The 2010 census and the nativity

An ad campaign to get Hispanics to participate in 2010 census, using the gospel story of Jesus’ birth, has been called "blasphemous" by other Latino groups.


This certainly seems like an odd way to get people to participate in the US census. Wasn’t the census as described in the gospels part of the evil Roman empire’s efforts to control their subject populations? Why would you want to associate yourself with that? Plus, the birth of Jesus is closely associated with the Flight to Egypt – the holy family getting out of town fast to avoid the authorities. Again, not a great association to present to members of Hispanic communities who may be wary of government officials.

At any rate, I’ve always thought that the census procedure as described in Luke sounds weird – having everyone go back to their home town to be counted? Why? How long did they have to stay there? What about old, sick, and (obviously) pregnant people? What if a husband and wife were from different towns? It turns out there is lots of scholarly speculation about the two censuses in the gospels (Matthew and Luke), whether they seem to correspond to anything we know about ancient history, and about whether or not it is possible to reconcile the two accounts:

"This passage has long been considered problematic by Biblical scholars, since it places the birth of Jesus around the time of the census in C.E. 6, whereas the Gospel of Matthew indicates a birth during or just after the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 B.C.E., ten years earlier. . . In addition, no other sources mention a world-wide (in this context, probably meaning 'the Roman world') census which would cover the population as a whole; those of Augustus covered Roman citizens only; and it was not the practice in Roman censuses to require people to return to their ancestral homes."

and

"Luke's statement that Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem 'because he was descended from the house and family of David' has often been called into question, since it appears to imply that people were required to return to their ancestral home; James Dunn wrote: "the idea of a census requiring individuals to move to the native town of long dead ancestors is hard to credit". . . . A papyrus from Egypt dated C.E. 104 requiring people to return to their homes for a census has sometimes been cited as evidence of a requirement to travel; however, this refers only to migrant workers returning to their family home, not their ancestral home. However, Raymond E. Brown suggested that “One cannot rule out the possibility that, since Romans often adapted their administration to local circumstances, a census conducted in Judea would respect the strong attachment of Jewish tribal and ancestral relationships.”

Source for quotes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius