Is James IN or OUT?
Tucked in the back of our New Testament is the Letter
of James. James is the first of seven "catholic" or universal
letters. James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude were written
to the church universal rather than to specific communities. All
seven had a long and winding journey toward the designation as "Christian
scripture". Who wrote these letters, and when, and is their
theology sufficiently orthodox to be preached and read? Elsa Tamez
wonders if James' radical critique of wealth and support for the
oppressed kept the letter from becoming central to our Christian
faith (Tamez 5).
Most writing from before 200 do not mention the Epistle of James.
One significant text does quote James: The Shepherd of Hermas,
written before 140 (Metzger 66). The theologian and biblical scholar,
Origen, quotes James extensively between 230 and 250. He mentions
that James was Jesus' brother, but does not make it clear if the letter
is scripture (Metzger 138). Hippolytus and Tertullian, from early
in the third century, do not mention or quote James. Cyprian
of Carthage, in the middle of the third century, also makes no mention.
The "Muratorian Canon," from around 200, lists and comments
on New Testament books, but fails to mention James, Hebrews,
and 1 and 2 Peter.
Yet by 340 Eusebius of Caesarea, an early Christian historian,
acknowledges that James is both canonical and orthodox, and
widely read. However, he categorizes it, along with the other catholic
epistles, as "disputed texts" (Metzger 203). Two Greek
New Testaments from that time each include James, along with
the other catholic epistles (Metzger 207). In 367 Athanasius lists
the 27 New Testament books we presently use as the definitive canon
(Metzger 212).
But the battle for James was not won. Bishops in 428 and
466 rejected all the catholic epistles (Metzger 215). Early bibles
from Lebanon, Egypt, Armenia, India and China do not include James
before the sixth century (Metzger 219). A ninth century manuscript
from Mount Sinai leaves out the catholic epistles and the Syriac
Church, headquartered in Kerala, India, continues to use a lectionary
without them still today (Metzger 220).
In the western church the controversy continued as well. Jerome
delivered a Latin translation of the New Testament, including James,
in 384. He comments that James "wrote only one Epistle, which
is reckoned among the seven Catholic Epistles, and even this is
claimed by some to have been published by some one else under his
name, and gradually, as time went on, to have gained in authority"
(De vir. ill 2 as quoted in Metzger 235). In 426 Augustine's
On Christian Learning moves James to the end of the
catholic epistles (Metzger 237).
The Reformation
After accepting the New Testament Canon for 1000 years, Rome speaks
out for the first time on the subject at the Council of Florence
in 1439-43. The Council clearly lists James and the catholic epistles
as canon. This was just in time for early reformers to return to
the early church's doubts. Jacob Thomas de Vio and Erasmus of Rotterdam
produced a Bible Commentaries in the early 1500s that doubted the
authority of the Epistle of James (Metzger 240). This sets the stage
for Luther's German translation, and doubts, in 1522.
Luther placed the books of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation
at the end of his translation and failed to note their page numbers
in the index. He wrote a preface to James claiming it "contradicts
Paul by teaching justification by works" (Metzger 243). In
the earliest editions Luther wrote his now famous comment: "St.
James Epistle is really an epistle of straw compared to [St. Paul's
letters], for it lacks this evangelical character" Deutsche
Bibel 6 as quoted in Plass 988). Luther however, never declared
James or any other New Testament book non-canonical. He quotes from
James occasionally. John Wesley, on the other hand, quoted from
James and seemed to argue for the validity of James' theology.
The Catholic Church responded to the perceived threat to the canon.
The Latin Vulgate was declared as "sacred and canonical"
and an absolute article of faith in 1546 (Metzger 246). In the next
years some reformers labeled James and other books as "apocrypha,"
and even "non-canonical" (Metzger 245). Yet the Westminster
Confession of 1647 affirms the present 27 New Testament books as
canonical for the Protestant faith. The Letter of James is now officially
part of the canon in the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches.
Resources
Brevard S. Childs, The New Testament as Canon: An
Introduction (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1994).
Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament Its Origin,
Development and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Paperbacks,
1997).
Ewald M. Plass, compiler, What Luther Says: An Anthology.
(St. Louis: Concordia, 1959).
Elsa Tamez, The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without Works
Is Dead, Translated by John Eagleson, Study Guide by Pamela
Sparr, (NY: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2002).
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