Researchers in Oxford University have found that there is a significant link between the month babies are born and their career of choice. For example, the article suggests that babies born in December are more likely to become dentists, and babies born in January tend to become debt collectors. The month of birth may have even further reaching implications than job choice alone. The month of birth could indicate a higher likelihood of certain deseases such as Autism, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Asthma. The birth time could affect height, preferences of time of day, and even intelligence. The reasons behind the findings are not conclusive, but researchers are attributing these findings to the effects of the amount of sunlight that the mother is exposed to while pregnant. What this article tries to make clear is not that astrology and the Zodiac have scientific grounds. This article shows how great the number of variables are that go into making a person.
In class, Dr.Corsini discussed the importance of understanding that all things that are real may not be true. When the mentioned article is first read, one's mind cannot help but think of astrology and the Zodiac. The Zodiac is thought to have been created by the Babylonians around 500 BC, and many people still believe that aspects of their characters are rooted in their astrological sign. These findings help illustrate the realness of the Zodiac, yet at the same time, they help understand the truth of the assumptions behind the Zodiac. Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, "Half a truth is often a great lie", and so many times the Father of Lies will utilize the fallen nature of man's rationality with a truth that is not fully understood to create a lie.
Learning that reality can still be reality when it is devoid of truth is a good lesson to remember. This allows me as a Christian to acknowledge that I should approach differing beliefs with an understanding that they may have valid reasons to exist. There are spiritual truths that are God-given and can be used to define what is true, and there are also scientific truths that are God-given and can be used to understand the world around us. Maybe we should look differently at why a mother decides to abort a child or when a person enters into a homosexual lifestyle. Instead of looking at them through our personal "Christian glasses", we may benefit from asking, "What is real to this person?" Understanding another person's reality does not excuse the action, but certainly helps us relate to it.
I feel I must add, that while the secular scientific community would have us believe that all of reality can be explained in a naturalistic manner, the Christian does not deny that some phenomena are intrinsically evil and have no such purely scientific explanation behind them. Even if the Zodiac were debunked as a phenomena of the effects of nature on the unborn child, I would tread carefully on a topic that has emanated out of a source that dabbled so heavily in idolatry as the Babylonians.
