Paul and James Theology Essay

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The positions of Hartin and Zetterholm regarding the notion of Paul and his relationship to precepts of faith and works are not one in the same. Each author is discussing respective facets of Paul's theology. The former is comparing Paul's conception of the value of works and faith with that of James. The latter is simply recounting Paul's purported opposition to the Torah, which is partly based on his esteem for faith. Thus, the positions of the authors are not synonymous because they are elucidating different facets of Paul's theology.

Nonetheless, there are poignant similarities found within their arguments (and within their conclusions in particular) that are impossible for the diligent erudite to eschew. Zetterholm ends his piece by stating that there are new interpretations of the very period during which Paul was writing, spanning from approximately "200 BCE to 200 CE" (Zetterholm, 2009) which evince the fact that there was a lessening of the importance of adhering to the Torah. His principal argument was that many scholars considered Paul a maverick for espousing literature in which he was not advocating expressly following the Torah, and was instead focused on faith. Zetterholm's conclusion is that this new interpretation downplays the alleged "conflict" (Zetterholm, 2009) between Paul and Judaism.

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This denouement proclaimed by Zetterholm functions as the capital way in which the positions of the authors are not irreconcilable, but rather actually are reconcilable. Hartin acknowledges that the point of variance between Paul and James is one which seemingly implies that Paul has distanced himself from the tradition of upholding the Torah. Paul was eliciting a relatively new paradigm in which faith in Jesus Christ was enough to save Christian adherents--regardless of how that faith impacted the traditional law of the Torah. Specifically, he was propounding the notion that Jesus lived and died faithfully in accordance to the will of God, and that Christians merely had to have faith in this fact in order to be considered righteous. Nevertheless, Hartin ends his piece by acknowledging that although this belief might not reflect the tenet of James in which works are required to bring alive faith, they simply offer a perspective of "diversity" (Hartin, 2003, p. 171) within this facet of Christianity. Paul's viewpoint does not exclude that of James, nor does James' viewpoint invalidate that of Paul. There is no conflict, just an emphasis on faith as a necessary….....

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