And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise.
— John 2:15–16
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
— Matthew 21:12–13
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
— James 5:1-6
Paul really fucked up the faith.
“Never met the man Jesus but I’m sure he was a big fan of money, as am i, and when you banished me from town I totally saw his ghost and he said I was his most important disciple so you must let me back”
It’s ironic, as while yes, I agree he is pretty much the antithesis of what was originally there, I also don’t think much about the original tradition would have survived and certainly not thrived if not for the changes he brought to its fundraising and underhanded megalomania.
It led to nearly a thousand years of dark ages, but that little false prophet set in motion a tradition that I simply don’t think the historical Jesus had any chance of actually seeing manifest without the posthumous additions from Paul’s narcissism and manipulations.
Also, keep in mind it’s even more insidious than what you wrote. He’s literally persecuting Jesus’s followers, and then in areas he has no authority to continue to persecute he’s saying “I’m one of you now, but by the way ignore those other versions of Jesus over there and only follow the version I tell you about.” It wasn’t simply profiteering - he’s silencing the very same tradition I suspect he was actually persecuting in the first place.