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The Epistle of James is a book in the Christian New Testament . The author identifies himself as James, traditionally understood as James The Just , the brother of Jesus , first of the Seventy Disciples and first Bishop Of Jerusalem . Framed within an overall theme of patient perseverance during trials and temptations, the text condemns various Sins and calls on Christians to be patient while awaiting the imminent Second Coming . The See also Perfection (Latter Day Saints) claim it contradicts Luther's doctrine of ''justification through faith alone'' ( Sola Fide ) derived from his translation of . The Christian debate over Justification is still unsettled, see also Joint Declaration On The Doctrine Of Justification and Christian View Of The Law . According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on the Epistle of St. James : :"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; hence it is difficult to give a precise division of the Epistle." CONTENT The United Bible Societies 's ''Greek New Testament''Fourth Revised Edition, 1993 divides the letter into the following sections: The epistle was addressed to the Jews of the dispersion, "the Twelve Tribes scattered abroad." The object of the writer was to enforce the practical duties of the drawing nigh, which is to right all wrong (5:8). HEADLINE TEXT AUTHORSHIP AND COMPOSITION The author identifies himself in the opening verse as "James, a servant of . John Calvin and others suggested that the author was the Apostle James, Son Of Alphaeus , who was often identified with James the Just. If written by James the Just, the place and time of the writing of the epistle would be Jerusalem , where James was residing before his martyrdom in 62 . Authorship has also occasionally been attributed to the apostle found in his Epistle To The Romans , written ''c.'' 54 . If written by James the Great, the location would have also been Jerusalem, sometime before 45 . The Catholic Encyclopedia accepts James the Just as the author and dates the writing of the epistle between 47 AD (after a famine in Jerusalem attested to by Josephus) and 52 AD (at which point James made some decision as bishop). Lastly, many scholars consider the epistle to be written in the late first or early second centuries, after the death of James the Just. Among the reasons for this are:http://earlychristianwritings.com/james.html
The Epistle was first definitely quoted by Grant, Robert M. The Formation of the New Testament. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. p. 155, there are two possible allusions to James in '' in a lost work according to Eusebius . CANONICITY 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. See Biblical Canon In the first centuries of the Church the authenticity of the Epistle was doubted by some, and amongst 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 amongst 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 was too defective to be part of the canonical New Testament.Luther famously called it an ''Epistle of Straw'' This is probably due to the book's specific teaching that Faith alone is not enough for Salvation (), which seemed to contradict his doctrine of Sola Fide (faith alone). Philip Schaff 's History of the Christian Church, book 7, chapter 4 ''The Protestant Spirit of Luther’s Version'' states: :The most important example of dogmatic influence in Luther’s version is the famous interpolation of the word ''alone'' in Rom. 3:28 (allein durch den Glauben), by which he intended to emphasize his Solifidian Doctrine Of Justification , on the plea that the German idiom required the insertion for the sake of clearness. But he thereby brought Paul into direct verbal conflict with James, who says (James 2:24), "by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" ("nicht durch den Glauben allein"). It is well known that Luther deemed it impossible to harmonize the two apostles in this article, and characterized the Epistle of James as an "epistle of straw," because it had no evangelical character ("keine evangelische Art"). DOCTRINE Justification See Also: justification (theology) Justification by faith alone Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification The letter contains the following famous passage concerning Salvation and justification: :“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? …You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only…? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:14, 24, 26) This passage has been cited in Christian theological debates, especially against the Protestant doctrine of Justification by faith alone. . Anointing of the Sick James' epistle is also the chief biblical text for the Anointing Of The Sick . James wrote: : "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. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven." (5:14,15). SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS Online translation of the Epistle of James:
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