Terraly
Your argument is that God takes credit for making the tree of God and Evil, and therefore we can ignore the reasoning that since (through man choosing sin) this tree has led to untold suffering and death, it cannot have been created by God.
Well, Terraly, you seem to have overlooked a most pertinent point that I made earlier. Also, let’s not lose site of the fact that the main point of concern here is: Was God the source of the “star”? Or, was it Satan? Of course no one contends whether God created the “tree” that you refer to. But when it comes to the “star” the Bible doesn’t directly say who the source of it was. So, as I’ve already stressed, all that is left for one to do, that is if one is concerned enough to want to know, is to gather all the facts available and make a judgment based upon those facts.
And so I think you must’ve overlooked a crucial point that I had made, which is relevant to the statement you made and which I quoted above. I had made the point that if the “star” had been of God’s doing, then, since He would have obviously known beforehand that all those infants were destined to die as a result of that star having led the Magi to Herod, then God Himself therefore would be the one to blame for the deaths of all the children that were slaughtered.
So, it is as plain as day … God was obviously NOT the source of the “star”. For verification (not that any is really needed, of course) of the fact that God DID know beforehand what the outcome of the star would be, one need only turn to the 18th verse of Matthew, chapter 2. Also, compare Jeremiah 31:15, 16.
3)Why would God have allowed Satan to use the star in this way? It seems that if Satan has free reign to go around moving the stars in the heavens it sort of compromises his sovreignty, doesn't it?
As I’ve already called attention to, the “star” obviously wasn’t a real star like the stars that comprise the galaxies. Satan doesn’t “go around moving” THOSE stars. The “star” that he moved was a fake “star” … every bit as fake as the prank that he pulled in the Garden of Eden in making the snake talk. Actually, he really did cause a sound to come forth from the snakes mouth. But that’s a subject for another day.
2)God does claim to have created the stars (in Genesis). But perhaps the "star" was not really a star (a comet or something else).
You might find interesting this bit of information taken out of the WTS publication
Insight On The Scriptures, Vol. 2, page 1033, under the subtitle
“Star” Seen After Jesus’ Birth:
As to the “star” (Gr., a·ster') seen by them, many suggestions have been given as to its having been a comet, a meteor, a supernova, or, more popularly, a conjunction of planets. None of such bodies could logically have ‘come to a stop above where the young child was,’ thereby identifying the one house in the village of Bethlehem where the child was found. It is also notable that only these pagan astrologers “saw” the star.
Hope that perhaps this addresses your concerns.
Friday
