[imardmd1]

Yet Dr. Paul L. Maier of Western Michigan University once told me in a television interview: "When Augustus died, he had two bronze plaques erected in front of his mausoleum in Rome in which he listed the 36 things for which he most wanted to be remembered. Point No. 8: 'I took a census of the Empire three times.'"

Thank you so much for this post! I have tried to find a historical answer to this point of contention many times. For me, it has never been a question, because Dr. Luke was there, had eyewitnesses, and meticulously recorderd facts accurately and chronologically in his Gospel and in the Acts of The Apostles. So I have believed. Of course, it always come down to the issue of credibility. Does one have:

- total confidence in The Faith, that of The Christ, The Lifegiver and The Truth Embodied, declared in the Documented Account of His Progressive Revelation, The Holy Bible;

or,

- a grasping-at-straws blind clinging to the falsehoods and misdirection of that Old Liar, Satan, the Destroyer?

In my early life, I just dodged the issues, until I could no longer ignore them. Now, being converted, regenerated, and trained as a discipler, I contend for The Faith once-and-for-all-time delivered to the saints, given to that body that increases year after year, century after century, to declare the Good News as His Heralds.

[chesley]

For me, if one of these problems comes up, I try to reconcile it. If I can't, I don't ignore it, but I don't let it shake my faith. The problem could be in the 'facts" presented by the questioner. It could be in his interpretation of the facts. It could be in my interpretation of the Bible; something that I willing to change if presented with evidence from the Bible itself, if after study and prayer I cannot refute it. Hasn't happened that much. In the end, I will ask God Himself one day.