Reviews for The hidden universe

The average rating for The hidden universe based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-08-29 00:00:00 Shawn Oliver A bit of a tedious read, style-wise, having been written in late nineteenth century English ' but what an incredibly interesting concept it proposes! Joseph's big idea (sure to make many Christians, at first, leery) is that the constellations that make up the Zodiac, while used in horoscopes and more pagan practices today, are actually perversions of an originally Divine and Christian message, namely, that the constellations tell the story of the Gospel - "celestial picture gallery" as Seiss would call it. The book goes through each of the main twelve constellations that make up the traditional Zodiac(?Virgo, Scorpio, Leo, and so forth) as well their corresponding constellations that surround them, known as Decans. All in all making 48, as well as the individual names of stars. Seiss breaks down their history, what they mean, and how they correspond to the Gospel story. Some of Seiss's interpretations of the images can seem a bit contrived ... while others seems spot on. Take the constellation Virgo, which everywhere means "Virgin". And yet the stars that make up this constellation are called "The Desired One", the "Seed" and the "Branch" .... sound familiar? Most Christians will know right off the bat that these are references to Jesus ... and yet how contrary to what one would expect that a constellation depicting a virgin would be pictured holding a child in many of the star charts? We know from Scripture that God "calls all the stars by name" and several constellations are mentioned, especially in Job and Revelation ... "Arcurtus and his sons" "the seven stars of Pleides" "the band of Orion" and so forth. We also know that God made these stars, not just for navigation, but also to carry warnings and signs of things to come, like in the apocalyptic visions of John, and the Star of Bethlehem that lead the Magi to the cradle of Christ. As a Christian reading this book my viewpoint is obviously biased into accepting the book's conclusion ... but would non-believers be convinced? I think, at the very least, it gives one pause thinking about the great mystery of the constellations. Why, for instance, should the constellations mean the same things across the world. People from different cultures, different time periods, different languages, etc., all looking up at the sky at these scattering of bright dots and say, "Hey! That group looks like a lion and that one looks like a crab. And this group right here, that's obviously a virgin, and that one, plainly, is a set of twins." It seems to defy all reason that these images should come so naturally and universally ' when the substance from where these pictures and stories spring forth are nothing but a bunch of white specks in the sky ... how did it take place and why? Unless, perhaps, they are divine in origin... There is no direct quote in the Bible that says the purpose of these constellations is to prophesy the story of the Gospel ' but it does say God made them and named them, so what they are must of some importance to us. There is a rather startling reference to the constellation Virgo in the Book of Revelation: "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth." ... again, the picture of virgin giving birth. In any case, I'll stop rambling. If you're an open minded Christian I would highly recommend it as way of marveling at God's creation in a way you never thought of before. And if you're an atheist, or of some other creed, I would like to know what you thought of it. What is your belief in the origin of the Zodiac and constellations? -Tim

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-06 00:00:00 Paul Rock Truly astonishing to see God's handiwork in every corner of Creation -- and, most importantly, how He has expressed the Gospel message in that handiwork.