Contradiction Solved!
No one is lying, your just uninformed, King Heathen. Caesar Augustus was Emperor of Rome in 4 B.C. (Luke 2:1) Cyrenius was procurator of Syria once & governor once, Luke 2:1 was the 1st office and the second office of governorship was in 6 A.D. - he served two terms (Lk. 2:2; Lapis Tiburtinus - CIL, 14. 3613; Apology 1:34). Joseph & Mary go to Bethlehem in 4 B.C.
Notice Luke 2:2 says that this was the “first” census; implying that there was second. Herod dies in 4 B.C. Thus, the “second” census was done in 6 A.D. (Josephus, Antiquities XVIII, 26 [ii.1]).
This “second” census was the official tax census mentioned by Josephus. "Taxed" in Luke 2:1 is a mistranslation; it should be “registered” not “taxed.“ How? The word “taxed” in Scripture is “apographo,” which in Greek means “to be written” as in a registration (i.e. Hebrews 12:23, written). Joseph & Mary were simply going to Bethlehem for a "registration" census. After all, Rome was getting ready to officially take control over Judea in 6 A.D. It is true that Judea did not “technically” become a Roman province until 6 AD, but Judea was under Roman control from circa 48 B.C. with Pompey.
Luke does not say that Mary & Joseph went “straight” back to Nazareth. Actually, it says that after they had done what was “according to the Law of the Lord,” they "returned into Galilee." Luke was simply summarizing just like he did with the very next verse in Luke 2:40 which says, "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him (KJV)." Just because Luke doesn't mention the flight to Egypt, doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Mark was the nephew of Barnabas:
- Colossians 4:10 "Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) (KJV)"
Mark was a disciple of Jesus:
- Acts 12:12,25 - "And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying (KJV)."
- Acts 13:5,13 - "And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister (KJV)."
Paul and Barnabas contend concerning mark:
- Acts 15:36-39: "And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the LORD, and see how they do (KJV)."
Mark was a convert of Peter:
- 1Peter 5:13 - "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son."
Mark was a fellow-worker with Paul at Rome:
- Colossians 4:10,11: "Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) (KJV)"
- 2Timothy 4:11 - "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry (KJV)."
- Philemon 1:24 - "Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers."
Mark is "one of the evangelists," and "author of the Gospel bearing his name. (Marcus was his Latin surname. His Jewish name was John, which is the same as Johanan (the grace of God). We can almost trace the steps whereby the former became his prevalent name in the Church. "John, whose surname was Mark," in Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37, becomes "John" alone in Acts 13:5, 13, "Mark" in Acts 15:39, and thenceforward there is no change. Col. 4:10; Phm. 24; 2 Tim. 4:11. The evangelist was the son of a certain Mary, a Jewish matron of some position who dwelt at Jerusalem, Acts 12:12, and was probably born of a Hellenistic family in that city. Of his father we know nothing; but we do know that the future evangelist was cousin of Barnabas of Cyprus, the great friend of St. Paul. His mother would seem to have been intimately acquainted with St. Peter, and it was to her house, as to a familiar home, that the apostle repaired, a.d. 44, after his deliverance from prison. Acts 12:12.
This fact accounts for St. Mark’s intimate acquaintance with that apostle, to whom also he probably owed his conversion, for St. Peter calls him his son. 1 Pet. 5:13. We hear of him for the first time in Acts 15:25, where we find him accompanying Paul and Barnabas on their return from Jerusalem to Antioch, a.d. 45. He next comes before us on the occasion of the earliest missionary journey of the same apostles, a.d. 48, when he joined them as their "minister." Acts 13:5. With them he visited Cyprus; but at Perga in Pamphylia, Acts 13:13, when they were about to enter upon the more arduous part of their mission, he left them, and, for some unexplained reason, returned to Jerusalem to his mother and his home.
Notwithstanding this, we find him at Paul’s side during that apostle’s first imprisonment at Rome, a.d. 61–63, and he is acknowledged by him as one of his few fellow laborers who had been a "comfort" to him during the weary hours of his imprisonment. Col. 4:10, 11; Phm. 24. We next have traces of him in 1 Pet. 5:13: "The church that is in Babylon . . . saluteth you, and so doth Marcus my son." From this we infer that he joined his spiritual father, the great friend of his mother, at Babylon, then and for some hundred years afterward one of the chief seats of Jewish culture.
From Babylon he would seem to have returned to Asia Minor; for during his second imprisonment, a.d. 68, St. Paul, writing to Timothy, charges him to bring Mark with him to Rome, on the ground that he was "profitable to him for the ministry." 2 Tim. 4:11. From this point we gain no further information from the New Testament respecting the evangelist. It is most probable, however, that he did join the apostle at Rome, whither also St. Peter would seem to have proceeded, and suffered martyrdom along with St. Paul. After the death of these two great pillars of the Church, ecclesiastical tradition affirms that St. Mark visited Egypt, founded the church of Alexandria, and died by martyrdom.—Condensed from Cambridge Bible for Schools.—Ed.)" ~ (Smiths Bible Dictionary)
Somehow, this heathen thinks that he has some sort of "proof" of a contradiction in the bible. As I have tried to educate atheists and heathens alike, a contradiction is NOT what this is. A contradiction is an "opposing statement." An opposing statement is a statement that is in opposition to each other.
Examples of two "non-opposing" statement:
- The flying spaghetti monster has red eyes.
- The flying spaghetti monster has green eyes.
Why is this a "non-opposing statement?" Because the flying spaghetti monster may have both colors in his eyes. His eyes may have red, where our whites are, and green in the pupil area (the center). If he had eyes on his tenticles or used "feelers" to judge his surroundings, as in using them as a form of vision, then he would still have eyes. This is NOT a contradiction nor is it a non-opposing statement.
Examples of two "opposing" statements:
- The flying spaghetti monster has red eyes
- The flying spaghetti monster has no eyes.
This is a clear and concise contradiction. One statement says that the flying spaghetti monster "has eyes" (regardless of the color or colors) and the other statement says that the flying spaghetti monster has "no eyes." He either has eyes or he doesn't. If he had eyes on his tenticles, he would still have a form of vision. So, by this example, we see that this is what an actual contradiction is.
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