Astrology

Sometimes, I learn about an aspect of the world which astounds me to the extent that I feel compelled to share. That was the feeling that I experienced recently when I read a news story which, in a nutshell, said that the majority of young Americans believe in astrology. Actually, it is worse than that – they believe that astrology has a basis in science!

I think that this needs some careful thought …

Astrology is based on noting the configuration of the stars and planets at the time of someone’s birth and using that information to say things about their character. The movements of the heavenly bodies are then used to predict the person’s future. It is, of course, just so much mumbo jumbo. It was invented thousands of years ago at a time when, for example, they had no idea about the nature of stars and planets [even the word “planet” comes from the Greek for “wandering star”].

So, how come a large number of people from [arguably] the most technologically advanced country on Earth believe in this? There is no recognized scientific theory that suggests prediction of the future is possible. There is a very sketchy hypothosis, that I wrote about previously, which could suggest that the date and time of conception might have some effect on an individual’s brain development, but that is a long way from the claims of astrology fans.

Is there anything in the Bible about astrology? In a country that claims to be Christian, this should be the first point of reference. I do not believe that the topic is covered, even though there are astronomers who followed a moving star [that was probably a comet].

I am so shocked that rational people cling on to stuff like this. Maybe someone can explain to me how this can happen. And, BTW, do not get me started on Creationism …