Was Luke wrong about the census?

Posted on December 23, 2022 
Filed under History, Resources

“One of the best-known elements in the Christmas story is the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, despite Mary’s advanced pregnancy, to participate in a census associated with a Roman official named Quirinius. At the centre of every nativity play is the resulting crisis, as Mary and Joseph hurry to Bethlehem but – unable to find accommodation – take up residence with the livestock. …

Given Luke’s professed aims, his careful use of external historical markers elsewhere, and his probable access to at least one of Jesus’s family members, the idea that this story is a fiction invites scepticism.”

– A fascinating article by David Armitage, Academic Administrator at Tyndale House in Cambridge. (Maybe don’t put all of this into your Christmas morning sermon…)