In our post-Christendom Western world, astrology has become popular, as alternative and do-it-yourself spiritualities begin to fill the vacuum left by the demise of Christian adherence. Throughout church history, Christian apologists have responded to astrology in three different ways: “critical rejection,” “qualified embrace,” and “apologetic engagement.” The first part of this discussion reviews these different responses. From that foundation, the remainder of the discussion considers how an incarnational, missiological approach can be applied through dialogue and apologetic engagement with those who adhere to astrology. A brief case study profiles how the authors have interacted with devotees in the context of a booth ministry within alternate spiritual festivals. The dynamics of this critical contextual approach warrants some brief reflections. Finally, using Van Baalen's maxim about the “unpaid bills of the church,” the discussion concludes by pondering what astrology says back to the Church about deficiencies in our present theology and praxis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AshleyTimothy R.1993The Book of Numbers. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
2.
BartonTamsyn1994Ancient Astrology. London and New York: Routledge.
3.
BellahRobert N.1976“Religious Consciousness and the Crisis in Modernity.” In The New Religious Consciousness. Edited by GlockCharles Y.BellahRobert N., 333–352. Berkeley: University of California Press.
4.
BullingerE. W.1967 [1893] The Witness of the Stars. Grand Rapids: Kregel.
5.
BurrowsEric1938The Oracles of Jacob and Balaam. Edited by SutcliffeEdmund F.. London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne.
6.
CalvinJohn1983“A Warning Against Judiciary Astrology And Other Prevalent Curiosities.”PotterMary, trans. Calvin Theological Journal18: 157–189.
7.
CarotiStefano1986“Melanchthon's Astrology.” In ‘Astrologi hallucinati’: Stars and the End of the World in Luther's Time.ZambelliPaola, ed. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter.
8.
CharlesworthJames H.1977“Jewish Astrology in the Talmud, Pseudepigrapha, The Dead Sea Scrolls, and Early Palestinian Synagogues.”Harvard Theological Review70 (3/4): 183–200.
9.
ChevalierJacques M.1997Postmodern Revelation: Signs of Astrology and The Apocalypse. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
10.
ClarkDavid K.1993Dialogical Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker.
11.
CliffordRossJohnsonPhilip2003Jesus and the Gods of the New Age. Colorado: Victor.
12.
CryerFrederick H.1994Divination in ancient Israel and its Near Eastern Environment: A Socio-Historical Investigation. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
13.
CurryPatrick1989Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
14.
DaviesHorton1961The Challenge of the Sects. Philadelphia: Westminster.
15.
DixonC. Scott1998“Popular Astrology and Lutheran Propaganda in Reformation Germany.”History84: 403–418.
16.
DraneJohn1999What is the New Age Still Saying to the Church?London: Marshall Pickering.
17.
ElertWerner1962The Structure of Lutheranism. Translated by HansenWalter A.. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
18.
FaivreAntoine1994Access to Western Esotericism. New York: State University of New York Press.
19.
FerrariLeo C.1973“Astronomy and Augustine's Break with the Manichees.”Revue des Études Augustiniennes19 (1/2): 263–276.
20.
FieldJ. V.1984“A Lutheran Astrologer: Johannes Kepler.”Archive for History of Exact Sciences31 (3): 190–272.
21.
FranceR. T.1981“Scripture, Tradition and History in the Infancy Narratives of Matthew.” In Gospel Perspectives: Studies of History and Tradition in the Four Gospels. Vol. 2. FranceR. T.WenhamDavid, eds. Pp. 239–266. Sheffield: JSOT Press.
22.
GnuseRobert1990“The Jewish Dream Interpreter in a Foreign Court: The Recurring Use of a Theme in Jewish Literature.”Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha7: 29–53.
23.
GrabbeLester L.1995Priests, Prophets, Diviners, Sages: A Socio-Historical Study of Religious Specialists in Ancient Israel. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International.
24.
HexhamIrvingRostStephenMoreheadJohn W., eds. 2004Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach. Grand Rapids: Kregel.
25.
HiebertPaul G.1994Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues. Grand Rapids: Baker.
26.
HildebrandtWilf1995An Old Testament Theology of the Spirit of God. Peabody: Hendrickson.
27.
JeanesGordon P.1994The Day Has Come! Easter and baptism in Zeno of Verona. Collegeville: Liturgical Press.
28.
JohanssonLars1999“Mystical Knowledge, New Age, and Missiology.” In To Stake A Claim: Mission and the Western Crisis of Knowledge. Edited by KirkJ. AndrewVanhoozerKevin J., 172–204. Maryknoll: Orbis.
29.
JohnsonPhilip2000“The Aquarian Age and Apologetics.”Lutheran Theological Journal34 (2): 51–60.
30.
JohnsonPhilip2004“Discipling New Age and Do-It-Yourself Seekers Through Booth Ministries.” In Encountering New Religious Movements. A Holistic Evangelical Approach.HexhamIrving, eds. Pp. 227–242. Grand Rapids: Kregel.
31.
JohnsonPhilipPayneSimeon2004“Evangelical Countercult Apologists versus Astrology: An Unresolved Conundrum.”Australian Religion Studies Review17 (2): 73–97.
32.
KusukawaSachiko1994The Transformation of Natural Philosophy: The Case of Philip Melanchthon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
33.
LaistnerM. L. W.1941“The Western Church and Astrology During the Early Middle Ages.”Harvard Theological Review34 (4): 251–275.
34.
LewisJames R.2004“Astrology.” In New Religions — a Guide. Edited by PartridgeChristopher, 337–339. Oxford: Lion/New York: Oxford University Press.
35.
MadsenOle Skjerbæk2003“Theology in Dialogue with New Age or the Neospiritual Milieu.” In Theology and the Religions: A Dialogue, Edited by MortensenViggo, 257–286. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
36.
MalinaBruce J.1995On the Genre and Message of Revelation: Star Visions and Sky Journeys. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson.
37.
MalinaBruce J.PilchJohn J.2000Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.
38.
MansallCordelia1991Discover Astrology: Understanding The Art of Natal Interpretation. London: Aquarian.
39.
MaternusFirmicus1970The Error of the Pagan Religions. Ancient Christian Writers. ForbesClarence A., trans. New York/Ramsey, NJ: Newman Press.
40.
MaternusFirmicus2003Matheseos Libri VIII. translated by BramJean Rhys. Abingdon MD: Astrology Classics.
41.
MethuenCharlotte1996“The Role of the Heavens in the Thought of Philip Melanchthon.”Journal of the History of Ideas57: 385–403.
42.
MontgomeryJohn Warwick1973aCross and Crucible: Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654) Phoenix of the Theologians.Vol. 1. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
43.
MontgomeryJohn Warwick1973bPrincipalities and Powers. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship.
44.
MoreheadJohn W.2004“Where Do We Go From Here? Transforming Evangelical Responses to New Religions.” In Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach.HexhamIrvingRostStephenMoreheadJohn W., eds. Pp. 279–304. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel.
45.
NelsonNicolas H.1976“Astrology, Hudibras, and the Puritans.”Journal of the History of Ideas.37 (3): 521–536.
46.
NetlandHarold2001Encountering Religious Pluralism. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.
47.
PartridgeChristopher2004The Re-Enchantment of the West.Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.
48.
PopeMarvin H.1973Job. Anchor Bible. Garden City, New York: Doubleday.
49.
PossamaïAdam2005Religion and Popular Culture: A Hyper-Real Testament. Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang.
50.
PreusRobert D.1971The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism. Vol. 2: God and His Creation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
51.
ProbesChristine McCall1974“Calvin on Astrology.”Westminster Theological Journal37 (1): 24–33.
52.
PutnamRobert D.2001Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.
53.
RollestonFrances2001 [1865] Mazzaroth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.
54.
RuscheHarry1969“Prophecies and Propaganda, 1641 to 1651.”The English Historical Review.84 (333): 752–770.
55.
ScottAlan B.1992Origen and the life of the stars: a history of an idea. Oxford: Clarendon Press/New York: Oxford University Press.
56.
SeissJoseph A.1972 [1882] The Gospel in the Stars. Grand Rapids: Kregel.
57.
ShenkWilbert R.1999Changing Frontiers in Mission. New York: Orbis.
58.
StackhouseJohn G.2002Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith for Today.Oxford University Press, Oxford.
59.
StanderH. F.1989The Starhymn in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians (19:2–3). Vigiliae Christianae43: 209–214.
60.
StarkRodney2006“Exploring Spirituality and Unchurched Religions in America, Sweden, and Japan.”Journal of Contemporary Religion.20 (1): 3–23.
61.
StrohmerCharles2003“Is There a Christian Zodiac, A Gospel in the Stars?”Christian Research Journal22 (4): 22–25 and 40–44.
62.
Van BaalenJan Karel1962The Chaos of Cults: A Study in Present-Day Isms.4th revised and enlarged edition. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing.
63.
WalaskayPaul W.1977“Ignatius of Antioch: The Synthesis of Astral Mysticism, Rational Theology, and Christian Witness.”Religion in Life48: 309–322.
64.
WalshamAlexandra1998“Frantick Hacket: Prophecy, Sorcery, Insanity, and the Elizabethan Puritan Movement.”The Historical Journal41 (1): 27–66.
65.
WitheringtonBen1999Jesus the Seer: The Progress of Prophecy. Peabody: Hendrickson.
66.
YamauchiEdwin M.1989“The Episode of the Magi.” In Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan.VardamanJerryYamauchiEdwin M., eds. Pp. 15–39. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
67.
YongAmos2003Beyond the Impasse: A Pneumatological Theology of Religions. Grand Rapids: Baker.
