Eliseo Ferrer / The Star of Bethlehem: A Symbolic Challenge to the Determinism of the Stars and Planets (New Perspective).

The Star of Bethlehem was a symbolic and cultural construct of an anti-cosmic nature, arising in a Hellenistic-Gnostic context, which used the Persian language of light and star to deny astral determinism and proclaim the liberation of humankind from cosmic fate. The Star of Matthew did not represent any astronomical, physical, or material phenomenon, but rather a symbolic epiphany announcing the irruption of a salvific power superior to the world, of an extracosmic nature. It used astral language to deny the dominion of the stars, discrediting the planetary determinism characteristic of ancient astrology. A phenomenon constructed with elements of the ancient Zoroastrian tradition that, in the end, was specifically inscribed in a Hellenistic mystical-gnostic tradition where the light of the Savior broke the archontic order established by the stars and planets.

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Publication Details

Journal
Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Published
2026-01-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17613/bc0xm-eyx28
Primary Topic
Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Eliseo Ferrer / The Star of Bethlehem: A Symbolic Challenge to the Determinism of the Stars and Planets (New Perspective).

Eliseo Ferrer
Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
article

Eliseo Ferrer / The Star of Bethlehem: A Symbolic Challenge to the Determinism of the Stars and Planets (New Perspective).

Eliseo Ferrer
article en

Abstract

The Star of Bethlehem was a symbolic and cultural construct of an anti-cosmic nature, arising in a Hellenistic-Gnostic context, which used the Persian language of light and star to deny astral determinism and proclaim the liberation of humankind from cosmic fate. The Star of Matthew did not represent any astronomical, physical, or material phenomenon, but rather a symbolic epiphany announcing the irruption of a salvific power superior to the world, of an extracosmic nature. It used astral language to deny the dominion of the stars, discrediting the planetary determinism characteristic of ancient astrology. A phenomenon constructed with elements of the ancient Zoroastrian tradition that, in the end, was specifically inscribed in a Hellenistic mystical-gnostic tradition where the light of the Savior broke the archontic order established by the stars and planets.

Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
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