Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were good-hearted Rocky Balboa types (the Old first Rocky). Not much of a difference between them really. The early first century Roman system for collecting taxes lent itself to excess, exploitation, and corruption. Consider the structure in 24 CE. The Italian government 'bid out' the right to collect taxes in a region of the empire. Rome's government would say, We need 'x' amount of revenue from this region of the empire. Wealthy people (mob bosses) would bid on the right to collect (shake down) taxes in that region. Anything they collected above the Italian government's demand was their profit (the take). The Roman regional collectors often would hire managers (gangsters) in specific districts of the region (such as Zacchaeus) for the shake down. The man would have a specific sum he must collect in the district. Anything he collected above that sum was kept (his take). These managers would hire local Italian gangs in their district to do the actual collecting (like Matthew's gang). It was their job to actually collect (shake down) amounts assigned by their managers (gangsters). If they collected more than the managers requested, the amount they collected above what was required was kept (their take). It does not require a genius to imagine how Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, functionally illiterate Rocky Balboas, worked. Roman Catholic Church is rooted from this origin of the Italian (Roman) mob, their bosses, good-hearted thugs like Matthew, the functionally illiterate tax collector, and good-natured associates, like Mark the missionary, Luke the slave physician and John the fisherman. These four were all debt collectors actually, not one of them a capable author.
Italian Empire (RCC) current Syndicated shake down South America these days.
Yahya the Baptizer
BD: 6/1/6 BC
(d/m/y)
Messiah Isa Christ
BD: 6/6/6 BC
(d/m/y)
Italian Empire (RCC) current Syndicated shake down South America these days.
Yahya the Baptizer
BD: 6/1/6 BC
(d/m/y)
Messiah Isa Christ
BD: 6/6/6 BC
(d/m/y)
