We will now explore and clearly disprove the claim that the Bible borrowed from the beliefs of astrology. Many of the holidays we celebrate today were not observed by the church during the first three centuries after Christ. As late as 245 AD, church leaders condemned observing certain holidays we celebrate today. Christmas, for example, was not listed as one of the feasts and festivals celebrated in the church in the middle of the third century. This celebration was added sometime in the second half of the third century. One of the distinguished early church theologians, Origen, repudiated the idea of celebrating the birthday of Christ by saying that keeping it “is as if he were king Pharaoh” (Homily 8 on Leviticus). Passover was celebrated but it was not celebrated as Easter until much later in church history.
Before
going on I would like to state that I am not necessarily advocating that
Christians stop celebrating Easter and Christmas. I am going to show
historically that these were adopted from pagan rituals; however, it is up to
the reader to determine whether this fact violates their consciences. It is
strictly my personal opinion that this fact has little bearing on whether or
not we participate in a specific holiday. The reason is that we are so far
removed from pagan religions that we no longer put any meaning in the pagan
symbolism. If someone puts a wreath up, it is a pretty decoration, but has no
significance in worship. The Bible explains that there is a distinction in how
we view pagan practices in two passages in Corinthians. Look first at 1 Corinthians 8:4-8
4 As concerning therefore the
eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that
an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God
but one.
5 For though there be that are
called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords
many,)
6 But to us there is but one
God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
7 Howbeit there is not in
every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour
eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak
is defiled.
8 But meat commendeth us not to
God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we
the worse.
This passage is specifically addressing the issue that arose in the church concerning eating meat that had been offered to idols. The Corinthians lived in a pagan culture that was filled with idolatry. The problem that Paul is addressing is that some in the church were buying meat in the marketplace that had been used as a sacrifice to idols. Most likely this was discounted in price and some Christians were buying it. Other Christians were offended because it was used in a worship service to an idol. The church is being instructed that an idol is nothing more than an inanimate object and has no significance. Though they are called gods, they have no power to affect the Christian one way or another. It was up to the conscience of the Christian to determine whether they should eat or abstain from meats offered to idols.
When
it comes to participating in idolatry, the scriptures go on to explain that
idolatry is a direct violation of our faith. Look now at 1 Corinthians 10:19-21
19 What say I then? that the idol
is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
20 But I say, that the
things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God:
and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the
Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of
the table of devils.
The only distinction between these to events in 1 Corinthians is the act of participating in worship. A Christian cannot submit to idolatry or any type of worship that focuses on something other than God. The idol is nothing, but to bow to an idol or worship it is an act of bowing to demons or Satan. What the pagans do not realize is that they are not bowing to the idol, but to spirits of deception. A Christian who submits to deception is in conflict with God. This, of course, includes astrology. To put your trust in the stars or to draw direction for your life from them is an act of idolatry and is not compatible with the Christian faith.
Though the topic in these passages is specifically
addressing the eating of meat and the practice of idolatry, the principles
apply to the subject of holidays as well. Those who are weak in faith and
offended at the pagan roots should avoid violating their consciences. Some may
not be offended but choose not to observe holidays because it holds no real
Christian significance to them or has become so worldly that they feel it
detracts from the faith. Others may choose to celebrate these days. The problem
arises only when the day becomes an object of worship or the pagan practices
are used in worship. It is not the day, but our heart of worship that God
honors. Now consider Romans 14:5-7
5 One man esteemeth one
day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be
fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day,
regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the
Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he
giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and
giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself,
and no man dieth to himself.
So we can see that the Bible instructs us to be persuaded in
our own minds. You are not more faithful to God if you honor a holiday, nor are
you more faithful to God if you do not honor a specific day. All things are
done by faith. The same would hold true for the days we meet together. Some say
the Sabbath (which is Saturday) is the day for worship, and some say Sunday is
the day of worship for it is the day of Christ’s resurrection. The fact is that
the day is not the focus of worship, nor is there any specific day that must be
honored over another. The command is that we be careful not to forsake
assembling ourselves together for worship, encouragement, and doctrine[i].
We are also instructed not to judge or condemn those who choose to honor or not
honor a holiday. Look at Colossians 2:16-17
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to
come; but the body is of Christ.
Those who focused on these practices were still focused on the shadow of things to come which came to fruition in Christ. Those who were not focused on Christ and the word of God were caught up in the Law that pointed to our salvation. Even so, as the church departs from true biblical Christianity in the last days, the focus will be more on practices and rituals than on understanding doctrine and faith. People will again be focused on worshiping the things that foreshadowed and pointed to Christ rather than focusing on Christ and the instructions He gave.
It was necessary to address this beforehand so that the reader would not be driven to the conclusion that they were in idolatry if they celebrated Christmas or Easter. Irenaeus and Polycarp both honored the Passover celebration in the second century, but it was not yet integrated with the traditions of Easter. There was a non-divisive controversy over which day to celebrate. Irenaeus thought it should be celebrated on the 15th of Nissan according to the Old Testament Passover, but Polycarp honored it on the 14th of Nissan in honor of Christ’s crucifixion day. Polycarp was a disciple of John the apostle and chose to follow the traditions of the elders before him while others chose to honor the exact day of the Passover in Leviticus.
The early church did not refer to the Passover celebration as ‘Easter’. This title entered the church traditions sometime between the third and fourth centuries. The word Easter originates from the pagan goddess Eostre, but the traditions are a mixture of springtime pagan rituals. Easter eggs and Easter bunnies are symbols of fertility that were integrated into pagan practices and were believed to give women fertility. Integrating these pagan rituals into the church holidays was considered to be a missionary effort by the Catholic church that rose to power shortly after the Emperor Constantine created a state sanctioned church. Pope Gregory I gave the following instructions to missionaries in 601 AD concerning their effort to reach pagans:
"Because they were wont to sacrifice oxen to devils, some celebration should be given in exchange for this. [T]hey should celebrate a religious feast and worship God by their feasting, so that still keeping outward pleasures, they may more readily receive spiritual joys." Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, (quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica, 1961 edition).
Gregory I didn’t originate the practice of integrating pagan
rituals into church feasts, but his quote clearly shows that it was an accepted
practice in this church organization after the time of
Christmas began to be celebrated during the fifth century
and in AD 534, Christmas was officially recognized as a Catholic holiday. Merging
Christian theology with pagan rituals is very unbiblical, but has been a
problem as far back as
It is beneficial for the Christian to be aware of the pagan
origin of these holidays so that when this is introduced as evidence against
the Bible, we will be able to explain that their origins do not come from the
Bible and do not challenge our faith in Christ. As mankind departs from the
word and loses focus on what it truly means to walk by faith, the world and
doctrines contrary to the word always come in. Throughout history when the
church became self-focused rather than scripture-focused, the effort became man
driven and culturally influenced. When man is not walking by faith, the culture
influences the church rather than the church influencing the culture. This has
been true for the church since the time of the apostles and it was true in
One
of the criticisms against the Bible is the presence of paganism among the
Jewish culture in the past. It is claimed that the early Jews borrowed pagan
religious beliefs and integrated them into the Old Testament scriptures. There
are indeed Hebrew traditions integrated in some zodiac symbols more than a
thousand years before Christ, but this should not be surprising for the
scriptures attest to this fact. Contrary to the claims that the Bible borrowed
from the zodiac, it was the Jews who departed from God that borrowed from the
Bible and brought religious symbols to the zodiac. However, this does not in
any way compromise the scripture nor is astrology compatible with scripture.
Look at Ezekiel 8:15-18
15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou
seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see
greater abominations than these.
16 And he brought me into the inner
court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD,
between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with
their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and
they worshipped the sun toward the east.
17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou
seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of
18 Therefore will I also deal in
fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry
in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Anyone who has taken the time to read the Old Testament has
seen that
The time of
Visitors can tour the
There was a time when the zodiac held a place in the
synagogue but it was not so from the beginning when God called
After
17 Seest thou not what
they do in the cities of
18 The children gather wood, and
the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make
cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods,
that they may provoke me to anger.
After the fall of
18 But since we left off
to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto
her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and
by the famine.
19 And when we burned incense to
the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her
cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths,
and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we
have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink
offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform
your vows.
26 Therefore hear ye the word of
the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my
great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of
any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.
The queen of heaven was a pagan goddess that the people worshipped, burned incense to, and prayed to. They credited this goddess with being their redemptress and believed that offending her brought judgment. The Lord showed that He was their judge but they refused to turn to worship Him only; therefore, He proclaimed that they were no longer His people and had no right to claim Him as their God. There is only one ruler in heaven for the Lord states that He alone is our Redeemer and He will not share His glory with another[vii]. Any prayers offered to the queen of heaven or any other god or goddess is paganism and a rejection of the word of the Lord.
So through the account given in scripture it should not be surprising to see Jewish influences in paganism. Let’s now go back and look at some of the claims where Bible critics attempt to connect the Bible to astrology.
The narrator of Zeitgeist states that the virgin Mary came
from the zodiac symbol of Virgo without any reference as to where this
assumption originated. The narrator then claims that Virgo is often called the
‘house of bread’. He then explains that
The problem is that the movie makes claims that are from
complete distortions and fabricated evidence. First, there is no reasonable
evidence that connects Mary to Virgo other than the imaginations of those
making this claim. There are many virgin goddesses throughout pagan history so
having Virgo in the zodiac should not be a shock. There is also no evidence
that Virgo is ever called the ‘house of bread’ and the word ‘
Some zodiac wheels contain the word ‘Bethulah’. In Hebrew
‘Beth’ means ‘house’ and ‘ulah’ means ‘place of pure water’. The movie also
stated that Mary was called ‘
Bible critics attempt to draw a parallel between Jesus and
the zodiac by claiming that the sun travels around the twelve constellations
and Jesus traveled with twelve apostles. The twelve apostles relate directly to
the twelve tribes of
In the Zeitgeist movie it is falsely claimed that the shorthand symbol for the zodiac was a cross with a circle in the middle. They then show various pictures of church steeples with circles in the center of the cross. This is a false statement based on half-truths. Many zodiacs have the sun with four half-moons that indicate the four directions of North, South, East and West. Some do not draw these half-moons but instead use a straight line to indicate each direction. The movie inaccurately depicts this as a cross with a circle in the center, but the zodiac is a circle with four even lines dividing the twelve symbols into four groups of three constellations with the lines pointing to the four directions on a compass. Critics show crosses containing a circle, but the zodiac is a circle containing a compass.
The narrator of Zeitgeist refers to ‘the cross of the zodiac’ and gives the impression that this is a term used in astrology. This is misleading for astrologers did not refer to this as a cross but call it the wheel of the zodiac or the wheel of fortune. The movie also presents a modern picture of the zodiac written with English words. Since English did not exist as a language in antiquity, this is a false impression, but also reveals that the makers of this movie have used modern zodiacs and falsely implied that these are the same as those of antiquity. The modern face of astrology is quite different than that of ancient times. Even ancient zodiac symbols vary greatly depending on which region of civilization you examine.
The movie also draws parallels between the word ‘sun’ and the title ‘son’ such as Son of God. This is another attempt to mislead for although these two words sound phonetically similar in English, they are not similar in the languages that would have been used in antiquity. Changing one vowel will not transform the word into son in any of the languages presented in the movie or in any ancient language that worshiped using the zodiac. In Hebrew, son would be ‘ben’ or ‘bar’ while ‘sun’ is ‘shemesh’. In Greek, son is ‘huios’ but sun is ‘Helios’. In Latin son is ‘fili’ but sun is ‘sol’. Knowing this should clarify that the ancient worship of the sun cannot be mistaken as the coming of the Son of God. English did not exist during this time so there is no phonetic coalition between the words ‘sun’ and ‘son’ in any language that would have been used prior to the rise of English as a language.
This portion of the claim that the Bible borrowed from the zodiac provides the greatest amount of contradictions than any other argument they present. Bible critics address Jesus’ statement, “I will be with you until the end of the world” by pointing out that the word ‘world’ is the Greek word ‘aion’ (or aeon). The word ‘aion’ means age. The word ‘aion’ can be translated as ‘age’, but the connection made to astrology is quite a stretch to say the least. It is claimed without any justification that Jesus was referring to the Precession of the Equinoxes. The Precession of the Equinoxes is a period of time where the sunrise of the Spring Equinox occurs in a different sign of the zodiac. This holds a significant meaning in astrology and is often called ‘the great year’. This event occurs every 2,150 years. Each of these events are referred to as a new age; hence the significance of the song ‘This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius’ that was popular in the 1970’s.
According to this theory, Moses ushered in the age of Aries
when taking the children of
This theory is pushed heavily in the Zeitgeist movie. The first major contradiction of this series of claims is the dates. According to the narrator of Zeitgeist, Moses ushered in the age of Aries and Jesus ushered in the age of Pices. According to Astrology, the Age of Aries is between 2308 BC and 148 BC. The Exodus took place between 1495 BC and 1452 BC (including 40 years of wandering). This is nearly a thousand years off from the claim that Moses ushered in the age of Aries, so the makers of this movie have altered the dates to fit their point of view.
As you should already be postulating, if the age of Aries ended in 148 BC, the Age of Pices had to begin at that time. Since Jesus is believed to be born sometime between 3 and 4 AD, He would have been 144 years too late to bring the world into the age of Pices. It is also ironic that this theory claims that God was angry for honoring the age of Taurus during the time when they should have been honoring Aries, but it is then claimed that Jesus instructed His disciples to honor the Age of Aquarius more than two thousand years before its time.
The
truth is that the days and times of astrology do not coincide with the Bible
and I believe this is by God’s foreknowledge and plan. All the major events of
the Bible fall out of line with the dates honored by pagan religions so that
His people would not get caught up in these practices. The Bible warns that to
honor dates and times takes the Christian outside of biblical Christianity.
Look at Galatians 4:9-11
9 But now, after that ye have known
God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly
elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and
times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have
bestowed upon you labour in vain.
When the Galatians were caught up in the meaningless things of the world religions, the apostles feared for the faith of that church. Those who turn their worship into days, months, times and years are practicing a vain religion that is no longer by faith. By faith I mean the faith that comes from God. We can have faith in astrology or any other pagan practice, but it is vain and separates us from the Lord. Faith is given by God through His word and we are called to keep ourselves in the will of God through obedience. Obeying the word is an act of faith.
This will be the last claim that the Bible borrowed from paganism that we will examine. Many atheists try to eliminate Christianity by claiming that Jesus never existed. This is also stressed heavily in the Zeitgeist movie and to back this claim it is stated that there is not one historian who ever mentioned Jesus. Knowing that Christ is mentioned by several historians, the narrator attempts to disqualify these leaders by stating that they never used the name ‘Jesus’ but only referred to someone called ‘Christ’. The movie then claims that Christ is a title meaning anointed but falsely claims that it could not refer to an individual. Pliny the Younger and Josephus are called out specifically by the narrator since they pose the most difficulty for this assumption. Pliny’s account is disqualified because he uses the name ‘Christ’ and Joseph is claimed to be a proven fraud.
Let us first look at the account of Pliny the Younger who was a Roman governor. In his statement where he speaks of Christ, he is addressing the resistance of Christians. In the Roman culture during the birth of the church, pagan religions were rampant. The Romans allowed for the worship of any god as long as Caesar was honored as the Lord of all. The Christians could not honor the Emperor over Jesus nor would they worship him as a god. Pliny the Younger’s writings testify that Christians were sent off to be executed for their “stubbornness and unshakable obstinacy that ought not to go unpunished.” He then stated that “they [Christians] would not recant and they worshipped and honored Christ as if he were a god”.
Now are we to believe that the Christians were being executed for worshipping Christ as a god, but this is not referring to the Christ that Christians worship? The absurdity of this claim would be comical if it were not for the fact that so many people believe this claim simply because it is presented as a documentary. The only person Christians have ever regarded as Christ is Jesus so it is fallacious to attempt to deny that the testimonies found in Roman historical documents are not valid as evidence.
The claim that Josephus is a proven fraud is also a
dishonest attempt to force a false claim as truth. The truth is that Josephus
is regarded as a valid historical resource. He presents Jewish history as well
as providing a valuable eyewitness account of the fall of
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as had a veneration for truth. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles: - he was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had spoken of these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him: thus the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Of this account, the only things in dispute are the references that refer to His divinity. If you read this account, it began as an explanation of the works of Pilate and Jesus is spoken of since his trial under Pilate was a very significant event in history. Some believe that phrases like, “if it be lawful to call him a man”, and “he was the Christ” were added later. When you read this account, Josephus never identifies himself with Christianity but refers to them as a separate group. There is no evidence that Josephus ever accepted Jesus as the Christ; however, he clearly verifies that the Christians followed Jesus as the Christ and acknowledges that He was known as a teacher, known for His works, and that He was condemned under Pilate. He acknowledges the Christians were called after Jesus’ name. This account fits into the timeline of history he gave as does the death of the Lord’s brother, James which Josephus also writes about a bit later in this volume. Even if someone removes the references to His divinity, it still cannot be denied that Josephus validates the history of Jesus. The works of Josephus mentioning Jesus are quoted by Origen in 230 AD, Eusebius in AD 324, and Ambrose in 360 AD. This serves to validate their acceptance of this historian within 130 years after his death.
The Jewish Talmud is also a credible historical testimony that speaks of Jesus even though it is quite a hostile witness. The Talmud is the central text of mainstream Judaism and contains the records of rabbinic discussions that pertain to the Jewish law, customs and history. While the Talmud is very hostile to Jesus, it serves as one of the most important testimonies to His life outside of the Bible. Those hostile to Christ would have no motivation to give any credibility to Him, but this historical archive has validated the scriptures in many ways. Consider this quote from the Talmud:
On Passover Eve they hanged Jesus
of Nazareth. He practiced sorcery, incited and led
Even though the Jews who opposed Jesus claimed His miracles
were sorcery and leading
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
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