Old in the New

Kloppenborg on James - SNTS 2006

Michael Bird of Euangelion posts the general contents of Kloppenborg's paper presented at the 2006 meeting of the SNTS along with his reactions to the paper. Heres' a "blurb" of the article as provided by Bird:

James 1:1, 'to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora', has routinely been interpreted contrary to its literal sense as an address to Jewish-Christians or to Christians in general living 'metaphorically' in the Diaspora, away from their spiritual home. This paper argues that Jas 1:1 is to be taken in its ordinary sense, and that the letter was (fictively) addressed to Judaeans of the Diaspora (who may have included members of the Jesus movement). The paper is then concerned with the problems of how an author, (ostensibly) writing to a general audience of Judaeans, establishes ethos, according to Aristled [sic?] the key means of persuasion. The author does so by invoking and emulating exemplary figures of Israel's past, in particular Solomon, the hero par excellence of biblical wisdom, and for members of the Jesus movement, Jesus himself.

Sean du Toit of Primal Subversion also comments on Bird's post. I concur with his remarks:

Graham Stanton writes: “once one accepts that Jesus traditions have been used at James 2:8 and at James 5:12, it becomes more likely that the writer has drawn on Jesus traditions elsewhere.” If this is accurate, then we are experiencing the conversion of James. Someone who was a thorough 1st century Jew, has now encountered the Messiah, the LORD JESUS, and this writing represents part of the ‘first-fruits’ of reflection on what that means.

James' epistle blurs the lines between Jewish and Christian writings. If incipient Christianity was seen as a movement within Judaism, rather than a separate movement, it is quite possible - in my own mind - to see the "twelve tribes of the dispersion" as a reference to the greater Jewish community whose eschatological ingathering has been inaugurated by the Glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources

posted by jdarlack @ 2.8.06