FINALLY! The correct answer has been posted...

[Ulan]

You don't need to see it.
Many different census efforts have already been posted in this thread by Tiberius. It's unreasonable to think they would have stopped at just these, and it's unreasonable to believe there were no more. It's far more reasonable to believe more were conducted and we've lost the records.

Which evades the question. Why would anyone do this? For what purpose?

I'm sure there were as many different reasons as there were senators in Rome. It's usually money.
I've already posted above an explanation of how taxation worked in the empire under Mark Anthony and later under Augustus. You may want to read it.

You could have just posted that you have no idea.

[Mental flatliner]

I've already posted above an explanation of how taxation worked in the empire under Mark Anthony and later under Augustus. You may want to read it.

You could have just posted that you have no idea.

If you really want to know, what was it that stopped you from referring to the post I mentioned?

[Ulan]

If you really want to know, what was it that stopped you from referring to the post I mentioned?

Because that post doesn't answer the question. Or better, it provides speculations on your part that are not plausible. I have already posted why those are not plausible.

There is not really any theoretical reason I could think of that makes this setup for a census fulfill any purpose at all. It does not yield any useful information.

[Mental flatliner]

Because that post doesn't answer the question. Or better, it provides speculations on your part that are not plausible. I have already posted why those are not plausible.

There is not really any theoretical reason I could think of that makes this setup for a census fulfill any purpose at all. It does not yield any useful information.

Not plausible?

Collection of names is not plausible?
Collection of taxes based on a list of names is not plausible?

Are you kidding?

It sounds to me like you're desperate for there to be no reason to collect the data, even if it means masking whole sections of reality to do it. Far more complex records already existed in the Jewish genealogy libraries.

[Bernard Muller]

I still haven't seen any reason for Romans collecting data like that for Galileans of Judean ancestry.

I did not propose or imply that. Read my posts.

Cordially, Bernard

[Ulan]

Not plausible? Collection of names is not plausible?
Collection of taxes based on a list of names is not plausible?

Are you kidding?

No, are you kidding me? Why would you collect a list of names of people who live and pay taxes in a different province/country?

[Ulan]

I still haven't seen any reason for Romans collecting data like that for Galileans of Judean ancestry.

I did not propose or imply that. Read my posts.

I read your posts, and they were concerning Roman citizens. Which is a valid topic, but not really of interest in the setting of the gospel of Luke. I was just phrasing my question now in an unambiguous way. Sorry for any confusion.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Judea was never under his jurisdiction
and he never imposed a census or tax there
There was no Roman census in Judea until 6 CE. That's a fact.
If Luke thought otherwise, Luke was wrong.
Luke was wrong about a lot of things. That's not remarkable.

Each of these statements was simply made up on the spot. You can't provide evidence for any of them, and if we asked you, you'd refuse.

You say you read Josephus, so why don't you know this history?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_%28R ... n_province
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius

[Mental flatliner]

Not plausible? Collection of names is not plausible?
Collection of taxes based on a list of names is not plausible?

Are you kidding?

No, are you kidding me? Why would you collect a list of names of people who live and pay taxes in a different province?

As long as you're thinking about this from street-level, you'll never get it.

The authorities needed the means of verifying that everyone paid the tax. This requires the creation of tax rolls to account for each person. Whether they have to travel or not is irrelevant. It's not like they're going to have to return to their homeland each year as they would if this were an annual tax.

[Mental flatliner]

Judea was never under his jurisdiction
and he never imposed a census or tax there
There was no Roman census in Judea until 6 CE. That's a fact.
If Luke thought otherwise, Luke was wrong.
Luke was wrong about a lot of things. That's not remarkable.

Each of these statements was simply made up on the spot. You can't provide evidence for any of them, and if we asked you, you'd refuse.

You say you read Josephus, so why don't you know this history?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_%28R ... n_province
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius

Wikipedia isn't a source.

Try again.

Each of these statements needs to be backed up by an original document. You don't need an online source with me. Name the book, and if it's a primary, chances are I already have it.