Was Jesus anti-capitalist?

What did Jesus really think about money? When he overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple in Jerusalem, accusing them of turning a sacred "house of prayer" into a "den of robbers", he also set off a series of events that would eventually lead to his death. But what exactly was he attacking? The traders themselves, or the wider economic and religious system they represented?

Biblical scholar Tom Thatcher joins Gillian and Robin to explore the financial world of Jesus of Nazareth - from taxation, debt and inequality to the extraordinary economic power of that Temple in Jerusalem. Plus, if Jesus were alive today, where would he sit on the political and economic spectrum? Could his ideas about money and inequality offer a challenge to the way we think about capitalism today? Could he even be described as socialist?

Further reading:

John, Jesus, and the Renewal of Israel by Richard A. Horsley and Tom Thatcher

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant by John Dominic Crossan

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Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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