Luke [the gospel writer] screws up his dating by tactlessly mentioning events that historians are capable of independently checking. There was indeed a census under Governor Quirinius - a local census, not one decreed by Caesar Augustus for the Empire as a whole - but it happened too late in 6 AD, long after Herod's death.
Richard DawkinsWhen I am dying, I should like my life taken out under general anaesthetic, exactly as if it were a diseased appendix.
Richard Dawkins