When I first saw the subject of "astrotheology" there is a passage in
the Kitab-I-Iqan which came to mind. It talks about the Star of
Bethlehem and alludes to signs of the heavens heralding the birth of
Muhammad (saaws) but then also seems to say that the other
Manifestations had *visible signs* in the heavens associated with
their birth. Of course, "Thief in the night" also seems to take a
literal approach as well.
70
In like manner, when the hour of the Revelation of Jesus drew nigh, a
few of the Magi, aware that the star of Jesus had appeared in heaven,
sought and followed it, till they came unto the city which was the
seat of the Kingdom of Herod. The sway of his sovereignty in those
days embraced the whole of that land.
71
These Magi said: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we
have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him!" [48] When
they had searched, they found out that in Bethlehem, in the land of
Judea, the Child had been born. This was the sign that was manifested
in the visible heaven. As to the sign in the invisible heaven--the
heaven of divine knowledge and understanding-- it was Yahyá, son of
Zachariah, who gave unto the people the tidings of the Manifestation
of Jesus. Even as He hath revealed: "God announceth Yahyá to thee, who
shall bear witness unto the Word from God, and a great one and
chaste." [49] By the term "Word" is meant Jesus, Whose coming Yahyá
foretold. Moreover, in the heavenly Scriptures it is written: "John
the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying,
Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." [50] By John is
meant Yahyá.
72
Likewise, ere the beauty of Muhammad was unveiled, the signs of the
visible heaven were made manifest. As to the signs of the invisible
heaven, there appeared four men who successively announced unto the
people the joyful tidings of the rise of that divine Luminary.
Rúz-bih, later named Salmán, was honoured by being in their service.
As the end of one of these approached, he would send Rúz-bih unto the
other, until the fourth who, feeling his death to be nigh, addressed
Rúz-bih saying: "O Rúz-bih! when thou hast taken up my body and buried
it, go to Hijáz for there the Day-star of Muhammad will arise. Happy
art thou, for thou shalt behold His face!"
73
And now concerning this wondrous and most exalted Cause. Know thou
verily that many an astronomer hath announced the appearance of its
star in the visible heaven. Likewise, there appeared on earth Ahmad
and Kázim, [51] those twin resplendent lights--may God sanctify their
resting-place!
74
>From all that We have stated it hath become clear and manifest that
before the revelation of each of the Mirrors reflecting the divine
Essence, the signs heralding their advent must needs be revealed in
the visible heaven as well as in the invisible, wherein is the seat of
the sun of knowledge, of the moon of wisdom, and of the stars of
understanding and utterance. The sign of the invisible heaven must
needs be revealed in the person of that perfect man who, before each
Manifestation appeareth, educateth, and prepareth the souls of men for
the advent of the divine Luminary, the Light of the unity of God
amongst men.
On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 8:39 PM, Mark A. Foster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> We recently had a discussion on the Neoplatonic/Aristotelian language game
> (IMO) in the Baha'i texts. I wanted to raise the issue of the language game
> in texts of the Tanakh and the New Testament.
>
> A few years ago, I came across a perspective called, astrotheology. I had
> extended discussions with several people who hold to this perspective online
> and later reviewed some materials which one of them recommended to me.
>
> The premise of astrotheology is that the events reported in the Tanakh and,
> especially, the New Testament never took place. Instead, they are simple
> repetitions of a common mythos in the ancient world: a being who is born of
> a virgin and then resurrected.
>
> This video is long, but I would strongly recommend it:
>
> http://zeitgeistmovie.com/
>
> Clearly, I do not accept the premise of the film, which is that Jesus never
> lived, and the Gospels are simply a restatement of a frequently retold
> narrative. Nonetheless, I have wondered whether this "astrotheology" might
> not be, in part, the context within which the sacred histories of the Gospel
> were presented.
>
> --
> Regards, Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. * http://www.markfoster.net
> "... the modern challenge is how to live with uncertainty. The
> basic fault lines today are not between people with different
> beliefs but between people who hold these beliefs with an
> element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs with
> a pretnse of certitude." — Peter L.Berger, sociologist
>
>
>
>
>
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