Well... we have to refer to 1st Century Judea and to the scriptures as well. In the temple in Jerusalem the only money that the priests would accept in donations was the temple's own currency. Secular moneychangers within the temple premises would provide this currency to pilgrims at disadvantageous rates. The Easter stories refer to Jesus driving these moneychangers out of the temple precinct, angered at the way they were taking commercial advantage of the pilgrims' religious faith. In fact taking corrupt advantage of peoples' religious beliefs and practices is frowned upon in Christianity. This is where my assertion with respect to Jesus' views comes from.

Interesting. I am not willing to mock Atheism. It is one more religious viewpoint among many (remember that absence of evidence is not the same thing as evidence of absence, making Atheism as much a matter of faith as my own belief system ) but it is not for me. I am a Pascal's wager sort of Christian. You may be surprised to find that I think 'Life of Brian' is hysterically funny and that I approve of 'Jerry Springer the Opera' because I've taken the trouble to look past the controversy at the actual content. Follow the story sometime and you'll find a morality play in there about not treating people in a shabby way.