You know how the Romans collected taxes in there less “Roman” providences? They have rich guys a contract to basically raise taxes and the rich guys payed up front what was owed for their division of it. Then they were allowed to collect taxes beyond what they paid the Romans to make a profit. This is mainly why they were hated so much. Many people might imagine some official going around and collecting taxes fairly, but the reality was they were operating much more like a Mafia extorting protection money out of people, and taking more then most people owed, often to peoples ruin or near ruin. You can also imagine how nepotic this becomes. People who have loyalty to the dominant ruling class would often catch a break, while those disfavored by the dominant faction would often be harassed.
It’s also the origin of some anti-semitic tropes. After Christianity rose to prominence in the Roman Empire, Christians considered lending money with interest to be a sin, so they were forbidden from working related jobs. This resulted in Jews, who were forbidden from owning land and many other professions, taking up the role of merchants, money lenders, and tax collectors. In the Christian view of the time, they were doing the “dirty work” because they were immoral and sinful, and the nature of the work made them easy scapegoats for many of society’s ills. The reputation has followed Jews into modernity.
You know Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism, right? How early roman christians viewed and treated Jewish people is reasonable context to include in a conversation about the history.
Sure it is, in the same way that Satanism is an offshoot of Christianity, I guess.
Perhaps that is not how it is practiced these days, but that IS how Christ intended it to be. Just read Matthew 23 in case you have any doubts. If that is not a scathing repudiation of any Rabbinic teaching that was around at the time, then IDK what is. If you can find a more eloquent way to say “shove all this crap up your own ass and die from it”, I can’t wait to hear it.
Remember, they had the guy killed just for saying that.
You know how the Romans collected taxes in there less “Roman” providences? They have rich guys a contract to basically raise taxes and the rich guys payed up front what was owed for their division of it. Then they were allowed to collect taxes beyond what they paid the Romans to make a profit. This is mainly why they were hated so much. Many people might imagine some official going around and collecting taxes fairly, but the reality was they were operating much more like a Mafia extorting protection money out of people, and taking more then most people owed, often to peoples ruin or near ruin. You can also imagine how nepotic this becomes. People who have loyalty to the dominant ruling class would often catch a break, while those disfavored by the dominant faction would often be harassed.
Well that would certainly explain why the tax collectors get such a bad rap in the Gospels.
It’s also the origin of some anti-semitic tropes. After Christianity rose to prominence in the Roman Empire, Christians considered lending money with interest to be a sin, so they were forbidden from working related jobs. This resulted in Jews, who were forbidden from owning land and many other professions, taking up the role of merchants, money lenders, and tax collectors. In the Christian view of the time, they were doing the “dirty work” because they were immoral and sinful, and the nature of the work made them easy scapegoats for many of society’s ills. The reputation has followed Jews into modernity.
I’m honestly not sure how you’re helping defeat any stereotypes here because no one was even talking about Jews until you brought it up.
You know Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism, right? How early roman christians viewed and treated Jewish people is reasonable context to include in a conversation about the history.
Sure it is, in the same way that Satanism is an offshoot of Christianity, I guess.
Perhaps that is not how it is practiced these days, but that IS how Christ intended it to be. Just read Matthew 23 in case you have any doubts. If that is not a scathing repudiation of any Rabbinic teaching that was around at the time, then IDK what is. If you can find a more eloquent way to say “shove all this crap up your own ass and die from it”, I can’t wait to hear it.
Remember, they had the guy killed just for saying that.