Betwixt and Between: The Letter of James and the Human Condition
Joel B. Green
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA , United Stateshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3593-1676
Abstract
James’s letter does not concern itself with the nature of humanity in the abstract. His message regarding the trials of Jewish messianists distributed outside the land of the Jews leads him rather to explore the perplexing paradox of the human predicament—called to faithful life patterns, to love of God and neighbor, on the one hand, overwhelmed by craving and sin, on the other hand. This undergirds a profound analysis of the human condition as well as its remedy in God’s true word.
Keywords:
theological anthropology, James, temptation, trials, human craving, narrative, hybridityReferences
Allison Jr., D.C., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of James (International Critical Commentary; New York: Bloomsbury 2013).
Baker, W.R. “Christology in the Epistle of James,” Evangelical Quarterly 74/1 (2002) 47–57. (Crossref)
Barclay, J.M.G., Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora. From Alexander to Trajan (323 BCE–117 CE) (Berkeley: University of California Press 1996).
Bauckham, R., James. Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage (New Testament Readings; London: Routledge 1999).
Cargal, T.B., Restoring the Diaspora. Discursive Structure and Purpose in the Epistle of James (Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 144; Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press 1993).
Chatman, S., Story and Discourse. Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 1978).
Cheung, L.L., The Genre, Composition and Hermeneutics of James (Paternoster Biblical and Theological Monographs; Carlisle: Paternoster 2003).
Coker, K.J., “Nativism in James 2.14–26: A Post-colonial Reading,” Reading James with New Eyes. Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James (eds. R.L. Webb – J.S. Kloppenborg) (The Library of New Testament Studies 342; London: Clark 2007) 27–48.
Davids, P.H., The Epistle of James. A Commentary on the Greek Text (The New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1982).
Dibelius, M., James. A Commentary on the Epistle of James (rev. H. Greeven; trans. M.A. Williams; ed. H. Koester) (Hermeneia; Philadelphia, PA: Fortress 1976).
Ellis, N.J., The Hermeneutics of Divine Testing. Cosmic Trials and Biblical Interpretation in the Epistle of James and Other Jewish Literature (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/396; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2015).
Ellis, N.J. “A Theology of Evil in the Epistle of James: Cosmic Trials and the Dramatis Personae of Evil,” Evil in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity (eds. C. Keith – L.T. Stuckenbruck) (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/417; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2016) 262–281.
Feldman, L.H., Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World. Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1993). (Crossref)
Foster, R.J., The Significance of Exemplars for the Interpretation of the Letter of James (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/376; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2014).
Goldingay, J., Biblical Theology. The God of the Christian Scriptures (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic 2016).
Green, J.B., “‘I’ll Show You My Faith’ (James 2:18): Inspiring Models for Exilic Life,” Interpretation 74/4 (2020) 344–352. (Crossref)
Green, J.B., “Original Sin: A Wesleyan View,” Original Sin and the Fall. Five Views (eds. J. Stump – C. Meister) (Spectrum Multiview Books; Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic 2020) 55–77.
Green, J.B., “Reading James Missionally,” Reading the Bible Missionally (ed. M.W. Goheen) (The Gospel and Our Culture Series; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 2016) 194–212.
Gruen, E.S., Diaspora. Jews amidst Greeks and Romans (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2002). (Crossref)
Hartin, P.J., James and the ‘Q’ Sayings of Jesus (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 47; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press 1991).
Johnson, L.T., The Letter of James. A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible 37A; New York: Doubleday 1995). (Crossref)
Kärkkäinen, V.-M., A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World. III. Creation and Humanity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 2015).
Kloppenborg, J.S., “The Emulation of the Jesus Tradition in the Letter of James,” Reading James with New Eyes. Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James (eds. R.L. Webb – J.S. Kloppenborg) (The Library of New Testament Studies 342; London: Clark 2007) 121–150.
Kloppenborg, J.S., “The Reception of the Jesus Tradition in James,” The Catholic Epistles and the Tradition (ed. J. Schlosser) (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 176; Leuven: Peeters 2004) 91–139.
Konradt, M., Christliche Existenz nach dem Jakobusbrief. Eine Studie zu seiner soteriologischen und ethischen Konzeption (Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments 22; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1998).
Lockett, D., Purity and Worldview in the Epistle of James (The Library of New Testament Studies 366; London: Clark 2008).
Luther, M., Word and Sacrament (ed. E.T. Bachmann) (Luther’s Works 35; St. Louis, MO: Concordia 1960) I.
Martin, R.P., James (Word Biblical Commentary 48; Waco, TX: Word 1988).
McAdams, D.P., “Narrative Identity,” Handbook of Identity Theory and Research. 2 vols. (eds. S.J. Schwartz – K. Luyckx – V.L. Vignoles) (New York: Springer 2011) I, 99–115. (Crossref)
McConville, J.G., Being Human in God’s World. An Old Testament Theology of Humanity) (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2016).
Miller, P.D., “What Is a Human Being? The Anthropology of Scripture,” What about the Soul? Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology (ed. J.B. Green) (Nashville, TN: Abingdon 2004) 63–73.
Moberly, R.W.L., The Bible, Theology, and Faith. A Study of Abraham and Jesus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2000). (Crossref)
Mongstad-Kvammen, I., Toward a Postcolonial Reading of the Epistle of James. James 2:1–13 in Its Roman Imperial Context (Biblical Interpretation Series 119; Leiden: Brill 2013). (Crossref)
Penner, T.C., The Epistle of James and Eschatology. Re-reading an Ancient Christian Letter (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 121; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press 1996).
Reyna, S.P., Connections. Brain, Mind, and Culture in Social Anthropology (London: Routledge 2002). (Crossref)
Taylor, M.E., A Text-Linguistic Investigation into the Discourse Structure of James (The Library of New Testament Studies 311; London: Clark 2006).
Taylor, M.E. – Guthrie, G.H., “The Structure of James,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 68/44 (2006) 681–705.
Wesley, J., Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (London: Epworth 1976 [1754]).
Westfall, C.L., “Mapping the Text: How Discourse Analysis Helps Reveal the Way through James,” The Epistle of James. Linguistic Exegesis of an Early Christian Letter (eds. J.D. Dvorak – Z.K. Dawson) (Linguistic Exegesis of the New Testament 1; Eugene, OR: Pickwick 2019) 11–44.
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3593-1676
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Pursuant to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, the Author of the publication grants to the Publisher of the journal „The Biblical Annals” e a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to use the Work submitted for publication, without time and territorial restrictions in the following fields of use:
a) record the Work and copy it by means of any technique (including printing and electronic recording) on all known data carriers (including IT, electronic and polygraphic), and in all IT systems (in particular those available online);
b) enter the Work into computer memory, disseminate the Work and its copies, as well as market the Work and its copies;
c) publicly perform, replay, display and screen the Work, as well as lend, rent and lease the Work and its copies;
d) make available, market and disseminate the Work and its copies via IT networks, and in particular via the Internet, including the promotion or advertising of the Work, the journal or the Publisher. - The Author shall further grant his/her consent for the Publisher to use and dispose of derivative works.
- The Publisher may sublicense the work.
- Third parties may use the articles and other materials containing the Works, or developed on the basis of the Works in line with the model Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (also referred to as CC BY 4.0).
