The Great Christ Comet

Just in time for the Christian celebration of Epiphany, on January 6….

A few years ago, John Paine and I (following John’s lead) introduced the apologetic work of Rick Larson, regarding the date of Jesus’ crucifixion and the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. Rick Larson is most known for his work on researching The Star of Bethlehem.

The father-in-law of Bible scholar Colin R. Nicholl got a copy of The Star of Bethlehem DVD, by Rick Larson, and convinced Nicholl to watch it. Despite the excellent production value of the film, Nicholl was not convinced by Larson’s argument. Egged on by his discussion with his father-in-law, Nicoll left his teaching position at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to devote himself fully to the study of the Bethlehem star. The fruit of his research is available in the new book, The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem. You can read a brief interview with the author at the Gospel Coalition blog.

I would normally pass over something like this, except that the book comes with some high recommendations, including megachurch pastor Louie Giglio, Oxford scholar John C.Lennox, popular Christian writer Eric Metaxis, New Testament scholar Simon Gathercole, whose work has been discussed previously on Veracity, and my New Testament professor from my seminary days, Donald Hagner, among others. I took a peak at Eric Metaxas’ interview with Nicholl and I thought I would share it with you.  As John Paine would say, “judge for yourself.” Let me know your opinion: Do you think Colin Nicholl is right?