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"...The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
I Timothy 3:15
Astrology:
Do the Stars Run Lives or Ruin Them?
K. David Oldfield
Whether you know or really care the Age of Aquarius is upon us. It wasn’t a slow curtain or misty fog that slowly descended, but rather it came as an explosion. What is the Age of Aquarius? It’s our current Astrological period; a period of about 2,200 years which began back in 1904 or 1936 or 1962 depending on which Astrologer to whom you speak. It’s a phenomenon which has swept the world; a world that boasts of science and yet bows before a shrine of anti-science.
Statistics tell us that there are ten million devoted followers of Astrology in the United States, and there are another 40 million who dabble in it. Two thirds of the English read the Astrology columns along with 53% of the French and 63% of the Germans. Astrological columns can be found in more than 1,200 newspapers in North America as compared to Billy Graham’s column (Christianity’s largest) which can be found in only 200.
It is possible to buy horoscopes in department stores, drug stores, bus and train stations. Over two hundred college campuses have 24 hour horoscope computer services. There are 1,200 full time Astrologers in the United States along with 175,000 part-timers; this must be compared to the 40,000 Southern Baptist ministers there. Talk show addicts hear hundreds of Astrologers. Kids can buy Astrology coloring books. Songs glorify it. It can even be found in the comic strips.
"Astrology" comes from two Greek words: "astra," meaning "star" and "logos" meaning "word." "Astrology" refers to "the words of the stars." Its history can be traced back to Babel. Daniel had to fight it in Babylon. The Greeks and Romans had it. Its had its days of popularity and decline, but it has been around for a long time.
And how does it work? Briefly, the world is at the center of a huge ball with twelve quadrants surrounding it. The sun, moon, and planets travel through each of these quadrants during the year, and the relationship of each of them to the place where you were born is supposed to have some bearing on your life and characteristics. The problem is that this theory is not consistent with true Science.
In this article we point you to three things: Why, How, and What. Why all the interest? How can Astrology ignore so many inconsistencies? What does the Bible say?
What Brought On All This Interest?
In a scientific age it is amazing that an anti-science should be able to grasp such a foothold. How could this happen?
This is a day and age of widespread fear and anxiety. We have wars and rumors of wars, neutron bombs and killer satellites. Our economy appears ready to collapse from inflation and impossible interest rates. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear. When the world reflects the peace the Saviour offers, where else can it turn?
A similar phenomenon took place in Europe in the seventeenth century with growth of cults, superstition, soothsaying and astrology.
This is a day of confusion and disinterest. Morality seems to be a thing of the past. The family and the home are dying. Yet there are needs for something to replace these. Why not try Astrology?
Then there is the fact that organized religion no longer tries to reach man’s real needs. It is playing games – theologically and practically. "God is dead." "The Bible is a myth." "Let’s have a nude play in the sanctuary." "Let’s ordain homosexual priests."
This is a day when our minds are being forced to look to the stars with so many satellites, space shuttles and space stations. The newspapers carry close-up pictures of Saturn and Jupiter. "Maybe there is something more to all this."
This is an age when we all wear numbers rather than names. Computers tell us what to do and when to do it. A little black box in the living room robs us of our ability to think. We have been depersonalized, and Astrology fits well into that pattern.
Our natural curiosity has contributed to the cause.
And then astrology has at least the aura of scientific verbosity. It talks of stars and constellations with all their fancy names. It speaks of trigonometric angles and fancy trajectories. Whew! Yet, the fact is that Astrology has the same relationship to Astronomy and science that Monopoly has to high finance.
Lastly, another factor in the growth of this cult is the fact that it relieves man of personal responsibility. How many men have been murdered and someone has blamed it on the planets or stars? "I’m depressed today because Mars is in such and such a quadrant." "I’m angry." "I’m happy because of such and such a star."
It matters little why people get involved; Astrology is asinine and spiritually dangerous.
Mr. Astrologer, How Can You Ignore the Problems of Your System?
How is it that twins born at the same place and time differ so greatly in temperament, vocation and eventual death?
How come different Astrologers recommend different things to the same people on the same day? Virgos were told by Carrol Righter to stay home, while Snyder Omar told them to go out.
Libras were told by Francis Drake to plan the day as they wished, but Jeane Dixon said that all personal plans would fail that day. Aquarians were told by Drake to follow carefully their plans for the day, while Omar said, "Lay low."
Who are we to believe?
Why are newspaper horoscopes so vague? The "Farmer’s Almanac" is often far more specific and just as accurate, but it is not worshipped.
How come, if a person’s exact time and place of birth is important, newspapers can predict fortunes months ahead without knowledge of these facts?
Why is it that only twelve constellations affect us, while billions do not?
How come the discovery of Pluto and Uranus hasn’t upset the Astrological charts?
Why hasn’t Astrology accounted for the gradual shift in the lines of the poles? Astrologers tell us that people born in October are Libras, but scientists know that they are actually Virgos.
Why don’t facts match predictions? We are told that Libras are supposed to be the more artistic, yet the statistics don’t bear this out.
And what about people born close to the earth’s poles without planet or sign visible?
Why do Astrologers in India and China use different signs than those in the West?
How do you know which influences are bad and good? Mars is supposed to be bad, but why?
Why is the hour of birth more important than the hour of conception when life actually begins?
Why is it that most true scientists repudiate Astrology?
What Does God Have to Say?
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee." (Deut. 18:10-12). An observer of times is a reference to Astrology. It is an abomination, something worthy of God’s judgment.
"And he (King Josiah) put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.....And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might..." (II King 23:5,25). A part of Astrology in days gone by was the actual worship of the heavenly bodies; they go hand in hand.
Israel... "Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it." Astrologers and their followers are fodder for hell. They cannot practice their heathen art and be children of God at the same time. Astrology must be repented of and forsaken.
"Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them." (Jer. 10:1-2). Astrology is heathen; so says the Lord.
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets..." Astrology cannot answer the eternal questions of man. For these we need the Lord and His Word.
The problems of Astrology are serious. Its roots are found in the basest forms of heathenism. Its god is pantheism: the universe becomes the controlling influence of man. Men must bow before it.
Astrology denies the personality of a loving and holy God. Thus it reflects His Word.
It rids men of responsibility to believe on the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It denies the responsibility that your have to repent of your sins before God. It denies the necessity of salvation from sin and thus condemns souls to an eternal hell.
And it is also the doorway to the occult, yes, even demon possession.
Astrology is helping turn man’s mind from the true God. It blinds us, binds us, and destroys us. It is a deadly evil. If you are not a Christian flee from it to the Saviour. If you are a child of the King avoid all appearance of evil. Don’t laugh at it or dabble in it, but rather help to spread the truth and warning about it.