I’m not a gambling man, but, I’m willing to bet that you have never seen the words “zodiac” and “intelligent design” in the same sentence. I didn’t grow up with astrology as part of my life. I knew about it and I knew that people took it seriously. The joke pick-up line in the 80’s was, “Hey baby…what’s your sign?” We may scoff at the cheesiness of it, but, it was a real thing. People identified and behaved themselves according to the astrological sign they were born under. Statements like, “That’s such a Virgo thing to do!” or, “You’re such a Leo!” were common place in every day vernacular.
This blog, and my upcoming book “Story in the Stars” does not in any way endorse, promote, encourage, or believe in the practice of astrology or horoscopes, but as Christians, or otherwise, we do need to acknowledge that there are millions of people in North America and around the world who seriously and legitimately believe in it. So, why am I—as a Christian author—writing a blog about the zodiac, horoscopes and intelligent design?
I’m writing about it because I believe it is a topic of great importance. Let’s start with the term horoscope. The Cambridge Online Dictionary defines it in the following way: “A description of what is going to happen to you, based on the position of the stars and planets at the time of your birth.” I find this definition to be most interesting. According to this definition, the stars and planets were designed to reveal information about us and our lives. This is in direct opposition to what we find in the Scriptures, and to what I believe and teach.
In fact, the whole universe exists to reveal information about one person, and one person only: Jesus the Messiah! Think of the zodiac images, or constellations, as snapshots into the life of Jesus. As we study them we discover that every major event in His life was marked by the appearance of one of these constellations. What if I could show you that His birth, death and resurrection, were literally written in the stars? There is no way you would be able to dismiss these alignments as purely random or unguided. The fact that they line up so perfectly with His life is evidence of design. Intelligent Design. Divine Design.
STORY IN THE STARS
Discovering God’s Design and Plan for our Universe
by Joe Amaral
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 30th HERE:
About the Author:
Joe Amaral authored his first book “Understanding Jesus” in 2011 and his second book “What Would Jesus Read?” was published in 2012.
In 2016, Amaral served as daily host of Canada’s longest running daily TV program “100 Huntley Street”. Later that year he joined the staff of PORTICO Community Church in Mississauga, Ontario as the Teaching Pastor. Most recently, he founded the “Christian Research Group” in 2018—an organization committed to serving the local church and helping believers to better understand and defend what they believe.
Amaral has traveled the world many times over as a sought-after Bible Teacher/Speaker. With more than 40 trips to Israel, immersing himself in the local culture, working closely with Israeli archaeologists and government, he has gained both access and insight into the First Century Culture of Jesus.