“Therefore, St. James’ epistle is really and epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.” (from Selected Writings of Martin Luther, ed. Theodore G. Tappert, 2007).
Many years have passed since Luther’s first translation in 1522, but his infamous derision of James lives on. It’s as if it is impossible to write anything about James without tipping the cap to Luther (and I acknowledge that this post perpetuates this trend).
However, the past several decades have seen a revived interest in scholarship on James as scholars probe this undermined work.
This blog represents a bit of my contribution to this effort as I begin to orientate myself to the world of James. James. Though no seems quite sure of its exact makeup, it appears that James consists of much more than straw alone.