Jesus was born years earlier than thought, claims Pope

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Unless you believe the Gospel of Luke, of course

in which case, Luke 2:2 says he was born AD 6 or later:

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

Quirinius was appointed governor of Syria in AD 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirinius

Or, both birth stories are the best guesses someone could make about 70 years later, while fitting in with the Jewish prophesies they personally thought were important, and neither can be taken as an accurate account of dates or events.