Faith, Works and Eschatological Justification at Cafe Apocalypsis
Alan S. Brady posts on Café Apocalypsis on
Faith, Works, and Eschatological Justification. He compairs faith according to Paul and James and concludes:
The proof of one's faith will result in their future justification based not only on what they say they believe but how they lived their lives. In short, true faith follows the example of Abraham in that his faith and his actions were working together.
Labels: Epistle_of_James
The "James" in James T. Kirk = James the Just
Each day I do a blog search for anything written about James the Just or the Epistle of James. This time, I found a real gem!
T. J. Sode writes:
Did you know that the original Star Trek was a subliminal attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to convert the masses back to true Christianity? Who is the Captain of the Enterprise? James Tiberius Kirk. James is the brother of Jesus, and after the crucifixion, James became the leader of the early sect. Tiberius was a Roman emperor. Kirk is the most common European spelling for the English word “church.” James T. Kirk = Jesus, Roman, church. We have a Kirk or church flying through space, representing an unseen Starfleet.
Of course, Sode goes on to explain some "fascinating" connections between Spock (who represents Satan) and McCoy (who represents the "true faith"). Don't you just love speculative "exegesis?" I wonder if there are any Trekkies out there who could chime in... Are there other connections between James T. Kirk and James the Just?
Labels: humor
The Testamonium Flavianum at TextExcavation.com
Ben C. Smith of
TextExcavation has a helpful presentation of the
Testimonium Flavianum, the account of Josephus that mentions Jesus and James the Just. The page has the pertinent texts with translation (see below) along with the parallel texts and translations from Eusebius, Origen, Jerome and others. Here's a sample - Josephus' description of James' martyrdom (
Antiquities 20.9.1 §200-203):
| Ατε δη ουν τοιουτος ων ο Ανανος, νομισας εχειν καιρον επιτηδειον δια το τεθναναι μεν Φηστον, Αλβινον δ ετι κατα την οδον υπαρχειν, καθιζει συνεδριον κριτων και παραγαγων εις αυτο τον αδελφον Ιησου του λεγομενου Χριστου, Ιακωβος ονομα αυτω, και τινας ετερους, ως παρανομησαντων κατηγοριαν ποιησαμενος παρκεστατοι των κατα την πολιν ειναι και περι τους νομους ακριβεις βαρεως ηνεγκαν επι τουτω και πεμπουσιν προς τον βασιλεα κρυφα παρακαλουντες αυτον επιστειλαι τω Ανανω μηκετι τοιαυτα πρασσειν· μηδε γαρ το πρωτον ορθως αυτον πεποιηκεναι. τινες δ αυτων και τον Αλβινον υπαντιαζουσιν απο της Αλεξανδρειας οδοιπορουντα και διδασκουσιν, ως ουκ εξον ην Ανανω χωρις της εκεινου γνωμης καθισαι συνεδριον. Αλβινος δε πεισθεις τοις λεγομενοις γραφει μετ οργης τω Ανανω ληψεσθαι παρ αυτου δικας απειλων. και ο βασιλευς Αγριππας δια τουτο την αρχιερωσυνην αφελομενος αυτον αρξαντα μηνας τρεις Ιησουν τον του Δαμναιου κατεστησεν. | When, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others. And, when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned. But as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king, desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a Sanhedrin without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest. |
TextExcavation also has helpful information on the
Jewish gospels, including the
gospel according to the Hebrews. This is a great site.
Labels: historical_james, resources
Kamell's Paper on Faith in Hebrews and James Hosted Here
Mariam Kamell's paper, "
Faith in Hebrews and James: A Study of Hebrews 10:19-12:14 and James 1-2," read on July 20, 2006 at the
St. Andrews Conference on Hebrews & Theology in St. Andrews, Scotland, is now hosted
here at James the Just!
Thank you Mariam for allowing James the Just to host the paper. I hope it sparks interest and discussion on a great topic.
Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources
Aramaic is the Language of Heaven
Lee Lorenz published this cartoon in the
New Yorker 82, no. 22 (24 July 2006).
Labels: humor
James the Just had Dreadlocks
James the Just had "dreadlocks" according to
Wikipedia:
Germanic tribes, the Vikings, the Greeks, the Pacific Ocean peoples, the Naga people and several ascetic groups within various major religions have at times worn their hair in dreadlocks. In addition to the Nazirites of Judaism and the Sadhus of Hinduism, there are the Dervishes of Islam and the Coptic Monks of Christianity, among others. The very earliest Christians also may have worn this hairstyle. Particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just, "brother of Jesus" and first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles.
I don't know about this one. Hegesippus (via Eusebius) describes James:
He was holy from his mother’s womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath. (Ecclesiastical History 2.23.5)
While I'm not sure exactly what hairstyle in which James wore his locks, the text certainly does not say that it was in dreads. Nor does it mention James' hair reaching his ankles. On the other hand, if one interprets Hegesippus' account as describing James the Just as a
Nazirite, then I guess one could infer (based on Judges 16:13, 19) that James had "locks" (
מחלפות) of hair, as did Samson - who is often held as the Nazirite
par excellence. Of course, even if it could be proven that Samson's locks were
dreadlocks, it does not follow that all Nazirites had dreadlocks.
Interestingly enough, Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra contends that James' ascetic lifestyle (as described by Hegesippus & Epiphanius) is more characteristic of the fasting of the high priest during the celebration of Yom Kippur. Interesting concept. I hope to explore this a bit further. See his monograph,
The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity (WUNT 163; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 246-250; see also his article, "'Christians' Observing 'Jewish' Festivals of Autumn," pages 53-71 in
Image of the Judaeo-Christians in Ancient Jewish and Christian Literature (Tübingen : Mohr Siebeck, 2003).
Hmm... I wonder what Sideshow Bob would have to say about this?
Labels: humor
A blog commentary on James
Aspotofblogger has started a blog
commentary on James.
Labels: blog, Epistle_of_James
Mariam Kamell: Hebrews/James Paper
Mariam Kamell (
GreekGeek) has presented a paper titled "Faith in Hebrews and James: A Study of Hebrews 10:19-12:14 and James 1-2" at the
Epistle to the Hebrews & Christian Theology conference at St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews.
She has been kind enough to post her paper to the web! Take a look at the PDF linked at her blog.Update (7.21.06): Mariam has kindly allowed me to host her paper on this website. Check it out
HERE.
Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources
New Article on James in Novum Testamentum
Byron, John. "Living in the Shadow of Cain Echoes of a Developing Tradition in James 5:1-6."
Novum Testamentum 48 (June 2006): 261-274. Available with subscription
HERE.
Abstract:
Behind the statements in James 5:1-6 is an echo of the Cain and Abel story. While it has been recognized that Abel served as an archetype for righteousness and unjust suffering, it is sometimes overlooked that Cain fulfilled a similar role. Beginning with the writings of Josephus and Philo and continuing through to the Midrashim, Cain was portrayed as an archetype for those who oppress the poor and the righteous for self-gain. Just as James accuses the wealthy of using dishonest means to retain the wages of the poor, so also Cain was accused of increasing his property and possessions through robbery and force. The enigmatic statements in 5:6 represent an indictment against the wealthy and declaring that they are guilty of the sin of Cain.
Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources
Deppe's "Sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James" for sale!
Dean Deppe,
professor at Calvin Theological Seminary has a limited number of hard bound copies of his dissertation for sale.
Deppe’s dissertation is on “The Sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James” and it has been cited by scholars as one of the most important works on James’ use of Jesus’ teachings in the Epistle. For instance, Richard Bauckham notes:
“Deppe’s very thorough study (unfortunately not easily accessible and so not used by most scholars writing subsequently) probably takes this method of approach to the relationship between James and the Gospels as far as it can be taken” (see pg. 117 in “James and Jesus” [pgs. 100-137 in The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission; eds. B. Chilton & J. Neusner; Louisville, KY: W/JKP, 2001]).
I’ve noticed that
according to Open WorldCat, only 23 libraries own the text.
The details are as follows:
The sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James / Dean B. Deppe.
299 p. ; 26 cm.
Chelsea, Mich. : Bookcrafters, 1989.
Thesis completed at Vrije Universiteit te Amsterdam, 1989.
Dr. Deppe is offering copies of the dissertation for $25.00, plus $5.00 shipping & handling.
To order a copy, contact Dr. Deppe at
ddeppe@calvinseminary.edu or send a note to:
Dean Deppe
1731 Ridgemoor SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Labels: Epistle_of_James, Jesus_tradition, resources
Jesus' influence on James at Café Apocalypsis
Alan Brady has posted about the
influence of Jesus on the Epistle of James on his blog,
Café Apocalypsis. It's a great post. For those of you with access to a library, one of the most useful treatments of the topic is by Deane B. Deppe, "
The Sayings of of Jesus in the Epistle of James." Unfortunately this is a privately published dissertation and it is not widely available (WorldCat only lists 23 libraries that have it). Also worth mentioning are
James and the Q Sayings of Jesus by Hartin and
The Voice of Jesus in the Social Rhetoric of James by Wachob. Bauckham also treats the topic in
James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage, pgs. 74-93.
Update (7.16.06): I forgot to mention some articles as well:
- W. H. Wachob & L. T. Johnson, "The Sayings of Jesus in the Letter of James" in Authenticating the Words of Jesus (eds. B. Chilton & C. A. Evans; NTTS 28,1; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 431-450.
- P. H. Davids, "James and Jesus" in The Jesus Tradition Outside the Gospels (ed. D. Wenham; Gospel Persepectives 5; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984), 63-84.
- J. A. Burns, "James the Wisdom of Jesus," Criswell Theological Review 1.1 (Fall 1986): 113-135. Article online in the following formats: HTML/PDF/DOC.
- R. Bauckham, "Jesus and James," in The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission (Louisville, KY: W/JKP, 2001), 100-137.
Labels: Epistle_of_James, Jesus_tradition
Whither the biblical texts of Qumran?
The "sectarian" texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are available in many print formats as well as in a few electronic formats (including BibleWorks, Logos, Accordance and Brill's own interface).
As far as I know the
biblical texts are not available electronically, and the only print versions are published in the expensive
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series, published by Oxford. (Though there is the "ecclectic" English translation of the Old Testament as found at Qumran in
The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible.)
Does anyone out there in blogdom know of any electronic versions of the
biblical texts? Has anyone out there even heard the faintest whisper of a rumor that these texts will one day be available electronically?
Labels: bibliography
kick.against.the.goads on "Creation Symbolism in James"
ThomasW at
kick.against.the.goads has a lengthy
blog entry on James' use of "creation symbolism." One part I found intersting was his take "Father of lights" (1:17):
The phrase, "Father of lights," however, is dificult. If James has only the creation account in mind, it is an odd way to speak of God's relationship with the luminaries of heaven. "Creator," "Lord," or "Prince" of lights would be more expected. The use of "Father" thus points not only to the Creator but to the Redeemer, and suggests that the "lights" in view are the Lord's sons and daughters. The thought becomes clearer when we recall that the heavenly lights are often symbols of God's redeemed people (Gen. 26:4; Dan. 12:3). Specifically, the heavenly lamps signify God's people as a royal race. James's thought, then, is this: God does not tempt because He is not a God who gives birth to sin and death; instead, He is Father to a righteous, royal race that shines like the lights of heaven. His children are not death and sin, but lights.
The observation that light = man is interesting. Peter Davids notes that Amphoux suggests the same thing, but he dismisses it given the astronomical language that James picks up to describe the unchanging nature of the "Father of lights" (NIGTC, 87).
Take a look at the whole post. It is good to see someone rescuing James from a-theological oblivion. See also
A.K.M.Adam's recent comments on 1:17. This also reminds me that I wrote a paper on 1:18 and James' creation theology. I'll have to dig it out, neaten it up and post it some day.
Labels: Epistle_of_James
Learning German for Reading? Any suggestions?
Any suggestions on grammars that can be used to "self teach" German for reading? I own an old (very marked up) copy of Jannach's 3rd ed., along with Ziefle's
Modern Theological German. I guess the same question could be applied to French, as I'll eventually have to tackle it.
To add to my pain, I've been salivating over Italian (no, not pizza or pasta, but
research). Claudio Bottini has written a monograph on Elijah's prayer in James (
La preghiera di Elia in Giacomo 5,17-18. Studio della tradizione biblica e giudaica, Jerusalem 1981) - the subject of my thesis. I've used online translation programs to work through the text in places, but I know the danger involved in relying on Google or BabelFish!
Boy, I wish I had taken German in High School (or at least French) rather than Russian! (Russian was available where I grew up because I lived only a few miles away from NSA at the close of the Cold War.)
Cпасибо!
Labels: resources
The Complexities of James 1:17 = Sore Forehead
A.K.M.Adam
bangs his head against the wall over the complexities of James 1:17:
| πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων, παρ᾽ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα. | Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.*(NRSV)
*Other ancient authorities read variation due to a shadow of turning |
He comments very briefly on the parallel phrase: πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον, the term "Father of Lights," and the textual issues involved in παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα. He's writing the James volume for the Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament. I'm very much looking forward to the publication of Adam's work, as the series shows a great deal of promise based on the already published volumes on
I,II,III John and
Acts.
Labels: Epistle_of_James
Manton's Exposition of James available on CCEL
Thomas Manton, a 17th c. Puritan minister, wrote an "
Exposition of the Epistle of James." This work has been available at the Christian Classics Etherial Library (CCEL) site since March, 2006, but it's new to me! I am always happy to see texts made available for free use online, and I hope to contribute some freebies as well.
Note also that CCEL has made available F. J. A. Hort's
The Epistle of St James: Greek Text with Introduction, Commentary as Far as Chapter IV, Verse 7, and Additional Notes (1909) as well as Moffat's commentary on
The General Epistles: James, Peter, and Judas and Barnes'
Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical: James, Peter, John, and Jude.
Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources
A shoutout from one of the fathers of biblioblogdom!
Wow, James the Just got a
shoutout from Dr. Davila of Paleojudaica! Uh oh, that means that people may start reading the blog...
Labels: blog
the beloved disciple he isn't
Thomas Black at "
Truth is Still Truth"
responds to Tabor's claims that the beloved disciple is none other than James the brother of Jesus. He notes:
...the [beloved] disciple names himself in John 21:20,24 John 21:20,24 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them… This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
If you accept the authorship of the gospel of John as being John, than the author has indeed identified himself.
This seems to be an interesting point, and I support johannine authorship (and the johannine identity of the beloved disciple), but the book still says nowhere that John wrote it, only that the beloved disciple did. The identity of the beloved disciple is still in question. It seems, however that the external evidence in support of johannine authorship is quite strong. Irenaeus, who knew Polycarp personally (who knew John himself) states, "John the disciple of the Lord, who leaned back on his breast, published the Gospel while he was resident at Ephesus in Asia" (
Against Heresies 3.1.2.). See pgs. 23 ff. in Carson's
Pillar New Testament Commentary.
Labels: controversy
James Tabor's Jesus Dynasty Blog
James Tabor, author of
The Jesus Dynasty, has entered the biblioblogdom. Check out his
Jesus Dynasty Blog. Dr. Tabor has also provided a convenient list of "
Primary Sources on James the Just" as well as a student's
essays on James the Just (written for an exam).
Update: Note also his post on the "Beloved Disciple." He suggests that the identity of this unamed individual is James the Just rather than John. An intriquing suggestion to say the least. I'll have to take a closer look at his book on this.
Labels: controversy
The stove and throwing Jimmy into it
Cormorant, of Martin Luther's Stove, blogs on Martin Luther's aversion to James in "
The stove and throwing Jimmy into it."
That epistle of James gives us much trouble, for the papists embrace it alone and leave out all the rest. Up to this point I have been accustomed just to deal with and interpret it according to the sense of the rest of Scriptures. For you will judge that none of it must be set forth contrary to manifest Holy Scripture. Accordingly, if they will not admit my interpretations, then I shall make rubble also of it. I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove, as the priest in Kalenberg did. (LW 34:317)
Gotta love Luther! Lift a stein and read.
Labels: controversy, Epistle_of_James
GreekGeek: A Conference Proposal (on Faith in Hebrews and James)
GreekGeek, a PhD student at St. Andrews, blogs on "
A Conference Proposal" on faith in James and Hebrews, she plans to note the commonalities between the two texts, including the use of both Abraham and Rahab as exemplars of faith and the link between faith and endurance during trials.
Labels: Epistle_of_James
James' Political "Theology"?
Thanks to Jim Davila at
PaleoJudaica for blogging on two articles pertaining to James. One is on the
ossuary forgery trial, but the other highlights
James' Theology. In the article, Stuart Laidlaw interviews James Tabor, the author of
Jesus Dynasty, but he concentrates his article on the opinions of Barrie Wilson of York University:
. . . James was continuing with the teaching of his brother, emphasizing a more political form of religion that stressed the coming of a messiah to overthrow the Romans and restore the kingdom if Israel. . . . The theology of James, with its emphasis on political change as a way to address poverty and injustice, is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, Wilson says.
Huh? Apparently Wilson is writing a book, and it will be interesting to see how he defends James'
political form of religion. Does care of widows and orphans, a disdain for economic favoritism and the denunciation of social injustice necessitate "political religion" or
prophetic religion? For instance, Malachi prophesies:
"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 3:5
Here, Yahweh promises a return to his people that will be accompanied by a "house cleaning" (vv 2-3) where those who do not fear him will be swept away. James' denunciation of the rich (5:1-6) and his preference for the poor (not to mention his use of the term
moichalidas "adulterer" to describe his readers' "friendship with the world" [4:4]), point to his affinity with the prophets like Malachi. It also shows an eschatological orientation to his teaching. He calls his readers to endure, not to revolt. Martin's commentary in the Word Biblical Commentary series actually sees the Epistle of James as an apologetic against the radical political agendas of the zealots. While I think Martin goes a bit far in his exegesis, I think he at least shows that James is not interested in a radical political solution to the problem of poverty, but a whole-hearted desire on the part of God's people to reach out to the poor while patiently enduring the evil system that perpetuates poverty.
Labels: Epistle_of_James
Primal Subversion's focus on "all things Jacobean"
Sean du Toit of
Primal Subversion is going to focus on "
all things Jacobean!" Sounds good. I'm looking forward to reading some of the reflections on James that contributors have sent him. (I'm sorry that I did not have time to write one.)
Labels: Epistle_of_James, resources
