Ep. 93 Ancient Censuses — Does Luke's Christmas Story Make Sense?
In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and a very pregnant Mary travel to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus has ordered a census of the entire Roman Empire. But does Jesus's birth story in Luke align with what we know about censuses in the ancient world? How were people counted? Who conducted these censuses? And did people really need to travel back to their ancestral homes to register with Rome?
For this special holiday episode, Helen and Dave are joined by Andrew Whitby, a data scientist and author of The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations from the Ancient World to the Modern Age.
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BTM BOOK CLUB
The second meeting of the Biblical Time Machine Book Club will be held on Saturday, December 14 at 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK! Members of the Time Travelers Club are invited for a live Zoom discussion of James McGrath's book, Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist. Grab a copy of the book and we'll see you in December!
DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHY
Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.