St. Matthew from an accounting perspective

              ST MATTHEW FROM AN ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVE
by
Andrew D. Sharp, Spring Hill College
St. Matthew is the patron saint of
accountants, tax collectors, bankers, customs
officers and security guards. He was origi­nally
called Levi; however, this follower of
Jesus took the name Matthew-the gift of
Yahweh-when called to be a disciple. St.
Matthew's feast day is celebrated on
September 21st.
The Conversion
Other than what is recorded in the
Bible-that he was a tax collector by profes­sion-
very little is known of the life of St.
Matthew with the exception that he
authored a gospel [Attwater, 1993]. He was
the son of Alphaeus, worked as a publican-tax
collector-for the Romans in Capernaum,
and was of the Jewish race. Then, a conver­sion
occurred as St. Matthew left the
despised tax collector profession at the call of
Jesus to be a disciple. Thus, St. Matthew the
tax collector, turned disciple. As a result, St.
Matthew's old trade was traded-in for a new
service. The accountant was promoted to
evangelist, and his ledgers and registers gave
way to his gospel. He became a follower of
Jesus.
The Gospel of St. Matthew
The Gospel of St. Matthew was written
many years ago. Farmer {1978} submits this
gospel was written in the second half of the
first century. According to Eliade [1987], it
was probably written in the last quarter of
the first century in Syrian Antioch. Others
estimate St. Matthew authored his gospel
between the years 40 and 50 in Palestine
{Catholic Information Network, 1996}. A
1997 report {Catholic Online} reflects that
the gospel was composed in Aramaic-the
Hebrew tongue-between 42 and 50, or even
later, yet prior to 70. Thus, there is a fair
amount of consistency among the four
sources as to when the Gospel of St. Matthew
was written.
The Tax Collector
Eliade [1987] reports that, during St.
Matthew's time, tax collectors were viewed
as serious sinners. Private entrepreneurs pur­chased
the right from the government to col­lect
taxes. These aggressive businessmen
were able to generate enormous profits to the
detriment of the public.
The Catholic Information Network
[1996] reveals similar thoughts regarding
tax collectors during the first century. Most
people living in those early years disliked the
tax collectors. In the land of Palestine, tax
collectors were quick to bully people and fal­sify
records. Although a few tax collectors
were mild and honest, they were still viewed
as being legally impure and social outcasts.
Customs and road tolls were calculated and
collected based on an unclear tariff that
enabled the customs officer to exercise a
degree of profitable freedom. This trade was
extremely lucrative and highly pursued. The
character of the officer determined how hon­estly
or dishonestly the trade was practiced.
The Accountant
Through the years, accountants and
accounting have been characterized by many
people as being overly boring and technical,
as well as filled with endless amounts of
details, numbers and exact procedures. Thus,
the elements of flair, humor and side stories
appear to be missing from the tell-it-like-it-was
accounting profession. The Gospel of St.
Matthew reflects some of these characteris­tics
associated with accountants.
St. Matthew's gospel, through the eyes
of Farmer [1978], is extremely correct and
concise; moreover, such style makes it indeed
suitable for public reading. Biblical scholars
20 The Accounting Historians Notebook, October, 2000