Follow That Star!

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

From National Geographic documentary films comes The Space Race, the story of black astronauts in their struggle to break the bonds of social injustice and reach for the stars. Meet the pioneering black pilots, scientists and engineers, who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth.

The Space Race, now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.

Daniel Beecher (0:31)

So what you're saying is, if a disciple shows up in your room, don't get medical attention, just believe whatever he says.

Aaron Adair (0:39)

I think you should at least get out some milk and cookies. He's at least 2000 years old at this point. If arthritis is through the roof, get him some help.

Daniel McClellan (0:51)

Hey, everybody. I'm Dan McClellan.

Daniel Beecher (0:53)

And I'm Dan Beecher.

Daniel McClellan (0:54)

And you are listening to the Data Over Dogma podcast, where we increase public access to the academic study of the Bible and religion and combat the spread of misinformation about the same. How are things today, Dan?

Daniel Beecher (1:06)

You know, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

Daniel McClellan (1:11)

Let's not get too in the weeds of that trouble.

Daniel Beecher (1:15)

Listen, listen, it's it's it is the season, man. And and that's that's the theme of the show today is sort of the Christmas season. And all right.

So I figure that's what we need to be talking about.

Daniel McClellan (1:29)

That sounds reasonable, which is unusual for us. But we have we have a guest with us today. I want to go ahead and introduce a good friend of mine, Aaron Adair. He is a research affiliate in physics education at MIT and also makes some filthy lucre on the side, working for a defense contractor. Welcome to the show, Aaron.

Hello.

Aaron Adair (1:50)

Hello. Thank you for having me, Dan and Dan.

Daniel McClellan (1:53)

Well, thank you for being here. We appreciate your time. Aaron is the author of a book entitled The Star of Bethlehem, A Skeptical. Oh, shoot. I don't have a copy in front of me. A Skeptical Approach. A Skeptical View. A Skeptical View.

Now, Aaron, as a PhD in physics, is approaching the yield star of Bethlehem from the perspective of a critical physicist trying to better understand what's going on with this tradition.

Daniel Beecher (2:22)

Well, I mean, that's awesome because as anyone who is like me, who like me as a child thought, hey, you know, went out and looked up at the sky and thought, wait, how do you follow one of these to a house? I don't know how to do that.

I'm very glad to have a physicist on to help answer our questions.

Daniel McClellan (2:46)

Yeah, it doesn't seem like it's a very complicated thing. It seems like it just doesn't work.

But we have someone with a PhD here who can help us figure this out. We're going to be talking about ideas associated with Christmas, associated with astrology, associated with UFOs and aliens, and all these things that pop up around Christmas time. But I wanted to start with the book. Aaron, could you give us a little breakdown of what you're trying to do with the book?

Aaron Adair (3:14)

Yeah, just to give it a bit of intro with my history with it, that I first discovered this when I started college and I was able to get a job at the Universally Planetarium as a show presenter. And Christmas Showtime comes around and I learn of basically a tradition that's been going on in America Planetarium since literally the early 1930s.

And I'm sitting in there, you know, watching the show because eventually I'm going to have to also present the show later.

Daniel McClellan (3:41)

But this is how a psych episode starts, doesn't it?

Aaron Adair (3:45)

Perhaps so, yeah.

Daniel McClellan (3:48)

Continue.

Aaron Adair (3:48)

But yeah, I'm watching the show and I am blown away with the way of how the story of the Star of Bethlehem coming from the Gospel of Matthew is being explained in completely scientific terms. At this time, I was calling myself a Catholic deist. That was my religious categorization. So I'm like, hey, using the laws of nature to get this exact result, that is exactly what the master of the universe would do. He has the power.

Sorry, different reference there.

Daniel McClellan (4:18)

That's a different power.

That's the power of the babe, I think you're referring to. Or Grayskull, one of the two.

Aaron Adair (4:25)

I was going to say Grayskull in this case.