What is the appeal of becoming a "fisher of men"? The story where Jesus tells his followers to become one just sounds like he is telling untrained and uneducated men that they can have a more leisurely life if they become a minister. They will (1) not have to work hard, and (2) will make more money.
Is this really all that the "gospel" is all about? I don't think that is what Paul had in mind. But when the gospel writers wrote about it years later, it seems like they were mocking Paul in some way. Because Paul warned about the "love of money" as being the root of all kinds of evil. Or, maybe the gospel writers were criticizing what Christianity had turned into.
What about this passage from Matthew 17:24-27?
*
The Temple Tax
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Is this really all that the "gospel" is all about? I don't think that is what Paul had in mind. But when the gospel writers wrote about it years later, it seems like they were mocking Paul in some way. Because Paul warned about the "love of money" as being the root of all kinds of evil. Or, maybe the gospel writers were criticizing what Christianity had turned into.
What about this passage from Matthew 17:24-27?
*
The Temple Tax
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”