Customer Reviews

The Star of Bethlehem

5 star:		(200)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just watched this, expecting to be unimpressed by a guy making up wild theories. What I saw blew me away! The depth of scholarship and attention to detail convinced me that Rick has arrived at the truth. As a "just the facts ma'am" kind of guy, I'm not easily impressed, but this is the best documentary I've seen in years.

A magnificent display of the evidence to support the claims made for the Star of Bethlehem. The presentation is an inquiry without presupposition that engages even the most hostile viewer in an entertaining and easily understandable way. The data and the methods of investigation employed are transparent to anyone wanting to repeat them for themselves - I have and find only more evidence for the claims he makes, the visuals and the music are a delight and the discovery will take your breath away. A great Christmas present for anybody open minded to sorting truth from myth and legend regardless of religious persuasion. The Bible always said the heavens declare the glory of God. If you don't see that, get this DVD.

We bought this DVD as soon as it was available for sale through its original vendor. Twice I've seen Rick Larson give this presentation live and it brought tears to my eyes BOTH times. When the DVD came out I knew I wanted to buy it to share with others, and that's what I've done. Before I viewed it for the first time I was eager to see how it would compare to the live presentation...it is wonderful! I've pre-ordered more copies to give as gifts.

Gives historical, biblical and scientific information about what the star was. Very well researched yet entertaining and "watchable". This is amazing for many reasons, but I like it because right now, this information is not well known. Mr. Larson has put all of the pieces of the puzzle in-place. I've purchased more than 20 of the previous version and have given nearly all of them away. When I loan them out, I never seem to get them back because everyone wants to share the DVD with all their friends and relatives.

This is an astonishing and compelling use of modern astronomical tools to confirm events surrounding Jesus' birth and crucifixion. In my view the lunar eclipse at the crucifixion -- something that might appear to be tacked onto the talk -- is almost more significant than the identification of the Bethlehem Star. Just for fun, here is my own accuracy score: I am 80% convinced that his explanation of the Bethlehem Star is accurate, but I am 99% convinced that his explanation of the lunar eclipse at Jesus' crucifixion is accurate. To put it another way, I may not be willing to go to the stake over whether his Bethlehem Star identification is factually true, but I would likely be willing to go to the stake over the factuality of the crucifixion eclipse. The evidence seems overwhelming that the crucifixion occurred on April 3, 33 AD.

Since this is a popular level talk, proper documentation is missing (although a good bit can be found on the author's bethlehem star website). I wish the DVD producers had added a page or two of supporting citations for the various assertions made in the DVD -- I say this as a scientist who is interested in such things. For one thing, the talk implies that the speaker had stumbled on the crucifixion eclipse on his own, but the information he gives was first (I believe) presented by Humphreys and Waddington (Oxford) in a paper published in Nature in 1983 -- see the Wikipedia article on the Crucifixion of Jesus.

I must admit that the heavy use of the names for prominent constellations and planets - Leo, Virgo, Ram (noted in the "additional material"), Jupiter, and the star Regulus -- in support of his work is a bit startling at first, but on reflection it is probably legitimate -- after all, constellation names are mentioned in the Bible (while at the same time it condemns astrology). It is perhaps natural that a person who looks to the heavens to discern the signs, times and seasons would use star patterns and name them as a mnemonic aid. From my investigations, it appears that the origins of the constellation names is buried so far back in ancient times that nobody knows where they first arose.

Without explicitly saying so, this DVD makes some important theological observations. First, it is incredible that the star configurations that heralded Jesus' birth and mourned his death are just happenstance. God must have planned them from eternity past -- therefore the factual content says a lot about God's foreknowledge (and puts the lie to the notion that he can't look into or control future events) and about predestination.

Second, it is remarkable that the significance of the prophet Joel's and the Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" (a common ancient term for a lunar eclipse) was apparently lost to the church for nearly 2000 years. And its recent rediscovery testifies to God's use of modern science to proclaim his glory and handiwork to the modern world.

Third, the reference to the lunar eclipse in Acts 2:20 is a strong confirmation of the historical accuracy and historicity of this account, and should refute the claims by many critics that the events of Jesus' life are historical fiction.

In summary, this is an excellent DVD. It should be in the library of every evangelical church, and should be a strong challenge to those thinking people who see the Gospel account of Jesus' life as mere fabricated folk lore. My only regret is that the video production is relatively amateurish. The compelling and attractive subject matter deserves a more professional production.

Added Sep09: Here is my take on the issue of whether the retrograde change in direction of Jupiter on December 25, 1 BC satisfies the observation in Matthew that "it came to rest over the place where the child was."

First, the word for "place" is quite indefinite: it doesn't mean "house" as some versions say -- it might just mean that the direction change occurred towards the South, over Bethlehem, as the Magi were on the 5 mile trek from Jerusalem, in a sort of confirmation of the Micah prophecy that they had just heard. Of course the "mathematician" in the group would have known this already, it is not something he could actually observe visually (I assume). The confirmation consists in learning from Herod's query that Bethlehem is the "place" and the fact that Jupiter was at that time "stopped" -- in the South, on a compass (!) direction that passed directly over Bethlehem.

Second, Bethlehem was a small town (by modern standards), perhaps at most a few thousand people. In keeping with the times, almost everyone knew everyone else. The family had been there for over 6 months, and they were in any case related to most of the residents in the town.

Third, the wisemen knew the exact date that the star appeared the previous June. There probably was only one, and couldn't have been more than 2-3 infants that would be the right age. All they had to do was ask around, just as I do if I want to know where the farmstand is when I get to an unfamiliar town.

So, in conclusion, I consider this a non-issue, and certainly the star "stopping" does not require a miraculous intervention by God. The Jupiter direction change is more than enough.

Practically everything in the nighttime sky has at one time or another been proposed as the Star of Bethlehem. I've seen a lot of documentaries on possible phenomena that could have been "The Star." This is the FIRST, which has me convinced!

My only (mild) criticism is that the polish of Frederick Larson's presentation could use some work. Some special effects might also add impact--although I admit that the simplicity of the format emphasizes the wow-factor of the information itself.

Mr. Larson has done fascinating research--Biblical and historical. Furthermore, he uses a commercially available (and scientifically accurate) program (Starry Night Pro) to run the solar system backwards through time to see the actual nighttime skies over the Middle East at the time of Jesus' birth. You can buy the program and verify this for yourself. I've had the program for years, but never did the awe-inspiring research, nor found the jaw-dropping conclusions he reached.

The celestial conjunctions he describes (and shows) are 100% accurate. The mathematics of how the solar system works do not lie. His logical arguments on their meanings, based on historical research and astronomical symbology, are almost as difficult to assail. The awesome implications of this material will have many shouting in excitement! Interestingly, he also presents some similarly veined information on the date of Jesus' crucifixation which will also "wow" all but the most jaded hearts!

Whether you are convinced by his conclusions or not, if you aren't stunned and awed by the material in this presentation, you haven't understood it!!!

In my opinion, this documentary has a place in the home of every serious Christian. Not to confirm your Faith, (although it may) but for its Scriptural journey and for the wonder and joy found in seeing the awesome majesty of the Creator's handiwork, written across the sky!

We also saw Rick Larson last Christmas at a live presentation and was amazed with the content of this DVD. We purchased six of the DVDs at that time for giving as gifts. We also showed the DVD 7 or 8 times to friends and family during the holiday season. I have never seen this information put together in such a comprehevsive, well researched and thought out manner. Watching this DVD will now be a part of our annual Christmas Celebration. I will be purchasing more this year to give as gifts...it is just THAT good! You won't be disappointed!

The Star of Bethlehem
I have watched this production develop for the last 6 years. The first time I saw it I was so impressed by the depth of research that went into it and ultimately how everything in the presentation could be supported by the scriptures and then by history and by Astronomy. The whole story and the whole effect is just too amazing to express adequately. I have already bought and past out 10 copies from last year and I have shown it to everyone who happened to come to my house and then I had three copies that I loan out repeatedly so there is no telling how many have watched my copies. You will want to watch it again and again and you will want to study the details and in the end you will stand there all amazed at the story written in the stars before the fountation of the world.

I expected some sort of astrology nonsense when I first heard about this DVD, but this guy has done some great research here. He has some very impressive computer programming that can calculate the positions of the stellar bodies at the time of Christ at various stages of His life to postulate what the stars and planets would have looked like at the time. He explains very well how some people like Herod would have missed seeing the "star" but why the wise men would have noticed. Not pseudo-science here, just a very clear presentation, with a Check-it-out-for-yourself spin on it....Highly recommended!!!!

If you haven't seen this DVD, it provides some brand new insight into the "star" that the wise men followed to find Jesus. The DVD uses the Bible to point out facts and ideas that you have probably never heard before.

The content was great, but since the host isn't a professional film producer I feel like the sound quality in certain sections is lacking and the speaker speaks a little fast at times. Some people have commented that that the material was a bit complicated, but I think that it's pretty simple to understand.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and hope to watch it many more times in the future.