Sarassin:


I don't agree with any of the above, it is a re-writing of the gospel. Irrespective of how long prior the edict had been enacted, (and it is doubtful the Romans would wait a decade to execute an edict), parenthesis or not, Luke makes it abundantly clear that it was in execution of the edict that Mary and Joseph re-located and moreover, Mary was heavily pregnant, this places the birth of Jesus at around 6CE at the earliest! there is simply no way around this.
We can always agree to disagree.

Alright then, as my final submission, consider this, its and it's mean entirely different things; the removal of the apostrophe from one totally alters the thought being communicated. Likewise it will be grammatically wrong and subjective to disregard or dispense with the parentheses simply because the end of such an act satisfies your perspective( Luke makes it abundantly clear).

Use parentheses to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. (A question mark or exclamation mark, however, might be appropriate and necessary.) If the material within your parentheses is written as a separate sentence (not included within another sentence), punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence. Eg,
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (we remember him at Kennedy's inauguration) remains America's favorite poet.
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (do you remember him?) remains America's favorite poet.
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost remains America's favorite poet. (We remember him at Kennedy's inauguration.)
If the material is important enough, use some other means of including it within your text—even if it means writing another sentence. Note that parentheses tend to de-emphasize text whereas dashes tend to make material seem even more important.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/parentheses.htm
Hence if the laws of grammar will be upheld, Matthew and Luke were in perfect agreement.
Thank you for your time.

Scholar8200:
Alright then, as my final submission, consider this, its and it's mean entirely different things; the removal of the apostrophe from one totally alters the thought being communicated. Likewise it will be grammatically wrong and subjective to disregard or dispense with the parentheses simply because the end of such an act satisfies your perspective( Luke makes it abundantly clear).

Use parentheses to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. (A question mark or exclamation mark, however, might be appropriate and necessary.) If the material within your parentheses is written as a separate sentence (not included within another sentence), punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence. Eg,
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (we remember him at Kennedy's inauguration) remains America's favorite poet.
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (do you remember him?) remains America's favorite poet.
Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost remains America's favorite poet. (We remember him at Kennedy's inauguration.)
If the material is important enough, use some other means of including it within your text—even if it means writing another sentence. Note that parentheses tend to de-emphasize text whereas dashes tend to make material seem even more important.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/parentheses.htm
Hence if the laws of grammar will be upheld, Matthew and Luke were in perfect agreement.
Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your elaboration on the complexities of the inclusive use of parenthesis. Personally I believe you have placed far too much emphasis on the significance of of the parenthesis in Luke 2 or lack thereof, considering that the parenthesis itself is a relative newcomer and it is inconceivable that Luke would rest the correct reading of something as weighty as the birth dates of Jesus on the subjective interpretation of the use of a parenthesis.

Many thanks.