Pregledni rad
Fatih of the writer and recipients of the Letter of James
Mato Zovkić
; Univerzitet u Sarajevu - Katolički bogoslovni fakultet
Sažetak
In his introduction, the author points out that the faith described in James is
fides quae and fides qua and states that the historical recipients accepted this letter as
the work of James “the brother” of the Lord Jesus who, according to Paul and Acts, was
a respected elder in Jerusalem up to his martyr’s death in Jerusalem in AD 62. Relying
on James 1:1,17-18; 2:12,21-23; 4:4,11-12, 5:1-4,11 he concludes that the writer and
the recipients of the letter believed in God the Creator and giver of bounty who is the
Father of all humans. God revealed himself to Abraham and spoke through the Prophets
and will be the supreme judge of all humans. This is the faith of Israel as a covenanted
people of God. In addition to this body of faith, the writer and the recipients of the letter
believed in Jesus as Christ, as Lord, which is the credal formula of the first Christians
and assumes a knowledge of the Easter event (1:1; 2:1). Pistis Kyriou: this exegete
takes as objective genitive – faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The writer and recipients
disagree on the practical range of faith in the God who protects orphans and in the
glorified Christ who will be supreme judge of all humans. According to 2:1-13, integral
faith also includes helping the poor within the believing community. In 2:14-26 the
principle “Faith without works is dead” (V. 17 and 26) should be explained in the light
of 1:26-27 as its hermeneutical key. Such a faith encourages and inspires social activity
in the Church and in the world. In presenting Abraham as a model of active faith, James
reflects not only the tradition of Genesis but also of several apocryphal Jewish works
written in Greek. Like the Old Testament prophets who criticized fellow Jews for taking
part in liturgical ceremonies without living their faith in everyday life and assisting
the marginal members of their society, James in 1:26-27 and 2:1-26 asserts that true
religiosity involves personal and communal social engagement – in James’ time and
today.
Ključne riječi
James the brother of the Lord; pistis Hristou as the faith of Christ and faith in Christ; hermeneutical key for the saying “faith without works is dead”; poor in the church and in the world.
Hrčak ID:
266215
URI
Datum izdavanja:
2.2.2014.
Posjeta: 731 *