Introduction:

A. Astrology is big business.

1. There are over 175,000 part-time astrologers.

2. Over 10,000 full-time astrologers.

3. Over 2,000 newspapers carry daily horoscopes.

4. Estimates range from 50 Million Up To One Half of The Population of America believes in astrology.

5. The popularity of astrology is seen everywhere:

a. T-shirts
b. Jewelry
c. Restaurant place mats
d. Vending machines

6. The astrology business grosses Several Hundred Million Dollars a year.

B. What should be a Christian's Attitude toward astrology?

1. What should be your Response when someone ask about your astrological sign?

2. Should the Newspaper Horoscopes be read on the assumption that they are simply innocent fun?

3. Should a Christian wear Astrological Jewelry?

4. What, in fact, is astrology all about?

I. What Is Astrology And Where Did It Come From?

A. Astrology is the belief that the Destinies of Nations and Individuals are determined by the relative positions of the Starts.

1. Oriental or Chinese astrology has twelve "signs" corresponding to Twelve Different Years. (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig)

2. Western astrology has twelve signs corresponding to Twelve Houses in one year.

3. Mundane astrology is the practice of predicting the future of a Nation.

B. Many astrologers practiced Mundane astrology in ancient Babylon and Egypt.

1. This Earliest form of Astrology was connected with the Worship of The Stars (Tsabaistism).

2. The Stars were consulted and viewed as having Power Over Man because they were Assumed To Be Gods.

C. This ancient form of Planetary Worship is the reason God Destroyed the Tower of Babel --- (Gen. 11:1-9).

1. Archaeologists have identified the Tower of Babel as a Ziggurat or Astrological Tower.

2. On top of the tower the priest would conduct the Viewing and Worship of the sun, moon, and planets.

D. The Golden Calf which Aaron fashioned was the Egyptian astrological god, Taurus the bull. (Exo. 32:1-35, Deut. (:16-21, Neh. 9:18, Psa. 105:19-21, Acts 7:39-43).

E. King Jeroboam made Two Golden Bulls and placed them at Bethel and Dan saying, "Here Are Your Gods, O Israel..." --- (1 Kings 12:26-30).

King Rehoboam of Judah not only erected images of Taurus but also of Aries the goat. --- (2 Chron. 11:15, Lev. 17:7).

F. The god Moloch to whom Human Sacrifices were made was another Astrological god who was worshipped.

1. It represented the Sun and was worshipped by casting live children into the fire in its belly.

2. The worship of Moloch and "Remphan" or Saturn is condemned.

Acts 7:43, "Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

G. Israel's final doom was linked directly to its people's involvement with astrological planet worship.

1. 2 Kings 17:16-17, 20, "And they Left All the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them Molten Images, (even) Two Calves, and made a Grove, and worshipped all the Host of Heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used Divination and Enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the lord, to provoke him to anger." V. 20, "And the Lord Rejected all the seed of Israel, and Afflicted them, and Delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight."

2. The word "Asherad," mistranslated as "Groves" in the KJV, referred to the Phoenician worship of Venus or the Moon as the goddess of love, fertility, and good luck.

H. When godly kings such as Josiah arose in Israel, they Cleansed The Nation of the elements of Astrology.

1. 2 Kings 23:4-7, "And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Grove, and for all the Host of Heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the Sun, and to the Moon, and to the Planets, and to all the Host of Heaven. And he brought out the Grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped (it) small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that (were) by the house of the Lord, where the women move Hangings For The Grove,"

2. Baal was the Phoenician Sun-God.

3. The phrase "To The Planets" (KJV) or "To The Constellations" (NIV) found in 2 Kings 23:5 actually says "Twelve Signs" (of the zodiac).

4. Jeremiah rejected the worship of "The Queen of Heaven" (the Moon) (Jer. 7:18, 44:17-25).

5. Ezekiel condemned the Men of Israel for worshipping the Sun (8:16) --- the Women of Israel for "mourning for Tammuz" (8:14).

6. Tammuz (Adonis) Introduced the worship of the Seven Planets and Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, and was exalted to a god after his death.

I. The wickedness involved was not simply Idolatry but Divination.

Jer. 8:1-2, "At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the Kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of the graves: and they shall spread them before the Sun, and the Moon, and all the Host of Heaven, whom they have Loved, and whom they have Sought, and whom they have Worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth."

J. Isaiah ridiculed the astrologers.

Isa. 47:11-14, "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, (which) thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine Enchantments, and with the multitude of thy Sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the Astrologers, the Stargazers, the Monthly Prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from (these things) that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame:"

K. The Early Church was as Hostile to astrology as the Old Testament was.

1. Acts 19:18-20, "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their Books together, and Burned Them before all (men): and they counted the price of them, and found (it) Fifty Thousand (Pieces) of Silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."

2. St. Augustine's attack on astrology is well known.

a. He had been a believer in astrology in his non-Christian days.

b. Upon being converted to Christianity he adopted the Bible's Hostility to it.

3. The Protestant Reformers viewed astrology as satanic fortune-telling.

L. Even Science has dealt astrology a tremendous blow.

1. Ptolemy had developed his zodiac and all his calculations on the assumption that the Earth Was The Center of The Universe. He said that the sun, moon, and five planets all Circled The Earth and focused their "powers" on earth to determine the destiny of every human being.

2. The beginning of scientific Astronomy spelled destruction for Astrology. (More about this later).

M. The Seattle Daily Times on Sept. 8, 1975, observed,

"History has shown that Astrology Thrives Best In Times of Religious Decline and of Social Unrest."

II. Why Do So Many People Believe In Astrology?

Argument #1 - Astrology Is True Because It Is Verified By Common Experience.

A. Those Born Under The Same Sign will manifest the Same Personality Traits and probably end up in the Same Occupations.

1. If a person will only faithfully read his daily horoscope, his day-to-day experience will conform to astrology.

2. Astrologers are able to pick out a person's sign by merely looking at his or her personality.

B. Two Psychologists, Dr. Silverman of Roosevelt University and Dr. Whitner of Stockton State College, designed a Test For The Astrological Personality Traits:

Silverman and Whitner asked 130 students and faculty to rate themselves on a list of personality traits such as aggressiveness, creativity, ambition, and adaptability. Each was asked to name a close friend who was called upon to make similar ratings for the subjects' nature. In addition, each student and faculty member filled out the Eysenck Personality Inventory and provided his exact time and place of birth so that his sun sign, moon sign, and ascending sign could be determined. Astrologers consider these the most important influences of personality. ----- Analyses of the results found No Tie between the Subjects' self-description, Their Friends' description or their ratings on the Psychological Test and characteristics ascribed to them by the Horoscopes.

C. There is also the Acid Test of Money.

1. Since the astrologers have been practicing their "science" for years, it only stands to reason that they Should Have Gathered All The Wealth of The World into their possession.

2. By using astrology, they should have "cleaned up" on the Stock and the Commodities Markets.

3. They should have won every Horse Race bet.

4. It is obvious that if astrology really worked, the shrewd businessman of Wall Street would have beaten paths to the astrologers' doors long ago.

D. Hitler devout believer in astrology.

1. Nazi leaders consulted astrologers for military movements.

2. In the April before his death, the astrologers still predicted a good future for Germany and for Hitler.

Argument #2 --- Astrology Is True Because By It We Can Predict The Future.

A. The daily horoscope predictions are so Vague that any prediction under any sign will "Seem" to be fulfilled.

B. A large daily newspaper demonstrated the Stupidity of Horoscopes when the editor was forced to publish an Outdated Version when the new material failed to arrive in time for publication. Not One of The 100,000 readership Complained of any irrelevance so the editor concluded he could spare himself the cost of new horoscopes and reprinted the old ones.

C. An Experiment was conducted where the Identifying Sign for each prediction was Cut Off and then had people try to find the prediction which described their day. Once they had their prediction, the prediction that went with what sign was identified. Virtually No One had chosen their sign and nearly all felt Several Predictions described their day.

D. If Fulfilled predictions Proves astrology the logically Failed predictions Disproves Astrology.

1. The astrologer Galileo in 1609 drew up a horoscope for the Duke of Tuscany which indicated that the Duke would enjoy a long life. The Duke died two weeks later.

2. Astrologers drew a horoscope for the French philosopher Voltaire which placed his death at age 32. When Voltaire was 60 years old, he published a pamphlet "apologizing" that his age disproved astrology.

3. The astrologers failed to predict President Kennedy's assassination, and had predicted his re-election instead.

4. The "Reluctant Prophet," Daniel Logan, predicted that the Viet Nam war would continue from 1965-1985 and that the U.S. and Russia would become allies against China before 1980.

5. Astrologers predicted that California would fall into the sea in 1969.

6. By A.D. 1700 China "would subdue the whole northern section" of the world.

Argument #3 --- Astrology Was Practiced By Authors of The Bible.

A. Many astrologists assume that the Magi of Matt. 2 were Astrologers and that they found their way to the infant Christ by means of a horoscope.

B. The "Star" was not the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn or Jupiter and Venus or any other planets.

C. The bright light suddenly appeared, moved, disappeared, reappeared and remained stationary.

D. This is not the behavior of a planet or star --- it was a Supernatural Phenomenon.

E. Lastly, the Magi did not use astrology to discern the Evil Intent of Herod --- an angel warned them to flee (Matt. 2:12).

Argument #4 --- Astrology Can Be Demonstrated By Studying The Case History of Astro-Twins --- People Born At Exactly The Same Moment.

Gauquelin studied over 50,000 Horoscopes, many of them of "Astro-Twins," to see if there is any evidence for parallel lives among time twins. He did Not Find Any Evidence of Parallelism. He did find the following evidence against astrology:

"None of the astrologers we studied passed the classic test known as `the Test of Opposed Destinies'. The test consists of Forty Birth Dates, twenty of well-known Criminals and twenty of persons who led a Long And Peaceful Life. The astrologer's task is to separate the two groups of people on the basis of their birth horoscope. The results is always great confusion; the astrologers invariable select a mixed bag of criminals and peaceful citizens in about the same proportions that a machine would by picking randomly. We should add that Only Sincerely Believing Astrologers Agreed To Take Our Test in the first place; the immense majority of Charlatans always find a likely Excuse to avoid a confrontation that might endanger their credibility in the public eye."

Argument #5 --- Astro-physics Has Finally Proven The Validity of Astrology. We Can Measure The Astrological Forces Which Determine Our Destinies.

A. The tidal and Gravitational force of the moon does effect certain changes in insects, animals, and man.

1. While these things are true, there is no logical connection between astrology and the findings of astro-physics.

2. The concept of astrology requires a Special Influence from seven zodiac heavenly bodies. The evidence reveals only General Influences from the sun and moon.

B. Astrology requires that the "stars" above produce Permanent and Unchangeable effects in animals and man. The evidence shows that the effect from the sun and moon are only Temporary and Changeable.

C. Astrology requires that the influence from above affect the destiny of Certain Individuals (babies) and at Only One Time In The Life of That Individual (Birth). The evidence demonstrates that the radiation from the sun and the tidal force of the moon are Universal and Constant.

D. Astrologers teach that while the sun and moon rule over the body and the soul, the positions of the Five Planets of The Zodiac are more important in drawing horoscopes. In spite of this, the evidence they point to refers Only to the sun and moon. Where is the evidence for any Influential radiation and tidal affects of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

E. At the moment of birth, when the Physician Hovers Over The Child, his gravitational and tidal force is Greater than any of the Five Zodiac Planets.

F. The tidal force produced on a man by the planet Mars when it is at it nearest to the earth is about 50 Million Times Less than the tidal force on the same man produced by the typical Sunday copy of the Los Angeles Times lying on a table six feet away.

III. What About True Science And Astrology?

1. Ancient Astrology Is A System of Belief Which Is Based Solely on What The Unaided Human Eye Can See.

A. Using only the human eye, Ptolemy saw only the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter.

B. Uranus was discovered in 1781, Neptune in 1846, and Pluto in 1930.

2. The Problem of The Discovery of New Planets Has Provoked Astrologers Into Making Absurd Statements.

A. Goodavage "solves" the problem of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto by stating that they Came Into Existence Just Before They Were Discovered.

B. Other astrologers have proposed that Until Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were Discovered, They Had No Part In Determining Our Destiny or Controlling Our Lives.

C. Ptolemy's Zodiac is actually based on constellations which are only Optical Illusions.

1. One look through a telescope shows that constellations such as Leo or Pisces or Sagittarius Do Not Actually Exist.

2. Stars which were unseen by human eyes appear and disrupt the imaginary lines of the animals, men, and objects which supposedly make up the constellations.

D. Ptolemy's astrology was directly based upon the religious presupposition of Planetary Worship. The stars were viewed as gods who manifest intelligence, emotions, and will. The stars knew what was best and wisely chose each person's destiny.

E. Modern Astrology is in a state of confusion and self-contradiction.

1. Different Astrologers draw up Conflicting Horoscopes for the Same Person.

2. All Serious Astrologers agree that newspaper or so-call "Sun Sign" astrology is Nonsense (President of National Astrological Society).

F. The stars are Not Fixed but Moving at tremendous speeds --- Away from us.

1. All of the galaxies around us are moving apart from us and one another at enormous speeds.

2. Reason and scientific measurement tell us that the further away the stars and constellations move, the Less Influence they will have on us.

G. Astrologers have never given any rational or scientific explanation Why the Time of Birth is when a person's destiny is "fixed" by the stars.

1. Why isn't Conception the beginning of the star's influence?

2. Why is birth the crucial time?

3. Did All the Jews Murdered By Hitler have death written into their horoscopes --- from their birth.

3. Facts Concerning Astrology:

A. The presuppositions of astrology are embedded in Polytheistic Planet Worship.

B. Astrology is built on the Erroneous Concept that Appearance Always Corresponds To Reality.

C. Astrology Presupposes that the Zodiac Is Real and that it reflects the actual position of the stars.

D. There are many Conflicting and mutually Contradicting concepts in astrology.

E. Astrology is an un-cohesive "Mixed Bag" of presuppositions and concepts with No Principle of Unity.

F. The astrologers Contradict Themselves when it comes to the influences of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

G. Astrology would ultimately make us the Slaves of The Astrologers. They would control our Marriages, Careers, even War.

H. Astrology has always been, and still is, a branch of Black Witchcraft.

I. It is Idolatry to Ascribe To The Stars that which Blongs Only To The God Who Created Them.

J. Isa. 47:13-14, "Thou art Wearied in the Multitude of Thy Counsels. Let now the Astrologers, the Stargazers, the Monthly Prognosticators, Stand Up, and Save Thee from (these Things) that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; They Shall Not Deliver Themselves from the power of the flame:"