5 ms·
Love the historical tie-in. So many people are familiar with this story and I know that I will never forget about this after realising that I am "very familiar
by solidsnack9000 6y ago
Love the historical tie-in. So many people are familiar with this story and I know that I will never forget about this after realising that I am "very familiar with the Roman census method and don’t know it":
You see there once was a story about two people – Mary and Joseph – who had to travel to a small city – Bethlehem – for the taking of a Roman census. On the way there Mary had a little baby boy – named Jesus – in a manger. And the shepherds flocked to see this baby boy. And Magi came and delivered gifts. Thus born was the religion many people are familiar with – Christianity. The Roman census approach is intimately entwined with the birth of Christianity.
- dralley 6y agoThe Roman Census never required people to travel to their homeland. That would be quite counterproductive as the practical purpose of census-taking was the calculation of taxes, which requires an enumeration of property. The bible's account of Roman census' is seemingly not accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius
- solidsnack9000 6y agoPerhaps it required them to travel to a nearby town and this detail was dramatised greatly. EDIT: Actually, no, the censors went from house to house: https://history.stackexchange.com/a/23980 https://history.stackexchange.com/a/23980
- mamon 6y agoUsual explanation is that doing census by place of birth was actually Jewish idea - because the "12 tribes of Israel" concept is so deeply ingrained in their culture, so whey Romans requested census Jewish leaders simply tried to kill two birds with one stone, and Romans didn't really care so they agreed.
- cheerlessbog 6y agoThe story seems at odds with the narrative. Why didn't the census take go to Mary?