James: Intro.

Authorship: James, brother of Jesus, and head of Jerusalem church.

Date: Perhaps the earliest book of the New Testament, perhaps being written in 45 A.D.

Audience: Jewish Christians.

Genre: Epistle.

*aha!: James seems to be a topic of debate in the theological community. Many (Martin Luther included) believed that James’ writings contradicted the ideas found in Pauline writings. When in actuality, he was just warning against a super overzealous interpretation of his works, which many were doing- defying government, laws, and social morality. James’ teachings focus on the works that should come from the justification of Christ that Paul so heavily wrote about.