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According to one professional astrologer, R. Dongal Pagon [almost an appropriate name], a few years ago there were fifty million Americans “very much involved in astrology” and over eighty percent of our daily newspapers carried a horoscope. According to Webster, astrology is “The divination of the supposed influences of the stars upon human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects.” Simply put, astrology (not to be confused with astronomy, the scientific study of space) holds that the stars influence and control human thoughts and actions. Millions of people will hardly get out of bed each day (and will surely not begin the day or make any weighty decisions) without consulting their horoscope. Amazingly, some Christians are caught up in this folly.
Actually, astrology is a revived pagan religion that originated five millennia ago in Mesopotamia. Its originators worshiped the sun, moon, and stars as gods who controlled human behavior and destiny. Tracking the stars was (is) also thought to give clues to the future (a la the late Jeane Dixon). It is a system of idolatry that pays more reverence to the unintelligent creation than to the Creator. Even worse are its deterministic, fatalistic implications. If its premise is true, then it follows that whatever one does was predetermined and one has no control over it. We are thus simultaneously robbed of our free will and are rendered completely irresponsible for anything we may do.
If you think I am fighting a “straw man” that astrologers would not defend, read on. A few years ago there was a case in the Florida courts in which the defense argued that the accused had no control whatsoever over his behavior. The defendant, Mark Denton was accused of rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. His attorney, Jack Nageley, called three astrologers to the stand to testify that the stars were in such a position as to make Denton powerless to resist the crimes which he admitted committing. Nageley’s imaginative strategy has been labeled the “astrology defense.” Fortunately, it did not fool the jury.
No, astrology is not an innocent pastime or game. It repudiates the Word of God for our guidance and the free will of men, which is a gift from God. It takes one downward and backward into superstition, blind ignorance, and idolatrous paganism. No wonder 186 of the world’s foremost scientists signed a statement a several years ago utterly denying its validity. Also, no wonder God harshly condemns it (Isa. 47:12–15; Acts 8:9–11; 13:8–11; Gal. 5:19–21; et al.). Astrology can have no place in the life of God’s people.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, May 6, 2007, of which I was editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
