The Winter Solstice and why Christmas is on Dec 25

Being an Astronomy teacher and a winter solstice baby, I enjoy solstices and equinoxes, but the winter solstice is my favorite. I have taught some 2000 students about these days over the last 8 years. I just did a rough count (not going back to look at resumes) and that's what I came up with. My dad mentioned that, in his 20 years of teaching, he's had many fewer students than I have in 8. Anyway, back to astronomy and ancient cultures.

The word solstice means 'sun stands still' from Latin - sol = sun and sistere = to stand still (thanks for this root word from wikipedia). If you mark where the sun rises every day and/or where it sets every day (and different cultures did one or the other or both), you will notice that the sun does not rise or set in exactly the same place every day. Today many people do not realize how much farther north the sun rises and sets in summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) as compared to the winter (in the NH) where it sets south of west (and rises south of east). (I'll just talk about the sun setting from now on, but the same principles apply to the sun rising. Also, I'm going to assume we're in the Northern Hemisphere, since everyone I know lives there, but the seasons are the opposite times of year in the Southern Hemisphere.)

As you get towards the winter solstice, Dec 21 or 22, the sun seems to slow down in its path towards the south. What I mean by that is that if you marked the position of the sunset every night from the autumnal equinox (Sept 20, 21, or 22, depending) through the winter solstice, you would notice that the sun sets farther south every night, but that the distance between the positions gets smaller and smaller. Finally, on the solstice, the sun seems to set in the same place for several days in a row - it is standing still. On about December 25, a careful observer will be able to notice that the sun has started moving north again from its 'winter house'. This is a reason for celebration for those who worship the sun as a god. (I would love to learn more about modern celebrations of this pagan holiday.) The ancient belief was that sun was happy with the people and had decided to return to the north. This meant that there would eventually be a thaw and springtime would come again. Without the thaw, there would not be a chance for planting again and the people would die. (Clearly they didn't live in CA, because people living in CA would not have died if spring never came again.)

The Christian celebration of Jesus' birth on December 25 probably came about as one of the two following scenarios: 1) early Christians, fearing persecution or death from being found out, celebrated quietly while the surrounding pagans celebrated loudly and they blended in or 2) early Christians wanted to convert pagans to worshiping Jesus from worshiping the sun, so they convinced them to worship the Son of God instead of the Sun on this day. In any case, there is NO archeological evidence that Jesus was born on Dec 25, or even in winter at all. The shepherds certainly would not have been standing out in a field with their flocks in freezing weather.

The 'star' that is glorified in modern Christmas carols, some going so far as to say that it shone day and night and told individuals about Jesus' coming, was probably not a single 'star', but a conjunction of planets gathering in the constellation of 'the people.' The ancient Israelites, like many peoples, had a set of the signs of the zodiac (groupings of stars that the sun and planets travel through). Having more than one planet in a single constellation at a time is noteworthy. Having two or three together in the sign of the people was important enough that even the 'wise men,' probably astrologers from Persia, would have recognized the significance. If there was a 'star' that shone day and night, King Herod, even being a bit slow, would have been able to find it on his own and would not have had to consult with the foreign astrologers (see Mark 2 in the Bible). No conjunctions have been found (using software that can replicate the motion of the planets backwards and forwards for thousands of years) that occurred in the wintertime, or in 1 BC. The probable dates for Jesus' birth are between 4 AD and 6 BC, probably in the springtime. Here's one article from earlier this month saying that it was June 17, 2 BC: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1093053/Cancel-Christmas--Jesus-born-June-17-say-scientists.html.

That's enough for today. I'll do a piece on equinoxes soon.

Merry Christmas! (Does it really matter what day we celebrate it? There's plenty of archeological evidence that Jesus certainly existed and the Christ-idea is with us always.)

Abby's Psalms, for my Old Testament Class

The assignment is at the end. I have included the full text of Ps 23 and Ps 146, then my versions of them. I welcome any and all feedback. The assignment is due at classtime tomorrow morning (8am PST). This is a first draft.

Psalm 23 – Individual song of trust

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Abby’s Ps 23
1 Father-Mother God is my guardian. She provides all I need.
2 He gives me a soft featherbed in a safe shelter. She shows me fresh spring water where I can fill my water bottle.
3 He creates great beauty in sunsets, forests and mountains, which enrich my experience. She shows me the way of life that I can follow to glorify Her.
4 Even when I am depressed or feel that death is approaching, I am not afraid, because You are here. Your security alarms and healers remind me that I am always safe.
5 You have set up an all-you-can eat buffet for me where I can find fellowship even with those who hate me. You have publicly chosen me. I am filled up full.
6 Your grace and lovingkindness will always bless me. I will stay in your home for all of the days of my eternal life.


Psalm 146 A communal song of thanksgiving

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:

8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:

9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

Abby’s Ps 146
1 Sing to God, “Halleluiah!” I sing to God, “Halleluiah!” 2 I will praise Him all the days of my life. For as long as I take breath on this earth, I will praise Her.
3 Do not put your reliance on the leaders of the world. They live such a short while and cannot help you. 4 When their hearts stop, they will be buried or burned. Their edicts will die with them.
5 Those individuals who rely on God are blessed. They have faith in Her 6 who created the universe with galaxy clusters, all their stars, all their planets and all of the life in them. He is Mind and Truth.*
7 She brings justice to under-represented and ill-served individuals. He feeds the hungry. She frees those who are in bondage. 8 He opens the eyes of the blind and ignorant. She takes the load from those who are burdened. God loves those who stay on the path. 9 He houses the strangers. She comforts orphans and the bereaved. He derails those who are on the wrong track.
10 God is omnipotent and omnipresent. She will be our only leader forever. Sing to God, “Halleluiah!”
* The seven synonyms for God are Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle.


Assignment: Two of the critical features to paying attention in the reading of Psalms as poetry are parallelism and form. Parallelism stands as the distinctive feature of Hebrew poetry and replaces the rhyming words at the ends of lines that define English verse. For Hebrew the rhyme, contrast, extension, illumination, clarification, intensification is in the ideas of the line. Coogan provides an initial exploration of this on p. 461. However, his categories are too restrictive and if you study the relationships you will see that the lines connect in several different ways. The second feature to pay attention to is the form of the Psalm or the type of Psalm. This tells us about the content of the Psalm and helps us anticipate how the Psalm will develop and its major structural features. A classification of all 150 Psalms by their forms occurs on p. 462.

Using the above information, select two Psalms of differing forms (i.e. one can be communal lament, the other individual song of trust). Write a contemporary version of each Psalm. In rewriting the Psalm you need to preserve its form. That is if the original has 12 verses, yours should have 12 verses. Where the original shifts its concern and focus, yours should make the shift. For every step in the structure of the original Psalm yours should follow the same steps. So it is important to get a sense of how this particular Psalm's structure fits the overall structure for that type. An example of structure for a lament Psalm is provided for you on p. 463. You will also need to preserve the parallelism of the verses. You do not need to create the same relationships that the original Psalm has in each line, but your lines need to reflect an understanding of this feature of Hebrew poetry. In effect, your version of the Psalm will show a grasp of the issues raised by the original Psalm and how this may be voiced by a 21st century person. Be sure to communicate this in the type of Psalm you select as well as the issues you choose to focus on. Indicate what your original Psalm is when you rewrite it.

Life in Seminary

The following shows a slice of my life. We have an assignment due at 8:10am this morning. I took this list off of our online submission site. If I had waited until right before class (when I will be IN class in a place with no internet), you would see submissions up to the minute that it was due. The part that surprises me, though, are the ones at 4am. I stayed up until 1am, but then got sleep, woke up, ate breakfast, reread the assignment, then submitted it.

I spend more time in this class than any 2-3 others that I am involved in (some as a student, some as an instructor). At the bottom is the text of the assignment that we were working on, interspersed with my answers. Be sure to note the chapters that we would need to read to do the assignment. Be aware that these are above and beyond our regular readings for today's class and that we also were 'encouraged' to respond to a reading forum online about our readings for this week. ('Encouraged' means that participation is graded and we are expected to participate at least 10 times throughout the semester.) I wrote 4 pages of outlining to keep track of all of the interesting characters in these passages and how they were similar. While writing 100 words may seem easy, it's much harder than you may think. You ONLY get 100 words. Try saying something substantive with 100 words. It's a real trick.

Assignments submitted:
30 Oct, 22:03
B.
Chronicler Worksheet
30 Oct, 22:23
J.
Chronicler Worksheet
30 Oct, 22:58
P.
Chronicler Worksheet
30 Oct, 23:33
H.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 00:01
A.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 00:24
E.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 00:28
V.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 00:40
C.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 01:41
M.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 03:00
K.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 04:06
E. D.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 04:24
S.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 06:14
A. W.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 06:36
H. L.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 07:08
A. F.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 07:15
[updated after class]
K. S.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 07:43
N.
Chronicler Worksheet
31 Oct, 08:02
C. L.
Chronicler Worksheet

In order to appreciate the distinctiveness of the Chronicler's work, it is best to compare it with its closest source document the Deuteronomistic History. One area of difference between the two histories lies in the portrayal of the monarchy and specific kings. Read the following passages that deal with the various portrayals of David, Solomon and Manesseh in the respective histories.

For each king write a short biography representing the views of both the Deuteronomistic History and the Chronicler, i.e. a total of 6 biographies. Each biography should be no more than 100 words. Remember the biographies do more than state facts, so repeating the details from the text is not necessary. Biographies convey opinions, strong ones at times, and provide critical views on the life of the individual not so much as a product of his/her times but for the readers of later generations to appreciate those individuals. Be sure, therefore, to capture the thrust of the historians view of the particular kings in your biographies.

David
• DH -2Sam 6-23 (scan 9-10; 16-19; 22-23 more focused reading on other chapters but pay attention to major contours of these chapters)

King David of Israel was unusually blessed. He had God’s repeated promise that his kingdom would last forever and God’s steadfast love would never be turned from him. He was a righteous king, moving the ark into Jerusalem. He subdued many kingdoms, but only his son would be allowed to make a house for the ark. David and his sons were promiscuous, causing death and strife. The Gibeonites were awarded seven of Saul’s descendents in exchange for peace, but not Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s lame son, who was restored all of Saul’s lands. David was the best king Israel could have.

• Chronicler - 1Chron 16-28 (scan 16-18; 23-28, more focused reading on other chapters)

David was an outstanding king, nearly perfect, except Satan tempted him to count the Israelites, when no one had that right. David was blessed with God’s promise for a never-ending line of Israel’s kings. He wanted to make a house for the ark, so he bought the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and drew up plans for its creation, arranging for the materials and the laborers, for when young Solomon would be able to build it. David even gathered an assembly of Israel to prepare the way for Solomon’s reign, to make sure that there was a smooth transition.

Solomon
• DH - 1Kings 1-11 (you need not read 3-7, 9-10 in great detail but the other chapters require much sharper focus)

Solomon, David’s second son by Bathsheba, widow of Uriah the Hittite, became king through the intervention of his mother and Nathan, the prophet. He had his brother Adonijah, David’s second-born son, and Joab, David’s general, killed to secure the throne. His wisdom was world renowned and he had Hiram from Tyre build the magnificent temple in which to worship God. God promised that David’s line would continue as Israel’s kings forever, so long as the Israelites worshiped only God. Solomon had many foreign wives, though, who were eventually his undoing, encouraging him and others to worship their gods.

• Chronicler - 1Chron 22:2-16; 28 2Chron 1-9 (scan 2-5 but more focused reading on the other chapters)

Solomon was an unusually wise king, following David’s plan to build the temple on Ornan’s threshing floor. He made sacrifices and prayers for God to hear those from far and near, foreign and Israelite alike, who prayed to God towards the temple. God showed pleasure by sending down fire to consume the sacrifices. Huram from Tyre, who supplied temple building materials, gave extravagant tributes to Solomon and sought out his wisdom, as did all other kings. Solomon sent away Pharoah’s daughter, his wife, to live in her own house, because the places where the ark had been were holy.

Manasseh
• DH - 2Kings 21:1-18

Manasseh, son of Hezekiah and Hephzibah, was not yet a man, only 12, when he began his 55-year reign. While Hezekiah had effected important reforms, Manasseh, unfortunately, seemed to have learned nothing from him. Manasseh defiled the temple by putting altars and statues to abominable gods worshiped by the foreigners who God had righteously thrown out of the kingdom of Israel. He single-handedly brought idol worship back into Israel, which his father had eradicated in his righteous reign. Manasseh had a reign of terror where many innocent lives were lost. Understandably, all of Israel was punished for these wicked deeds.

• Chronicler - 2Chron 33:1-20

Manasseh, Hezekiah’s 12-year old son, began his reign inauspiciously, bringing idol worship into the temple and the high places. He even made his son pass through fire and consulted with wizards. God’s wrath came down upon Manasseh and Assyrians took him captive. Manasseh prayed, repentant, and was allowed to return to Israel. He then re-enacted the reforms that his father had done: tearing down the high places and breaking down altars to idols, making sacrifices to God of thanksgiving. By the end of his 55-year reign, Israelites still worshiped God from the high places, but there was no more idolatry.