Seven letters not written by Paul are included in the New Testament and these, because they were addressed to the Church at large, have been known as 'the Catholic epistles'. The three of them attributed to John and have been briefly introduced in the introductory note to John's Gospel. Two to Peter and the other two to James and Jude.
The traditional attribution of this letter to James, the brother of the Lord', is supported by internal evidence. Though it was written in Greek, the letter is full of Hebraisms and its style of argument is characteristically Semitic and it was clearly intended for Jewish converts to familiar with the Old Testament that they would understand allusions to it without direct quotation. It is more a sermon than a letter and consists largely of moral exhortations, laying particular stress on the practical 'good works' expected of Christians and representing much of the Jewish Wisdom tradition. It takes a different point of view from Paul's on the problem of relating faith to works and may either be earlier than Galatians-Romans and written as early as A.D. 49 or it may be a rejoinder to what Paul had written and be placed at A.D. 57 or 58.
JAMES - (1) Address and greetings - Trials a privilege - Temptation - True religion - Respect for the poor - Faith and good works - Uncontrolled language - Real wisdom and its opposite - Disunity among Christians - A warning for the rich and the self-confident - A final exhortation - Chapter 1 to 5 -
In summary : Unlike Paul and the author of the Hebrews, James hardly ever makes use of direct quotations but argues from the imprecise and rather general allusions that underlie the whole text. Practical instructions for applied Christianity.
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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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