In this episode astrologer Samuel Reynolds joins the show again in order to talk about some common religious criticisms of astrology, and what sort of responses astrologers have when dealing with these objections.
During the course of the show we discuss questions such as whether astrology itself qualifies as a religion, whether it favors a polytheistic or monotheistic viewpoint, and whether it goes against different scriptures.
The end result was kind of a broad discussion about astrology and religion in general, which focused on the Abrahamic religions in particular.
For more information about Sam please check out his website at UnlockAstrology.com
Below you will find a synopsis of some of the points that we covered during the course of the episode, followed by links to listen to the recording.
Show Notes
- Astrology is in a unique and weird position where it is often the subject of criticisms from both the scientific as well as the religious communities.
- So we thought we would address some criticisms from both.
- This is a followup discussion to the episode that we did in September on responses to scientific criticisms of astrology.
- A little bit more about Sam’s personal story and interest in this issue.
- Does astrology have any implications for religion and/or spirituality?
- Do the polytheistic origins of astrology cause problems with monotheistic religions?
- Is astrology a religion?
- Is it simply something people take as a matter of faith?
- Does it fill the role of religion for many people in terms of finding meaning & purpose?
- Other criticisms to address from religion:
- Is it against what the scriptures say?
- Does it lead more to fear than to faith?
- Does it lead to worshiping the planets?
- Issues related to free will.
Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 49 transcript
Listen to This Episode
You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:15:34 — 34.8MB)
I was looking forward to a mention about the origins of astrology in the Book of Enoch — given to us by a fallen angel along with war technology, witchcraft, pharmacology, and more.
There are a lot of non-canonical and gnostic works that we could have cited. We didn’t really even attempt to provide a systematic overview of references from canonical works even though.
I just wanted to share a photo taken on October 26 :
http://i.share.pho.to/bb90f841_o.jpeg
It’s the Moon and Venus, which makes me think that the symbol of Islam is actually the Moon and Venus before the rise of the Sun.
Sorry, the photo was not taken on October 26 of course. It was earlier in this month.
Mr. Reynolds is a most-interesting, knowledgeable and insightful guest. He brings up many great points that should be central to discussions of modern astrology. I quite liked his brief commentary on dreams, which also occupies a very gray area in our modern views on reality. It’s very fascinating to me how the views on the mechanisms which underlie astrology (philosophic, scientific and religious alike) have changed so much over time. In our time we have inherited so much rich material for deep contemplation on “meaning” which goes largely unnoticed in favor of the overly simplistic explanations offered by materialism. Great episode!
Fascinating historical insights and information. Thank you both.
Sam Reynolds is incredible. What a voice.
[…] episode represents an important followup to earlier episodes of the podcast discussing responses to religious criticisms of astrology, the role of astrology in the story of the Star of Bethlehem, as well as a brief digression about […]