This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.The letter of James has enjoyed a colorful history, with its background and significance widely debated over the centuries. In
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.The letter of James has enjoyed a colorful history, with its background and significance widely debated over the centuries. In this book an outstanding scholar of the New Testament offers new and selected studies of James that show its roots in antiquity and its importance for Christian history and theology. / Luke Timothy Johnson explores the letter of James from a variety of perspectives. After a general introduction to James, he looks at its history of interpretation. Johnson then examines James's social and historical situation, its place within Scripture, and its use of the sayings of Jesus. Several exegetical studies take care to place James in the context of Hellenistic moral discourse. Two concluding essays look at the themes of friendship and gender in James. / While seemingly of interest only to professionals, Johnson's Brother of Jesus, Friend of God will also be accessible to general readers serious about Bible study, and church groups will find this volume to be a fruitful entry into an important portion of the New Testament.
John Painter
"Luke Timothy Johnson rightly argues that the Epistle of James provides important evidence for any study of the brother of the Lord. His work in writing commentaries on James and Acts fits him well for the approach that he has adopted. He argues that his study of the epistle reveals the voice of James, a voice that 'agrees substantially with the best reading of Luke and Paul with respect to the historical James.' Not all readers will agree with this reading, but Johnson makes a strong case for the value of the epistle in understanding the life and mission of the brother of the Lord. Anyone interested in James — the epistle and the person — will want to read this book."
Robert W. Wall
"This fine collection from Luke Timothy Johnson, a leading interpreter of the Letter of James, offers advanced Bible students a fluent and full introduction to the letter's composition, canonization, theological contribution, and history within the early church. Although Johnson's book is scholarly in purview, including extensive notes and a current bibliography, his evident purpose is to set James within a context where current interpreters can better retrieve meaning in a way that underscores the letter's continuing importance for forming a more vital Christian faith. Johnson accomplishes this purpose with uncommon skill and grace."
Joel B. Green
"With this welcome study of the background, theology, and interpretation of the Letter of James, Luke Timothy Johnson rehabilitates this New Testament book both from the disparagement it has suffered in church history and from those for whom its theological vision remains marginal today. Read in concert with Johnson's premier commentary on James, this book urges forms of discipleship marked by community and integrity — a way of life oriented radically around the gift-giving God. "
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Luke Timothy Johnson is Candler School of Theology's Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus. He won the 2011 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity. Johnson's many other books include The Revelatory Body, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God, and The Writings of the New Testament.
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