Glaube zwischen Vollkommenheit und Verweltlichung: Eine Untersuchung zur literarischen Gestalt und zur inhaltlichen Koharenz des Jakobusbriefes

Abstract

Glaube zwischen Vollkommenheit und Verweltlichung: Eine Untersuchung zur literarischen Gestalt und zur inhaltlichen Kohdrenz des Jakobusbriefes, by Manabu Tsuji. WUNT 2/93. Tibingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1997. Pp. xii + 244. DM 118.00. Tsuji's study of Letter of James is a revision of his dissertation completed at University of Bern in 1995 under direction of Professor Samuel Vollenweider. He joins growing scholarly consensus in rejecting Dibelius's long dominant view that this brief work lacks any consistent organizational structure or overarching theme. Tsuji includes in his critique of Dibelius a rejection of his related assertion that general and deontological of letter's parenesis precludes possibility of drawing any certain conclusions about its historical setting. Indeed, despite impression one might gain from subtitle, more than half of Tsuji's book deals with such historical issues as identities of letter's author and recipients, and its place in literary, theological, and communal developments of first-century Christianity. Tsuji begins by exploring literary of genre of James. Following a brief review of previous proposals, he presents his case for viewing James as a Diasporabrie Such circular letters were written from a central religious authority to geographically removed communities, usually with intent of encouraging them not to assimilate to world that surrounds them culturally. He traces examples of this genre within early Jewish and Christian literature, arguing that James both follows in this tradition and influences its use by subsequent Christian literature such as Jude and 2 Peter. He concludes that letter was a pseudonymous work trading on authority of James, Lord's brother, addressing conventional diaspora letter of temptation, and circulated among churches in Syria/Palestine prior to second century. In his analysis of internal coherence and overall theme of James, Tsuji gives most detailed analysis to James 1. Following Fred Francis's earlier work on Hellenistic epistolography as related to this letter and that of numerous commentators since, Tsuji finds a twofold introduction ( 1:2-12, 13-27) that sets forth for letter as a whole. Tsuji defines that as trials and patience, particularly as focused on issue of the assimilation of Christian to secular character (weltliche Gesinnung, p. 98). The main body of letter then develops this in three sections dealing with poor and rich (2:1-26), conflicts within community (3:1-4:12), and the rich as embodiment of secular character (4:13-5:6). The final verses of letter (specifically 5:7-12) reprise overall as a conclusion to letter. Tsuji relies heavily on rhetorical and linguistic studies by Francis H. Frankem*lle, and E. Baasland in his analysis of James 1, but is less clear regarding methodological basis for his divisions of main body of letter. It must be noted, however, that there is really nothing new in way he breaks letter down into units. …