Star of Bethlehem show does focus on religion

TO THE EDITOR:

It is simply not true that the Morehead Planetarium's annual show on the Star of Bethlehem ""does not focus on religion" it focuses on science" as Karen Kornegay, the planetarium's marketing director, was quoted as saying in Librarians forgo holiday displays"" (Nov. 20). After finding that the Biblical ""chronicle"" (as the show calls it) cannot easily be explained by a comet" a meteor a nova an eclipse or a planetary conjunction" the show concludes that science cannot explain what the ""star"" was. The final word is given to the famous German astronomer Johannes Kepler" who is said to have considered the star miraculous. In case anyone has failed to get the message" the final credits are accompanied by an organ recessional. The Planetarium has become a church. That none of the available scientific explanations fits well with the Biblical story is not presented as powerful evidence that the star never existed. That moral would not contribute to the holiday spirit. It would not allow the Planetarium to advertise the show in newspapers as ""inspirational."" Or was that advertisement meant to allude to the show's power to inspire a love of science? Kornegay is quoted as saying ""we respect the difference in beliefs of our employees and patrons."" Yet the Morehead does not devote shows to the reputed holiday miracles in other religious traditions. Should it?



Marc Lange
Professor
Philosophy