General epistles

The General Epistle of James 1/2

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• published: 16 Oct 2010
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The Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ". Composition The epistle may not be a true piece of correspondence between specific parties, but rather an example of wisdom literature formulated as a letter for circulation. The work is considered New Testament wisdom literature because, "like Proverbs and Sirach, it consists largely of moral exhortations and precepts of a traditional and eclectic nature." Similarly, the Catholic Encyclopedia says, "the subjects treated of in the Epistle are many and various; moreover, St. James not infrequently, whilst elucidating a certain point, passes abruptly to another, and presently resumes once more his former argument." Content Salutation (1:1) Faith and Wisdom (1:2-8) Poverty and Riches (1:9-11) Trial and Temptation (1:12-18) Hearing and Doing the Word (1:19-27) Warning against Partiality (2:1-13) Faith and Works (2:14-26) The Tongue (3:1-12) The Wisdom from Above (3:13-18) Friendship with the World (4:1-10) Judging a Brother (4:11-12) Warning against Boasting (4:13-17) Warning to the Rich (5:1-6) Patience and Prayer (5:7-20) Canonicity The Epistle was definitely quoted by Origen of Alexandria, and possibly a bit earlier by Irenaeus of Lyons as well as Clement of Alexandria in a lost work according to Eusebius. The Epistle of James was included among the 27 New Testament books first listed by Athanasius of Alexandria and was confirmed as a canonical epistle of the New Testament by a series of councils in the fourth century. Today, virtually all denominations of Christianity consider this book to be a canonical epistle of the New Testament. In the first centuries of the Church the authenticity of the Epistle was doubted by some, and among others by Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia; it is therefore deuterocanonical. It is missing in the Muratorian fragment, and because of the silence of several of the western churches regarding it, Eusebius classes it among the Antilegomena or contested writings (Historia ecclesiae, 3.25; 2.23). St. Jerome gives a similar appraisal but adds that with time it had been universally admitted. Gaius Marius Victorinus, in his commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, openly questioned whether the teachings of James were heretical. Its late recognition in the Church, especially in the West, may be explained by the fact that it was written for or by Jewish Christians, and therefore not widely circulated among the Gentile Churches. There is some indication that a few groups distrusted the book because of its doctrine. In Reformation times a few theologians, most notably Martin Luther, argued that this epistle should not be part of the canonical New Testament.