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Enduring Temptation: The Structure And Coherence Of The Letter Of James, Matt A. Jackson-Mccabe

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

The extent to which there is a deliberate compositional structure governing the letter of James is an open question among contemporary interpreters. This article argues that a complementary consideration of formal textual features, thematic content and rhetorical function shows that the letter was composed as a unified, coherent treatment of the ethical implications of its underlying logos/desire dichotomy. Framed generally as a matter of enduring temptation in humble dependence on a provident deity, the letter presents the practical consequences of birth with logos under three headings: doing the works of the 'law of freedom', bridling the tongue, and manifesting a …