1:1-18

GIS advocates also point to Genesis 1:14-18 which says, " 14. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15. and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to live light on the earth.’ And it was so. 16. God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18. to govern the day and night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good."

 

Again, GIS advocates note the statement in verse 14 "and let them serve as signs" and argue that the stars are a sign of the gospel message. As has been pointed out in the past, such an interpretation is exegetical malpractice. All this passage actually says is the obvious. Man can use the heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, and stars) as markers for determining the passage of time through a day, and through the seasons of the year. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

 

God Named the Stars!

GIS supporters often string together Psalm 147:4 with Isaiah 40:26 to prove that God himself named the stars of the zodiac. Psalm 147:4 says, "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." Isaiah 40:26b reads, "He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name." After showing that God has named all the stars, the next step in GIS logic is to show that God calls the constellations by the same names as is found in the zodiac (see for instance Job 38:31-32, Amos 5:8). The GIS conclusion then is that God is responsible for giving the constellations and stars of the zodiac their traditional names. In other words, they see this as proof that God is responsible for the zodiac.

 

I must disagree for the following obvious reason. Take a constellation like Orion which God referred to in Job 38:31. The World Book Encyclopedia gives this background on Orion, "Orion was a handsome and energetic hunter in Greek mythology. He was a giant with the power to walk through the sea and on its surface. Orion had a troubled love life. His wife was sent to Hades after she boasted that she was more beautiful than the goddess Hera (see Hades). Because Orion seduced his fiancee, Merope, her father, King Oenopion, blinded him. Helios, the sun god, restored Orion’s sight. According to one myth, Artemis, the goddess of hunting, killed Orion because he tried to rape her. Another myth says that Artemis considered marrying Orion, but her jealous brother Apollo tricked her into hitting Orion with and arrow while he was swimming. In her sorrow at his death, Artemis placed Orion in the sky as a constellation" (The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 14, World Book, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1993, p. 862).

It seems outrageous to suppose that God would name a constellation after such a character from Greek mythology, but that is what is required if the GIS theory is correct. GIS proponents would like to argue that the Greek mythology about Orion is a corruption of its original meaning. But this mythological meaning is the meaning it had at the time the books of Psalms and Isaiah were written and given to mankind. The same problem is evident for the constellations Hercules, Cetus, and virtually every other constellation of the zodiac.

 

It is far more reasonable to conclude that God referred to the stars and constellations by the names they were known by on earth, rather than the names he had given them. God didn’t use the traditional names of the stars to endorse the mythological ideas associated with them, but rather so people would understand what he was teaching them.

 

Job 38:32 and the Name "Mazzaroth"

Probably the biblical passage most often appealed to as support for GIS is Job 38:32. Especially important is the Hebrew word "Mazzaroth" found there (Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? - KJV). There is not agreement as to its meaning. The New International Version translates it simply as "constellations," and the New American Standard has it as "constellation." Because of the difficulty in translation, some translations such as the RSV, ASV, KJV and the NKJV leave the word (Mazzaroth) untranslated. However, there is a significant body of scholarship that favors a translation such as is found in the New English Bible which has it "Can you bring out the signs of the zodiac in their season."

 

In agreement, Keil-Delitzsch comment that, "The question in ver. 32a therefore means: canst thou bring forth the appointed zodiac sign for each month. . ." (Keil Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 4, Job, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI, Reprinted 1975, p. 324).

 

Albert Barnes commentary on this passage is informative. He said, "[Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?] Margin, "the twelve signs;" that is, the twelve signs of the zodiac. There has been much diversity of opinion about the meaning of this word. It occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures, and of course it is not easy to determine its signification. The Septuagint retains the word maxsurooth, without attempting to translate it. Jerome renders it, "Luciferum-Lucifer," the morning-star. The Chaldee, sh-T-r-y m-z-l-y-'-the constellations of the planets. Coverdale, "the morning-star;" and so Luther renders it. Rosenmuller, "signa celestia"-the celestial signs, and so Herder, Umbreit, Gesenius, and Noyes, "the zodiac."

 

Gesenius regards the word mazaarowt (OT:4216), as the same as mazaalowt (OT:4208), properly "lodgings, inns;" and hence, the "lodgings" of the sun, or the places or "houses" in which he appears in the heavens, and thus as meaning the signs in the zodiac. Most of the Hebrew interpreters adopt this view, but it rests on no certain foundation, and as we are not certain as to the meaning of the word, the only safe way is to retain the original, as is done in our common version. I do not see how it is possible to determine its meaning with certainty, and probably it is to be regarded as a name given to some constellation or cluster of stars supposed to exert an influence over the seasons, or connected with some change in the seasons, which we cannot now accurately understand" (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft).

 

The apparent significance of the meaning of Mazzaroth in Job 38:32 is that GIS advocates claim it proves that God approved and even endorsed the gospel of the zodiac. Further, they consider the passage in Job as proof that as early as Job (c. 2150 B.C.), the zodiac was understood among the nations, including believers. However, the correct meaning of Mazzaroth is far from established. It is a reliable principle in hermeneutics that we should not base too much on one unclear passage of Scripture.

 

An Anology

However, for the sake of argument, even if Job 38:32 is referring to the constellations of the zodiac, this need not be assumed to be an endorsement of the gospel in the stars theory. In Acts 17:28, the apostle Paul quotes Greek poets in his sermon to the Athenians. Commenting on this passage, Richard N. Longnecker says, "In support of this teaching about man, Paul quotes two maxims from Greek poets. The first comes from a quatrain attributed to the Cretan poet Epimenides (c. 600 B.C.), which appeared first in his poem Cretica and is put on the lips of Minos, Zeus’s son, in honor of his father:

 

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one-

The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!

But thou art not dead; thou livest and abidest for ever,

For in thee we live and move and have our being. . .

 

 The second comes from the Cilician poet Aratus (c. 315-240 B.C.) “It is with Zeus that every one of us in every way has to do, for we are also his offspring’ (Phaenomena 5); which is also found in Cleanthes’s (331-233 B.C.) earlier Hymn to Zeus, Line 4.

 

By such maxims, Paul is not suggesting that God is to be thought of in terms of the Zeus of Greek polytheism or Stoic pantheism. He is rather arguing that the poets his hearers recognized as authorities have to some extent corroborated his message. In his search for a measure of common ground with his hearers, he is, so to speak, disinfecting and rebaptizing the poets’ words for his own purpose. (Richard Longnecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 1981, p. 476, (All emphasis in original).

 

The point, then, is that just because Paul makes reference to pagan poets and philosophers, that does not mean that he endorses all their beliefs. In the same way, just because God may have made reference to the constellations of the zodiac that were recognized by people living in Job’s time, this does not mean that He endorsed the idea that their were specific messages in the stars as GIS adherents suggest. If that were so, then astrologers could claim that God was endorsing astrology in Job 38:32 since he makes reference to astrological constellations. As the old saying goes, "You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

 

Other Problems with GIS

And what of the problem that not everyone on earth can see all the constellations? Will some have only a part of this "gospel" message? The Christian Research Institute notes, "Moreover, the zodiac signs do not even appear above the Artic Circle (66 degrees latitude)-which means that there is no “Gospel in the Stars’ for many Eskimos, Siberians, Greenlanders, and Scandinavians" (The “Gospel In The Stars’ Theory, Christian Research Institute, Statement DG 205).

 

When one studies the constellations, the subjectivity of the constellations is obvious. In most cases, the characters for each constellation bear no actual resemblance to the pattern we actually observe in the night sky. It is no different than when children lie on their backs, and imagine different characters they see in the passing clouds overhead. Along these lines, the Christian Research Institute says, "There is no uniform zodiac constellation. Some claim there are twenty-four zodiac signs, while others count eight, ten, or fourteen. The oldest Babylonian charts do not even contain the complete zodiac constellation. And unlike the popular Western view, the Chinese interpreted their constellation charts with characters such as the rabbit, mouse, and dog" (The “Gospel In The Stars’ Theory, Christian Research Institute, Statement DG 205).

 

Concluding Remarks

A few concluding remarks are in order. In assessing the GIS theory, I want to avoid two extremes. It is neither rank heresy nor is it truth. In my opinion, it is a false teaching that serves no purpose to the kingdom of God, but rather is a faddish distraction from sound teaching. This teaching (GIS) fits into the category of what Christian Research Institute President Hank Hanegraaff calls "Magic Apologetics," and Hanegraaff is right to condemn it. I do not agree that GIS is a version of "Christian Astrology." Dr. Kennedy and other proponents have painstakingly condemned pagan astrology, but believe that GIS is rightly classified as a form of "revelational truth," rather than pagan astrology.

 

I believe that GIS will eventually assume its rightful place on the trash heap of faddish false teaching in the church along with such bedfellows as the Y2K panic and the so-called Bible Code. Nonetheless, since GIS does not touch on an area involving essential Christian teaching, it is not fair to classify it as cultish or heretical.

 

 

Steve Lagoon, January 30, 2002