quade 4 #1 December 22, 2008 I was watching the Discovery Channel earlier tonight and there was a program on about the Star of Bethlehem. The program's goal was to find the scientific explanation; comet, planetary conjunction, super nova and try to be specific about the date on which it may have happened. Ok, I don't want to get into a very deep discussion here but let's just say that December 25th clearly was not the day Jesus was born. Sure, it's the day that's celebrated, but the date itself isn't in the Bible at all and actually was use to coincide with (more or less) the winter solstice in a (successful) attempt to wedge the Jesus birthing story into existing Pagan holidays. Ok . . . let's leave the discussion in that last paragraph alone for a minute. Does all of this just strike you as it did me that this is just a further attempt at linking science to religion in a "second half of the book" version of Creation Science? I mean, yeah, people have been trying to nail this bit of history down since Kepler, but I really don't understand why this type of program ends up on the Discovery Channel, which is normally very credible when it comes to science.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alge 0 #2 December 22, 2008 Quote[...] the Discovery Channel, which is normally very credible when it comes to science. Say what? The Discovery Channel has become quite un-scientific lately. Look at the mythbusters.. at least they try, but their "scientific methods" are dubious at best. The rest of Discovery is just bike building, car building and mindless infotainment. Maybe Discovery Science is a bit better, but I don't get that on my cable.. ): Anyway, regarding the topic. I think it's just some poor documentarist who's desperately trying to appeal to the average Joe. NatGeo does a lot of the same in their "Mysteries of the Bible" shit, trying to find Noahs Ark and what not. They usually got materials for 5 minutes and stretch it out to 30. .. But I don't really think there's a big creationist hidden agenda thing here. Just bad TV. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #3 December 22, 2008 Another example: The History Channel could easily be re-named The Third Reich Enthusiasts' Channel. Wouldn't have the same lilt to it, though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #4 December 22, 2008 Quote was watching the Discovery Channel earlier tonight and there was a program on about the Star of Bethlehem. The program's goal was to find the scientific explanation; comet, planetary conjunction, super nova and try to be specific about the date on which it may have happened. Does all of this just strike you as it did me that this is just a further attempt at linking science to religion in a "second half of the book" version of Creation Science? I mean, yeah, people have been trying to nail this bit of history down since Kepler, but I really don't understand why this type of program ends up on the Discovery Channel, which is normally very credible when it comes to science. It hadn't before you brought it up ... but it's an intellectually interesting speculation imo. Is there any other evidence of correlation? The 'nerd' in me finds archeological/astronomical/historical/paleotogical/geological attempts to explain incidents recorded in most religious/mythological texts interesting from Judeo-Christian Biblical to Gilgamesh to Bhagavad Gita to Native American creation stories. I had never thought of it from the perspective you suggest before. Interesting hypothesis. I don't have cable so can't comment on Discovery Channel programming. VR/Marg [Edit to add: p.s. what was the explanation put forth in the Discovery Channel program you watched?] Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
