DO PLANETS RULE OUR LIVES?
by John D. Jess, "The Chapel of the Air"
The question "do planets rule our lives?" is not intended to be facetious.
Today a whopping 32 million Americans believe their lives are governed by the
position of the stars, according to a 1975 Gallup Poll, quoted in the January
23, 1976 Chicago Tribune.
Another interesting discovery was that eight out of ten Americans can name
their birth signs whether they believe in astrology or not.
Astrology, as currently practiced in the Western world, was organized by the
Greek astronomer Ptolemy, incorporating lore dating back to the Babylonians.
Other traces of the astrological chartmaking have been unearthed in a wide
variety of prehistoric cultures.
Are all charts interpreted the same? Definitely not - no more than all
emotional problems are interpreted the same by all branches of psychology.
Astrologer Ingrid Williams has said, "Brain waves and planets are both full of
electrical energy that needs to be explored scientifically. Scientists should
not laugh at astrology, they should explore it" After all, they laughed at
Louis Pasteur when he claimed that germs cause disease."
Well, some of us fail to see any analogy there! Perhaps at this point we
should try to analyze the contributing factors in the widespread following
astrology has today. It is estimated that 1200 out of the 1750 daily
newspapers carry an astrological column (1975 statistics). We may safely assume
that the percentage is higher today, for astrology is a multi-million dollar
industry. Hundreds of bookstores specialize in astrological and cultist
reading material. Thousands upon thousands of college and university students
seek astrological guidance in matters of career, marriage, and politics. Many
parents plan the birth of their children so they will be born under a
"favorable" astrological sign, despite the fact that the respected journal
"Psychology Today" noted not long ago that "It is simply a mistake to imagine
that the forces exerted by stars and planets at the moment of birth can in any
way shape our futures." St. Augustine, who lived 1,600 years ago, gave up
astrology when he learned that a wealthy landowner and a slave on his estate
had been born exactly at the same time!
Perhaps psychologists who've rejected astrology have done so, in part, because
in 1939 a group of Britains's leading astrologists predicted a war would not
come. When it did, they predicted it would end in a year!
Now I realize that any derogation of astrology is, to some minds, a very
unpopular position. Nevertheless, I intend to outline here some of the reasons
I reject the notion that the position of the planets has any bearing on our
present or future, some lucky guesses in the past by astrologers not
withstanding. It is up to the individual to weigh the arguments pro and con,
then make his personal decision on the basis of these controversies.
I see at least six basic flaws in the religion of astrology:
First: Discrepancies are built-in factors. Let me explain. Astronomers admit
that the zodiac (the belt containing the paths of the sun, moon, and principal
planets) has shifted an entire "house" during the past 2,000 years. This is to
say the sun no longer rises at 0 degrees of the constellation Aries; it's
moved to a new location as far as 7 degrees from Pices, which most certainly
throws off all astrological computations. They could, of course, compensate
for this in their figuring, but they don't and they haven't. This makes
astrology's theory untenable.
Second: Something astrologists will not admit is that the SUN, not the earth,
is the center of our planetary system. Copernicus debunked that erroneous idea
in the l6th century. Moreover, astrology simply hasn't caught up with the new
developments and probably never will, for the concept of a sun-centered solar
system deals a knockout blow to astrology.
Third: Astrology works on the premise that "it is difficult, if not
impossible, to chart the future of someone born near or above the latitude of
66 degrees. That means, very simply, that people born in, say, Finland or
Greenland or Alaska or Northern Canada have no future! (If they depend on
astrology). The reason for this is that In these areas it is impossible to
calculate precisely what constellation is rising above the horizon, and, of
course, without that knowledge astrology cannot function. I guess you would
have to say that from an astrologer's viewpoint, people in these areas of the
world were never born!
Fourth: There is the "twin" problem. According to astrological thinking, twins
born two minutes apart, their zodiacal sign the same, should be identical, and
identically influenced by the same planets and have the same hereditary
traits. However, twins born even minutes apart seldom have the same destiny.
Why not?
Fifth: There is the Extra Planet Problem. Let me explain. Centuries ago,
Mesopotamian priests based their astrological prognostications (which were
pagan, by the way) on only those constellations which could be observed by the
naked eye. They had no access to uncharted planets as we have today. Since
then, additional planets have been discovered such as Uranus, Neptune, and
Pluto. Imagine what complications astrologers encountered when these
discoveries were made!
It's interesting to note that many astrologers now conveniently blame the
influence of these planets for some of their monumental failures!
Sixth: There is a universal rejection among astrologers of the person of God.
Astrology preaches that planets possess a consciousness of their own. This is
both pagan and anti-God. Astrology, in its final analysis, teaches that the
solar system possesses a superconsciousnes that operates without God. That is,
in other words, a pantheistic philosophy in which God's power permeates
everything. Without question, the whole system shouts out its pagan
background!
It won't take long to explain why there is so much interest in astrology
today. People now, as never before, are vitally concerned with the future.
There is widespread fear and anxiety. There is confusion and fear, and the
formal religion fails to provide answers to the questions people are asking.
In Colossians 2:8 Paul wrote, "See to it that no one takes you captive through
hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human traditions and basic
principles of this world rather than on Christ." What a description of
astrology!
Astrologers tell us that our destiny is in the stars, that they determine our
fate. The Bible says man's personal decision determines his destiny!
Let me pose ten brief questions for our "starstruck" friends:
1. Why do only the constellations of the zodiac have an effect on man? There
are other constellations and stars of much greater magnitude.
2. Why haven't astrologers kept up with astronomy? Every astronomer knows the
zodiac which astrologers use has moved one entire sign.
3. Why doesn't astrological forecasting find support in statistical studies?
Example: a study of 2,000 famous painters and musicians proved this was NOT
the case!
4. Why don't astrologers recognize the problem of people born without a
horoscope?
5. How does one know which is the right astrology? In the Orient, different
symbols are used for the 12 signs and therefore have different meanings.
6. One researcher made up a completely bogus horoscope and sent it to numerous
people. Many wrote back and thanked him for his accuracy!
7. How do astrologers know what astral influence are good and which are bad?
8. Why is the hour of birth so important? Why not the hour of conception?
9. Why don't two individuals born at the same time and under the same sign
have the same destiny?
10. Why do astrologers claim astrology is a science When it is almost
universally rejected by scientists?
I leave you with these questions. You provide your own answers!
J.D.J.
RIGHT NOW: Why not put YOUR life in the hands of the One who MADE the stars?
Astrology is but one of the many occult practices which originated with the
"Father of Lies." We publish a whole packet of tracts on the occult, as well
as another on the science and the Bible controversy. Sent to anyone on a
freewill offering basis.
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