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THE MAGI & THE STAR — A FOUR-PART SERIES ✨Most of us know the Christmas story: mysterious visitors from the East see a star, travel to find the infant Jesus, bring their gifts…and disappear from the story almost as quickly as they arrived.
But early Christians told other versions of their story.
At the center of our four-week series will be The Revelation of the Magi, a fascinating extra-canonical Christian text preserved in Syriac that tells a very different version of the Nativity from the familiar Christmas pageant.
In this story, the Magi are members of an ancient tradition whose expectation reaches back to Seth, the son of Adam. For generations they await a promised star. When it finally appears, the star is not simply an object in the sky pointing toward Jesus. It becomes something far stranger and more beautiful. The story follows their encounter, their journey to witness the birth of Christ, their return home, and what becomes of the Magi afterward.
Over four Tuesday evenings, Rev. Dan Odell and Copper Mack will explore this remarkable text from two perspectives that meet in the middle.
Dan will guide us through The Revelation of the Magi, early Christian history, theology, the development of the Nativity tradition, and the spiritual questions raised by this unusual story.
Copper, astrologer and historical researcher, will explore the ancient astrological world of the Magi and the centuries surrounding the birth of Jesus.
Together we’ll ask:
-Who were the Magi before they became the “Three Wise Men”?
-What did it actually mean to read the heavens in the ancient world?
-Why does Matthew call these visitors Magi rather than simply astrologers or Chaldeans?
-What happens in Revelation of the Magi when the star stops simply pointing toward Christ and becomes part of the revelation itself?
-And how did these mysterious eastern visitors eventually become the kings and wise men of our familiar Christmas tradition?
This is not about proving an alternative version of the Nativity. It’s a chance to explore an extraordinary piece of early Christian literature, put it back into its historical world, and have some really good conversations about faith, astrology, ancient history, the heavens, and how religious traditions grow.
Bring your questions. Bring your curiosity. Bring a snack to share. You do not need to be an astrologer, Christian, historian, theologian—or even know anything about this text—to join us.
Our primary text will be Brent Landau’s Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem. Copies can be purchased https://a.co/d/09cE1SdK, or message us for information about the reading.
⭐ Four Tuesday evenings
📅 November 10 – December 1
🕕 6:00–7:30 PM
Presented by Rev. Dan Odell & Copper Mack
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Event venue
332 E 2nd, Casper, WY, United States, Wyoming 82601
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