........More hilarious still, though, is the contention that people were required to return to the place of their birth. That implies that Roman officials were somehow incapable of counting someone who was not resident at their place of birth. More foolish than that, however, is the consideration of the logistical nightmare invovled if even only Roman citizens has been required to return to the place of their birth.......
Some scholars have scoffed at the notion that people in faraway Palestine (such as Joseph and Mary) would have had to travel to their ancestral birth place for a census. But we have evidence to show that such traveling was indeed done with a Roman census, in Egypt at least. A Roman census document, dated 104 A.D., has been discovered in Egypt, in which citizens were specifically commanded to return to their original homes for the census.6 Another census document from 119 A.D. has been found in which an Egyptian man identifies himself by giving (1) his name and the names of his father, mother, and grandfather; (2) his original village; (3) his age and profession; (4) a scar above his left eyebrow; (5) his wife's name and age, his wife's father's name; (6) his son's name and age; (6) the names of other relatives living with him. The document is signed by the village registrar and three official witnesses.7 This latter document is of special interest, because it gives us an idea of the kind of information that Joseph and Mary would have had to provide for the census.......
6. This is cited in Maier, Fullness, 4, who is quoting from A. H. M. Jones, ed., A History of Rome through the Fifth Century (New York: Harper and Row, 1970), II, 256f.
Early humans colonized northern Europe around 700,000 years ago, some 200,000 years sooner than previously thought, British archaeologists believe.
The finding will rewrite the odyssey of Homo erectus, the ancestor of modern man, who ventured out of Africa and spread northward into Eurasia.
The established timeline has these humans colonizing the southern Caucasus about 1.8 million years ago, then venturing westward along the Mediterranean, reaching Spain and Italy around 800,000 years ago.
But, until now, it was thought that bitter cold from a lingering Ice Age thwarted these Stone Age pioneers from moving northward for hundreds of thousands of years. ............
Perhaps not all would agree, but I found this possible explanation interesting, at least.
Quote:from http://users.rcn.com/tlclcms/census.htmlSome scholars have scoffed at the notion that people in faraway Palestine (such as Joseph and Mary) would have had to travel to their ancestral birth place for a census. But we have evidence to show that such traveling was indeed done with a Roman census, in Egypt at least. A Roman census document, dated 104 A.D., has been discovered in Egypt, in which citizens were specifically commanded to return to their original homes for the census.6 Another census document from 119 A.D. has been found in which an Egyptian man identifies himself by giving (1) his name and the names of his father, mother, and grandfather; (2) his original village; (3) his age and profession; (4) a scar above his left eyebrow; (5) his wife's name and age, his wife's father's name; (6) his son's name and age; (6) the names of other relatives living with him. The document is signed by the village registrar and three official witnesses.7 This latter document is of special interest, because it gives us an idea of the kind of information that Joseph and Mary would have had to provide for the census.......
6. This is cited in Maier, Fullness, 4, who is quoting from A. H. M. Jones, ed., A History of Rome through the Fifth Century (New York: Harper and Row, 1970), II, 256f.
real life wrote:
Perhaps not all would agree, but I found this possible explanation interesting, at least.
Quote:from http://users.rcn.com/tlclcms/census.htmlSome scholars have scoffed at the notion that people in faraway Palestine (such as Joseph and Mary) would have had to travel to their ancestral birth place for a census. But we have evidence to show that such traveling was indeed done with a Roman census, in Egypt at least. A Roman census document, dated 104 A.D., has been discovered in Egypt, in which citizens were specifically commanded to return to their original homes for the census.6 Another census document from 119 A.D. has been found in which an Egyptian man identifies himself by giving (1) his name and the names of his father, mother, and grandfather; (2) his original village; (3) his age and profession; (4) a scar above his left eyebrow; (5) his wife's name and age, his wife's father's name; (6) his son's name and age; (6) the names of other relatives living with him. The document is signed by the village registrar and three official witnesses.7 This latter document is of special interest, because it gives us an idea of the kind of information that Joseph and Mary would have had to provide for the census.......
6. This is cited in Maier, Fullness, 4, who is quoting from A. H. M. Jones, ed., A History of Rome through the Fifth Century (New York: Harper and Row, 1970), II, 256f.
In the first example, no details are provided of the nature of the census, and whether or not it were an official imperial census, or simply a local count by local officials, and perhaps not even Roman officials. In the second example, note that the Egyptian is not required to return to the place of his birth to have himself recorded. The Romans were at least that competent. Also note that your source does not explain why the gentleman is being registered. If he were claiming Roman citizenship in one of the many examples in which the opportunity were offered to people in the provinces, this would be very necessary information.
At the time of the alleged birth of the putative Jesus, the only people to whom Roman citizenship had been extended outside the Italian penninsula were the Narbonensii of what we would know of as southern France. You are referring to information provided at least at third hand here, and more than a century later, when Roman citizenship was being extended to residents of the provinces who could show descent from a citizen. As you do not quote the original source, a good deal of the context is missing--we cannot know if any information contradictory to the impression your source wishes to create has been left out. This, however, is typical of the manner in which you approach science. It is more the appearance of support for your position than actual, verifiable information which appeals to you.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
I'm sure a bobble reader such as you will recognize Luke. Once again, a census of the entire empire in that time frame is not mentioned in any other source, and certainly not in any known imperial documents. Once again, the Censors did not count people who were not citizens, because they simply did not matter to imperial officials, for whatever the interests of local officials might have been. Once again, the logistical consideration of every Roman citizen in the empire attempting to return to their birth place, let alone every person in the empire, beggars any belief in such a contention. And, finally, once again, you are playing games and dancing, because the passage above refers to an imperial order issued by the Princeps, and such an extraordinary event would not go unnoted, especially in the era in which Roman historians began to flourish (Titus Livius and Ad urbe condite being the first great work of this era).
Very poor job, "real life," and exactly what we should expect given your low, low standards of scientific proof--why would one expect you to do any better in history?
In MArk, the crucufixion presents Christ as silent, hes mocked by 2 other criminals being crucified, and the only thing he says at the the end is "My God, why have you forsaken me"
In Luke, Christ is calm , a bit chatty, says "Forgive them, they know not what they do." Invites one o the co-crucified thieves to heavan, and then cries out "It is finished " and "Father into thy hands I commend my spirit"
The various authors had their books as "stand alone" personal testimonies for specific times and audiences. We, like to combine them all by doing a "mashing together" of the words in each separate volume.
To me , Mark presents Jesus as one "not with the program" .If he was to die for our sins , he didnt seem to be aware of the ceremony expected of him. In Luke, its just the opposite, we have a transcendant Christ with aclear vision of his destiny.
Of course, in the Q'uran we read that Jesus was never killed on the cross anyway.
The Nativity is another means to cobble together the legends from each of the gospels and to smush them together to a modern composite tale which extracts something from each gospel. We never seem to be concerned that the gospels themselves seem to contradict each other.
Mark has a "mean spirited " Jesus and Luke has Jesus as a more compassionate man who doesnt go around smoting fig trees cause they are dormant and not bearing fruit at the time.
Weve already discussed Genesis and the errors it contains
In MArk, the crucufixion presents Christ as silent, hes mocked by 2 other criminals being crucified, and the only thing he says at the the end is "My God, why have you forsaken me"
In Luke, Christ is calm , a bit chatty, says "Forgive them, they know not what they do." Invites one o the co-crucified thieves to heavan, and then cries out "It is finished " and "Father into thy hands I commend my spirit"
The various authors had their books as "stand alone" personal testimonies for specific times and audiences. We, like to combine them all by doing a "mashing together" of the words in each separate volume.
To me , Mark presents Jesus as one "not with the program" .If he was to die for our sins , he didnt seem to be aware of the ceremony expected of him. In Luke, its just the opposite, we have a transcendant Christ with aclear vision of his destiny.
Of course, in the Q'uran we read that Jesus was never killed on the cross anyway.
The Nativity is another means to cobble together the legends from each of the gospels and to smush them together to a modern composite tale which extracts something from each gospel. We never seem to be concerned that the gospels themselves seem to contradict each other.
Mark has a "mean spirited " Jesus and Luke has Jesus as a more compassionate man who doesnt go around smoting fig trees cause they are dormant and not bearing fruit at the time.
Weve already discussed Genesis and the errors it contains
If the gopsels were "peer reviewed" by "questioned documents" experts, they would be presented with a sizable differentiation in what the two Jesus represent. In my primary education we were already presented with some of the differences in the Gospels. It wasnt until many years later that I became aware of the very existence noncanonical Gospels which , if included in the NT, wed be running in ever decreasing circumferences. Im fascinated by the descent and presentation of the gospels as "stand alone" documents (which is, after all , how they were written.
I think that the NT especially should be given a "questioned document" looksee by forensic experts with no sectarian ties. The author of :Misquoting Jesus" began as an Evangelical Christian and wound up as a "happy agnostic" (those are his words)
If you have something that is a true contradiction (or seems to be) I would be glad to discuss.
If the gopsels were "peer reviewed" by "questioned documents" experts, they would be presented with a sizable differentiation in what the two Jesus represent. In my primary education we were already presented with some of the differences in the Gospels. It wasnt until many years later that I became aware of the very existence noncanonical Gospels which , if included in the NT, wed be running in ever decreasing circumferences. Im fascinated by the descent and presentation of the gospels as "stand alone" documents (which is, after all , how they were written.
I think that the NT especially should be given a "questioned document" looksee by forensic experts with no sectarian ties. The author of :Misquoting Jesus" began as an Evangelical Christian and wound up as a "happy agnostic" (those are his words)
real life saidQuote:If you have something that is a true contradiction (or seems to be) I would be glad to discuss.
Humor me please. I consider the POV differences between Mark and Luke into the PAssion of Christ to be very important contradictions, dont you? These are two gospels included in the canon after centuries of Biblical scholarship and church leaders dont seem to want to "get into" this apparent contradiction. I dont wanna be a noodge but I dont get it.
For years (while I was still a believing Catholic ) I was always questioning the "mashing" together (where convenient) of the messages of the four gospels, while totally taking each one in its own context.
The fact that many of these writers nd scribes were derivative of the others , or they had different intended audiences, or they were just "made up" should be part of the information given the faithful. These , and many more , seem to belike, dark little secrets of the included books of the NT while totally avoiding the processes that excluded the many other books which presented totally different testaments.
Youve been rather particular about the level of evidence we in the sciences must explain, yet there seems to be a pronounced double standard in Biblical scholarship.
PS, I have to admit that my reading has been mostly people like Eliade and Bart EhrmanRL Numbers, L Mooreshead and,
Michael Ruse
If you ask my wife and several of my kids to write the story of my life and words (in 20,000 words or less) for a three and a half year period, you will have one including details that another excludes, one may have a certain emphasis that another lacks, etc. Both may very accurately record each event and still produce quite distinct documents. No contradiction there.
Your rendering of the passage in Luke is a poor one, and although it may serve your purposes, it is misleading.
Don't know that the purpose of the census in Egypt matters much (the first example), it simply shows that requiring people to return to their home city for a census was NOT unheard of in the Roman world (of which Egypt was a part).
Also you might read the link, since it indicates there were 3 imperial orders to complete a census during his reign.