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Have You Read the Letter from
James?
James is a little letter tucked in the back of our New Testament.
It isn't discussed often; some of us have only read it when we
were looking for something short! Elsa Tamez calls her book The
Scandalous Message of James. Is James' message scandalous?
Or is it scandalous that we rarely read it?
If you are ready to study James, you can order
Elsa Tamez' book: The Scandalous Message of James: Faith
Without Works is Dead. The book includes a great study guide
by Pamela Sparr, and provides a thematic approach to the Letter
of James.
You might choose to follow our chapter by chapter guide through
the book. It starts with an Introduction
that includes background information on James, and then proceeds
to read James from Chapter 1 to Chapter 5.
Guided
Bible Study
Using the Guided Bible Study |
Introduction
Chapter 1 | Chapter
2 | Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 | Chapter
5
Background Pages
What's In A Word? | James
uses Biblical Texts | Paul and James
Will the REAL James Stand Up? | When
was James Written?
To Whom is James Sent? | Canon:
Is James IN or OUT?
Read it Yourself: Comments on James
in the Canon
Annotated Bibliography
Background on the Letter of James
The earliest traditions tell us that Jesus' brother, a leader
in the church in Jerusalem, wrote it. And it includes texts that
seem essential to all Christianity.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive
themselves (1:22).
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you. Draw near to God and God will draw near
to you (4:7-8).
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful?
They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They
should call for the elders of the church and have them pray
over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord (5:13-14).
Despite such Christian wisdom, The Letter of James has
been challenged from the beginning. Its journey
into our canon is full of resistance to its authority. James
did not appear in canonical lists until the year 340 and continued
to be challenged long after that. Eusebius
questioned the letter's authorship in 340. Jerome
and Augustine did the same.
Twelve hundred years later the controversy continued. Luther
called the text "an epistle of straw." Yet John
Wesley preached and lived the model James offers to us as
Christians.
Who wrote James and when
create some of the controversy. If the author is James, Jesus
brother, or another New Testament
character, he must have written before the year 75. If James
is a pseudonym the letter could
be written as late as 125 CE.
But the message of James is part of the controversy. Is
it scandalous? Take a look at how James uses some important New
Testament words.
James uses much New Testament language, and includes large parts
of the beatitudes. The
letter includes extensive Old
Testament imagery, some claiming the whole book is actually
commentary on Leviticus 19 or
Psalm 12.
Others think James is a commentary on Paul, an attempt to refute
him and the concept of Justification
by Faith alone. Should we compare or contrast
these two early Christian leaders? At one time we believed that
Paul was opposed to works, or that James was refuting Paul's faith
alone theology. Is that a valid viewpoint today?
Background Pages
What's In A Word? | James
uses Biblical Texts | Paul and James
Will the REAL James Stand Up? | When
was James Written?
To Whom is James Sent? | Canon:
Is James IN or OUT?
Read it Yourself: Comments on James
in the Canon
Annotated Bibliography
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