Title

Strong and Weak Lines : Permeable Boundaries between Church and Culture in the Letter of James

School/Department

Talbot School of Theology

Publication Date

Summer 2011

Abstract

After noting scholarly assessments of James through the lens of purity and impurity that indicate a concern to draw lines of separation between the believing community and culture, the article reconsiders whether impermeable social boundaries and identity through difference constitute the central focus of James. It first considers the nature of purity language as a means of marking out differences and separation and how this language functions in James. Then it examines the overall cultural stance of James and what it may indicate regarding the degree and kind of separation in view. It suggests that rather than categorizing the letter as entirely open or sectarian, it is better to understand the boundary lines between church and culture as definite but permeable--strong in some cases, weak in others

Keywords

Wisdom--Biblical teaching; Christianity and culture

Publication Title

Review & Expositor

Volume

108

Issue

3

First Page

391

Last Page

405

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