A Recurring Theme in the Letter of James is that of Doubleness' People Essay

A Recurring Theme in the Letter of James is that of Doubleness' People Say One Thing and Do Another - Essay Example In verse eleven, he stresses this point by saying that a fountain does not shed sweet and bitter water at the same since this is a powerful contradiction. Nor can a fig tree bear olive berries (McCartney, 2009, p.243). In (James 2:14-17), he stresses that faith without actions is death. For instance, if a brother is cold, ill-dressed and lacks food and you say to him ‘go well eat and keep warm, you have not actually helped him because you have not provided to him his actual needs. Thus, this is faith without actions and should not be seen among Christians. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is also dead (James 2:26). James, therefore, earnestly and unconditionally discourages the act of double-mindedness among Christians. He encourages Christians to put what they say into actions or in other words that Christians should practice their actions (Batten, 2009, p.145). Circumstances and Background of the Letter Some Christian scholars claim that the le tter of James was authored by James the Just, who served Jesus Christ and the Lord as a slave. The postulation also describes James to be the brother to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is, however, denied by some other group of scholars who argue that the letter is pseudonymous. Although the book is named after James, it was actually written long after his death. This was written, as they say, by a Christian member of the early church James led before being stoned to death in the ‘60s. The book is purported to have been written and named after James in order to honor and respect him for his works (Johnson, 1995, p. 163). The author of this book could not be one of the disciples of Jesus Christ since one of them was called James, the Zebedee’s son, who was martyred in the year 44 CE. The epistle was not written by then, thus, he could not have been the author. The other was James the son of Alphaeus who was not particularly prominent in the record of the scriptures. This dis ciple was unusually outspoken and, thus, could he have written the book of James, he would have indicated that he was among the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. There is a strong evidence that the book was written by James the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom the resurrected Jesus had appeared to in a special way (Mathew 13:55; Galatians 1:19, 2:9). This James was also remarkably prominent to the disciples of Jesus and popular among them (Acts 21:15-25). According to the teaching of the book with the Symmachian sect, it is questioned as to whether the teachings of James were heretical (McCartney, 2009, p.265). The greatest portion of the scholars of the Bible has a belief that the book of James was authored by James, who was the brother to Jesus the Lord. However, scholars like Jerome do not marry the idea and think that the book was written by James son of Alpheus (Mathew 10:3). The view of Jerome is widely supported by the catholic believers to date. The protestant c ommunity strongly deems that the writer of the book of James is James the brother to the Lord (Mathew 13:55). The Jews of Jerusalem once valued James so much and enthroned him at Jerusalem (Acts 25:11). James is recorded to have supported some of the Mosaic Law, and this might have led him to write that letter which was in conflict with the epistles of Paul (Acts

Fairytail analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Fairytail analysis - Essay Example On the other hand, Cinderella does not cease doing good and being compassionate towards those who mistreat her. Finally, although she did not have fine linen like her sisters to attend the kings ball, her godmother comes to her aid and makes it happen. Later, she ends up being the beautiful princess that the king marries. Her good nature overrides the evil against her, and she ends up the most successful of all. Perraults ‘Cinderella’ is modest, depicting that humility uplifts the less fortunate and warning us through its moral that pride comes before a fall. In his story, Perrault exclusively illustrates humility and its consequences and what can consequently happen to the proud. Humility, compassion and kindness have been depicted throughout the story. Cinderella’s mother dies leaving her under the care of her evil step mother who continuously mistreats her. Her step sisters are no good either. Despite her circumstances, she at no time stops doing good. ‘The poor girl suffered silently, and never said a word to her father.’ She did all the house chores as her sisters adorned themselves; slept in the worst place while the rest enjoyed the luxury of well furnished rooms. None of these made her complain; instead, she kept all the pain to herself and not a single time did she stop carrying out her chores. Cinderella is not invited to the ball and has no quality linen to dress for the occasion; however, this does not stop her from helping her sisters choose the best dress for the occasion. She even goes ahead to make their hair in the best way possible. Perrault asserts, "She had exemplary ideas and marvelous advices on how they could fix their hair and dress appropriately" (Perrault). When the king throws a ball, her step sisters spend their entire time chatting about it and preparing themselves. They even make fun of her that she would be the laughing-stock if she appeared at the ball. Although they despise her,