Date

5-1-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (PhD)

Chair

Benjamin Paul Laird

Keywords

James, General Epistles, Genuine Faith, Authentic Faith, Inauthentic Faith, Faith VS Works, Wealth and Poverty, Warnings, Confronting Oppression, Criticizing Sin, Acknowledging God, Humility VS Arrogance, Repentance, Demonstrating Faith, Pure Religion

Disciplines

Ethics in Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

James frequently references or alludes to the poor and the rich throughout his epistle (1:9–11; 2:1–10, 14–20; 4:13–17; 5:1–6). Even though most scholars throughout church history have accepted that the poor are Christians among the churches James is writing to, it has been debated on whether he is presenting the rich as Christians or as outsiders. If the wealthy are outsiders to the churches, then his messages about them would serve to encourage the recipients by assuring them that their rich oppressors will be punished, which would also discourage any imitation of their oppressive practices. However, if the wealthy are among the recipients, then his critical messages to the rich would serve to warn them that their wicked practices are demonstrating that it is possible the faith they claim to have is inauthentic (2:14–20); thus, they need to humbly repent (4:6–10) and become doers of the word (1:22). James never states that the wealthy are outsiders, nor is it reasonable that he would suggest all rich people are outsiders since he would be aware of the many examples of rich Christians in the early church. Even though scholars have proposed reasons for viewing the rich as outsiders, each of the reasons are refutable. Therefore, this dissertation will investigate each of the passages in James that are relevant to this topic and compare them with other relevant passages in Scripture to reveal the plausibility that the rich are among the churches James is writing to. It will also be demonstrated that not only is James seeking to warn the rich of their wicked practices, but he is also seeking to use them as the ultimate examples of those among the churches whose practices demonstrate inauthentic faith.

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