Nathan Buchanan
Religion 314
11/21/02
The Theology of James
Authorship
Early
Church tradition accredits authorship of James to James the brother of Jesus. [1] There are many other possible James’s
mentioned in the New Testament who could possibly be the author of the letter,
and no one is totally certain that it is Jesus’ brother James, but it is the
most widely held view that he is the author.[2] James is a Jewish author who does not show
awareness of the Gospels.[3]
Audience
The
Epistle of James is addressed to: “To the twelve tribes scattered among the
nations.” (1:1 NIV)William Barclay suggests 3 possibilities for the audience of
James, two of which are much more likely.
One of the two is that it is to all believers, because he argues that
they now feel that they are Israel the chosen people because of faith in
Christ. The second, and widely accepted,
possibility is that James was writing to Jewish Christians outside Palestine.[4] Jewish Christians seem more likely to be the
audience because the content of the book shows that the audience is very
familiar with Jewish tradition, and James was considered the leader of Jewish
Christianity.[5]
Occasion
The
purpose for the writing of James was to correct the specific problems James
found the Church was having.[6] The location of James when writing this book
was more than likely Palestine.[7]
Date
There
are two basic arguments for the time of writing of James, and both of them have
valid arguments: the early view approx. 44-45, and the later view 61-62. Early arguments: mention of hope of Second
Coming, no mention of decisions made at Jerusalem council in 50, use of the
Greek word for synagogue as meeting place, and there is no mention of deacons
or bishops, only elders and a warning against too many teachers. Later arguments: textual content is based
more upon Churches mistakes and less upon the theology and grace of Jesus (as
he is only mentioned in 1:1 and 2:1) and the condemnation of the rich.[8]
Key Themes
The key themes of the book of James are: Perfection,
wisdom, and distribution of wealth.[9]
Perfection-James uses a large amount of his text on
emphasizing how the believer should be perfect. The theme of perfection has sub-themes, which are specifically
emphasized as means toward perfection.
Faith- 1:3-8, 2:14-25, 5:13-18, Perseverance- 1:2-18, 5:7-11, and Speech
Control- 1:19,26-27, 3:1-12,14, 4:11-17, 5:12.
Wisdom- there is within the
text a source for wisdom, a means for human obtaining of wisdom, a distinction
between two types of wisdom, reference to need for wisdom, explanation of
situations which lacked wisdom, and mention of some fruits that will come from
use of wisdom. (1:5, 1:17-25, 3:13-18, 4:1-10)[10]
Distribution of Wealth-
James speaks to both sides of the socioeconomic spectrum within the text as
well: the rich and the poor, giving hope and encouragement to the poor and
warning to the rich. (2:1-11, 5:1-6)
This social aspect of James is one of the major themes in the book.
How James fits into Formulation of a NT theology
Some
important things to remember when reading James are that the things James
writes are shaped by: 1. contemporary Jewish interpretations of the OT, and 2.
the teaching of Jesus.[11] As was mentioned in class, there is not
exactly a great deal of theology that deals with who God/Christ are, grace,
etc. Instead, there is a lot of
emphasis towards disciplined applications of Christ’s teachings and social
model. So as we go about developing our
own NT theologies, I think it is important not only to develop the things we
believe, but to live them out and apply them, because according to James,
without application they are of no value.
Barclay, William. The Letters of James and Peter. Edinburgh, Scotland: Saint Andrew
Press, 1960. 47-49
Davids,
P.H. “James.” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond
Alexander,
342-346. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press. 2000, 342
Martin,
Ralph P. Word Biblical Commentary: James. Waco, TX: Wordbook Publishers,
1982. xxxi-xxxii
Ross,
Alexander. New International Commentary on the NT: Epistles of James and
John.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970. 12
[1] Ross, Alexander. New
International Commentary on the NT: Epistles of James and John. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970. 12
[2] Martin, Ralph P. Word
Biblical Commentary: James. Waco, TX: Wordbook Publishers, 1982. xxxi-xxxii
[3] Davids, P.H. “James.” New
Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, 342-346. Downers
Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press. 2000, 342
[4] Barclay, William. The
Letters of James and Peter. Edinburgh, Scotland: Saint Andrew Press, 1960.
47-49
[5] Ross, 13
[6] Ross, 22
[7] Martin, lxxiii
[8] Barclay, 30-31
[9] Martin, lxxxiii-lxxxvi
[10] Martin, lxxxii-lxxxiii
[11] Davids, 342