You're welcome, Pad and don't worry about the idiot. He actually serves a purpose as a "straight man." Since he has fallen for this nonsense of trying to show that Luke and Matthew do not contradict each other it gives me the opportunity to post Richard Carrier's fine essay on "The Date of The Nativity in Luke."
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/r...inius.html
Ever since Xtians lost the ability to burn people at the stake who dared to point out the contradictions in their "holey (pun intended) books" they have been twisting their scrotums into knots trying to get around this most obvious contradiction going. As shitwit is trying to do they have suggested all sorts of things...from changing the date of Herod's death to Quirinius having been governor of Syria twice to "Matthew" meaning Herod Archelaus not Herod the Great to Quirinius "sharing power" with another governor, etc. etc. Some have even suggested, (you have to admire the irony in this one) that Luke, who otherwise is as inerrant as all the gospel liars actually made a mistake and meant someone else aside from Quirinius! But, of course, he is still inerrant which is a little like saying that Bush kept us safe from terrorism except for that one time!
Anyway, the status of the Roman governors of Syria is known well enough. G. Sentius Saturninus from 9-6 BC, P. Qunictilius Varus from 6 to at least 3 BC, (there is a question here because Varus was busy putting down revolts which broke out on Herod's death and may have had his command extended. The Romans did not change successful commanders in the middle of a war and Varus did crush the revolts. The next governor was Gaius Caesar, Augustus' grandson and he assumed the office in 1 BC. Oddly, Quirinius did accompany him but so did a number of other officers (including Lucius Aelius Sejanus who became Imperial Prefect under Tiberius) to serve as tutors for the young man but
Gaius was the governor. Quirinius got the title himself in 6 AD and there is simply no opportunity for anyone else to have snuck in there no matter how many people try to finagle the dates. Quirinius was busy in central Turkey where, as governor of Pamphylia, he was busy putting down a revolt by some mountain tribesmen. He was far too busy to have doubled up as governor of Syria then no matter how many holy kooks try to find comets, meteors, super novae, etc. to save the fairy tales for the lunatic fringe. I also doubt that they found a "star" which bounced along the ground leading the so-called magi to Bethlehem but I have no doubt that some damn fool will claim he has and G-C will fall for that shit hook, line, and sinker, too.
Now, I grant you, such shenanigans are enough to fool the 'dead-jew-on-a-stick' crowd as our resident shitwit proves every day. But astronomy/astrology/nuclear physics is not going to save his gospels from the fact that these two directly contradict each other.
Anyway, I highly recommend Carrier's essay.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/r...inius.html
Ever since Xtians lost the ability to burn people at the stake who dared to point out the contradictions in their "holey (pun intended) books" they have been twisting their scrotums into knots trying to get around this most obvious contradiction going. As shitwit is trying to do they have suggested all sorts of things...from changing the date of Herod's death to Quirinius having been governor of Syria twice to "Matthew" meaning Herod Archelaus not Herod the Great to Quirinius "sharing power" with another governor, etc. etc. Some have even suggested, (you have to admire the irony in this one) that Luke, who otherwise is as inerrant as all the gospel liars actually made a mistake and meant someone else aside from Quirinius! But, of course, he is still inerrant which is a little like saying that Bush kept us safe from terrorism except for that one time!
Anyway, the status of the Roman governors of Syria is known well enough. G. Sentius Saturninus from 9-6 BC, P. Qunictilius Varus from 6 to at least 3 BC, (there is a question here because Varus was busy putting down revolts which broke out on Herod's death and may have had his command extended. The Romans did not change successful commanders in the middle of a war and Varus did crush the revolts. The next governor was Gaius Caesar, Augustus' grandson and he assumed the office in 1 BC. Oddly, Quirinius did accompany him but so did a number of other officers (including Lucius Aelius Sejanus who became Imperial Prefect under Tiberius) to serve as tutors for the young man but
Gaius was the governor. Quirinius got the title himself in 6 AD and there is simply no opportunity for anyone else to have snuck in there no matter how many people try to finagle the dates. Quirinius was busy in central Turkey where, as governor of Pamphylia, he was busy putting down a revolt by some mountain tribesmen. He was far too busy to have doubled up as governor of Syria then no matter how many holy kooks try to find comets, meteors, super novae, etc. to save the fairy tales for the lunatic fringe. I also doubt that they found a "star" which bounced along the ground leading the so-called magi to Bethlehem but I have no doubt that some damn fool will claim he has and G-C will fall for that shit hook, line, and sinker, too.
Now, I grant you, such shenanigans are enough to fool the 'dead-jew-on-a-stick' crowd as our resident shitwit proves every day. But astronomy/astrology/nuclear physics is not going to save his gospels from the fact that these two directly contradict each other.
Anyway, I highly recommend Carrier's essay.