Epistle of James

Light iron-age reading
The Bible

Gabbin' with God

* Old / New Testament
* Apocrypha
* Annotated Bible

Analysis

* Apocalyptic literature
* Biblical sexism
* Biblical scientific errors

Woo

* Jesus diet
* Jonathan Otto
* Ezekiel's wheel

Figures

* Mary (mother of Jesus)
* Goliath
* Adam and Eve

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The Epistle of James is a rather short book in the New Testament. It consists mostly of admonitions to live holy lives, to refrain from quarrels among the believers, to be patient, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, and to care for widows and orphans. It also contains instructions on how to conduct faith healing, by anointing the sick with oil.

Of particular note is chapter 5, a section dealing with the rich. They shall weep and moan over their lost riches, which they have made on the backs of the poor by exploiting their labor. They have unjustly withheld wages from their workers who toil in the fields, and the workers cry out for vengeance against the rich. Their riches shall be as eaten by moths and rotted away. Wait, is this the Bible, or is this Eugene V. Debs speaking?

On the other hand, James says that wars and quarrels among people come from passions waging war in our members. Sigmund Freud could probably have a field day with this one.

In chapter two, James clarifies a misunderstanding which had arisen from the teachings of Paul of Tarsus concerning whether works such as circumcision are necessary for salvation. Paul says no. James agrees that works of law are not required, but he says that faith which is not accompanied by good works (like feeding the poor) is dead. This didn't sit well with Martin Luther, who called this book an "epistle of straw" and tried to get it tossed out of the canon.

Although supposedly written by Jesus's brother James, it says almost nothing about Jesus.[1] It was most likely written in the late 1st or early 2nd century (despite James being martyred in the '60s). Whoever wrote it was someone with strong literary skills in Greek, which doesn't exactly fit with authorship by James. One possibility is that it was later modified or edited. Another is that it may have been written by a disciple of James on James' orders. It only gradually entered into the canon, with Origen in the early 3rd century apparently the first to mention it.[2]

## See also[edit]

* RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/James

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Raphael Lataster, Jesus did not exist, p68
2. ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Epistle of James.

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Articles about the Bible

Old Testament: |  Goliath • Tamar • Tower of Babel • Abel • Joseph (Old Testament) • Firmament • Baal • Noah • Isaac • Ishmael • Amalekites • Curse of Ham • Jacob • Sodom and Gomorrah • Ezekiel's wheel • Lot • Nephilim • G'Tach • Joseph was Imhotep • Moses • Global flood • Cain • Gibeah • Abraham • Old Testament • Incubus and succubus myths • King David • List of actions prohibited by the Bible • Serpent seed doctrine • Leviathan • Messiah • Mark of Cain • Asherah • Nimrod • Sirach • Jezebel • Adam and Eve • Moloch • Book of Joel • Garden of Eden • Satan •
| Torah: |  Torah • Book of Exodus • Book of Genesis • Book of Leviticus • Book of Numbers • Book of Zechariah • Book of Deuteronomy •
| Old Testament History: |  Book of Esther • Book of Ezra • Book of Judges • Book of Ruth • Books of Chronicles • Books of Kings • Books of Samuel • Book of Joshua •
| Old Testament Wisdom: |  Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Book of Job • Book of Proverbs • Book of Psalms •
| Major and Minor Prophets: |  Book of Daniel • Book of Ezekiel • Book of Isaiah • Book of Lamentations • Books of the Minor Prophets • Book of Jeremiah •
New Testament: |  Mary Magdalene • New Testament • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Joseph of Arimathea • Paul of Tarsus • Good Samaritan • Authorship of the New Testament • Magi • John the Baptist • Principalities and powers • Joseph (husband of Mary) • Nag Hammadi library • Messiah • Jesus • Gospel of Barnabas • Peter the Apostle • Pontius Pilate • Judas Iscariot • Book of Revelation •
| Gospels and Acts: |  Acts of the Apostles • Gospels • Q gospel • Gospel of John • Gospel of Mark • Gospel of Luke • Gospel of Matthew •
| Pauline Epistles: |  Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Colossians • Epistle to the Philippians • Epistle to Philemon • Epistle to the Romans • Epistle to Titus • First Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to Timothy • First Epistle to Timothy •
| General Epistles: |  Epistle of Jude • Epistle to the Hebrews • First Epistle of John • First Epistle of Peter • Second Epistle of John • Second Epistle of Peter • Third Epistle of John •
Bible analysis: |  Apocalyptic literature • Authorship of the New Testament • Bible interpolation • Biblical sexism • Bibliolatry • Documentary hypothesis • Evidence for the Exodus • Gospels • Horizontal reading • King James Only • List of actions prohibited by the Bible • Pesher • Q gospel • Septuagint • Skeptic's Annotated Bible • Ten Commandments • Torah • Bible translation • Word of God • Biblical literalism • Biblical contradictions • List of mistakes made by God • Abomination • Firmament • G'Tach • Arsenokoites • Genealogy of Jesus • Nag Hammadi library • Noah's Ark • Annotated Bible • Slavery in the Bible • Examples of God personally killing people • Herod • The Brick Testament • Evidence against a recent creation • Biblical scientific errors • EvilBible.com •
| Bible translations: |  Cockney Bible • Douay-Rheims • Jefferson Bible • King James Only • Septuagint • Vetus Latina • Bible translation • Annotated Bible •
| Apocrypha: |  Didache • Apocrypha • Nag Hammadi library • Book of Judith • 2 Maccabees • 3 Maccabees • 4 Maccabees • Books of Enoch • Books of the Maccabees • Gospel of Judas • Gospel of Mary • Gospel of Philip • Gospel of Thomas • Infancy Gospel of James • Infancy Gospel of Thomas • 1 Maccabees •
Biblical figures: |  Abel • Cain • Ishmael • Jacob • Joseph of Arimathea • Joseph (Old Testament) • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Noah • Paul of Tarsus • Mary Magdalene • Lot • Goliath • Nephilim • Moses • YHWH • Amalekites • Baal • King David • Joseph (husband of Mary) • God • Jesus • Asherah • Nimrod • Habakkuk • Adam and Eve • Herod • Pontius Pilate • Jezebel • Tamar • Judas Iscariot • Satan •
Bible woo: |  Jesus diet • Name it and claim it • Snake handling • Speaking in tongues • Spiritual warfare • The Bible Code • Gematria • Stigmata • Biblical longevity • Hanzi of Genesis • Dr. Bronner's Soap • Presidential Prayer Team • Trinity Broadcasting Network • Zecharia Sitchin • James Ussher • Creation Week • Zion Oil and Gas • The Drama of the Lost Disciples • Roman Piso • Jose Luis de Jesús • Prayer • Biblical scientific foreknowledge • Black Hebrew Israelites • Jonathan Otto • Benny Hinn • Presents Of God Ministry • Solfeggio frequencies • Ken Ham • Harold Camping • Institute for Creation Research • Steve Quayle • Kabbalah Center • Acharya S • Christian Identity • Peter J. Peters • Ezekiel's wheel • Creation Research • British Israelism •
| Scientific foreknowledge: |  Gaps between Science and the Bible • Biblical scientific foreknowledge • Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin • Science Confirms the Bible • Eternal Productions: 101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge • Modern Science in the Bible •