lying for Jesus

[rightcoaster]

http://plim.org/1Moneychangers%20in%20the%20Temple.htm

What did the moneychangers do?

The moneychangers served an important function within the temple. They exchanged a person's foreign coins for a fee into coins that were acceptable within the temple. In many ways they were similar to a currency translation in foreign countries where foreigners have to translate their currency for a fee into the currency of the country they are visiting.

Only the half-shekel coin of the temple was allowed as atonement money, which the priests in the temple used. Those Jews coming from foreign lands with foreign currency or those that had Roman coins had to have these coins changed by the moneychangers. This was one of the largest revenues for the temple.

What's curious here is that the temple complex was an enormous area and the commercial aspects were conducted in the outer courtyards - not the holy of holies. Why wouldn't a "jew" know that? For that matter, why wouldn't a "jew" know that the temple tax had to be paid in the half-shekel coin?

Even more to the point, why was this act of sacrilege not brought up while the priests were questioning jesus? The gospel accounts...bullshit though they may be....suggest that the priests were searching around for a charge but they ignored this violent disruption of the temple operations just a few days before? Sorry. That doesn't make any sense at all.

What does make some sense is the general Roman aversion to usury and the suggestion that Jews were the primary usurers of the day. Again, I suspect this gospel crap is second century writing back-dated to the first. By the mid second century, the Jews were at the top of the Roman shitlist after 3 revolts.

Thanks for your and XP's inputs. I'll wait a bit to see if more come in before responding further.