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Rating: 
Summary: Thorough and Informative Commentary
Review: A reader who encounters the Epistle of St. James without preconceptions is unlikely to see anything in it that would account for its position as one of the most disputed and problematic works in the New Testament canon. On the surface, the book is a series of apparently disjointed reflections and injunctions, emphasizing the absolute goodness of God, human responsibility for sin, the need to restrain intemperate speech and other passions, and the deadness of religious faith that does not lead to action on behalf of the poor and suffering. Both form and content reflect what one would expect from a very early Christian writing in the tradition of Jewish Wisdom literature.If the same reader consults the typical modern commentary, he will get a very different picture: of a pseudonymous composition, dating from as late as 150 A.D., whose real point is to attack the theology of St. Paul (which is allegedly either misrepresented or misunderstood). This negative view goes back as far as Martin Luther, who branded James "a right strawy epistle" and only reluctantly included it in his translation of the Bible. Luke Timothy Johnson's commentary ably defends the epistle against its detractors and reveals the profound beauty of its thought. In a lucid fashion, with almost (but only almost) no academic jargon and turgidity (he really ought to find synonyms for "rich" as an adjective and worry less about James' failure to use "gender-neutral" language), Johnson presents a wealth of information about the epistle's literary and historical background, its reception by the Church and its place in Christian thought and worship. Especially acute is his analysis of James' line of argument, which he shows to be remarkably coherent, albeit not linear and easy to grasp. There has lately been a revival of scholarly interest in James, "the Brother of the Lord". Before turning to the solid but plodding John Painter ("Just James") or the wild-eyed Robert Eisenman, one would do well to absorb Johnson's thorough and informative study.
Rating: 
Summary: ably and admirably argues against the critical consensus
Review: No one to date has argued for the unity of the argument of the letter of James more systematically and more cogently than L. T. Johnson. While M. Dibelius' atomized reading of James continues to dominate the critical approach, Johnson's rejection of his basic premise that James is a series of unrelated moral exhortations is both fresh and appealing. Johnson's well-researched historical scholarship is balanced by his close reading of the text. Johnson discovers the overarching theme of the message of James in the antithesis between friendship with the world and friendship with God (Jas 4:4). The unity of James' argument is discovered in the injunction against "double-mindedness," the attempt to live according to two perceptions or measures of reality (or two "wisdoms": the world's measure and God's measure. James' discussion of faith and works fits this overall framework, directed against those who claim to embrace God's measure (faith), but whose works reveal another wisdom at work in their members. Johnson could have followed through on a number of exegetical issues he just touches on. For example his identification of the OT prophetic idiom in James' call to covenant conversion (Jas 4:7-10) is a promising avenue which he fails to explore. Johnson is also inconsistent in his thesis that James is a protreptic discourse, an address to a community of profession (i.e. "the faith of Jesus Christ" (Jas 2:1)) calling for consistency of life with profession. Johnson fails adequately to take into consideration the particular address to "the twelve tribes of the diaspora" (Jas 1:1) governs the scope of the discussion as it limits James' audience. Where, however, he does remember his thesis, the commentary is very insightful and profitable. As with the Anchor Bible series a familiarity with theological idiom and a basic understanding of Greek is requisite.
Rating:
Summary: ably and admirably argues against the critical consensus
Review: No one to date has argued for the unity of the argument of the letter of James more systematically and more cogently than L. T. Johnson. While M. Dibelius' atomized reading of James continues to dominate the critical approach, Johnson's rejection of his basic premise that James is a series of unrelated moral exhortations is both fresh and appealing. Johnson's well-researched historical scholarship is balanced by his close reading of the text. Johnson discovers the overarching theme of the message of James in the antithesis between friendship with the world and friendship with God (Jas 4:4). The unity of James' argument is discovered in the injunction against "double-mindedness," the attempt to live according to two perceptions or measures of reality (or two "wisdoms": the world's measure and God's measure. James' discussion of faith and works fits this overall framework, directed against those who claim to embrace God's measure (faith), but whose works reveal another wisdom at work in their members. Johnson could have followed through on a number of exegetical issues he just touches on. For example his identification of the OT prophetic idiom in James' call to covenant conversion (Jas 4:7-10) is a promising avenue which he fails to explore. Johnson is also inconsistent in his thesis that James is a protreptic discourse, an address to a community of profession (i.e. "the faith of Jesus Christ" (Jas 2:1)) calling for consistency of life with profession. Johnson fails adequately to take into consideration the particular address to "the twelve tribes of the diaspora" (Jas 1:1) governs the scope of the discussion as it limits James' audience. Where, however, he does remember his thesis, the commentary is very insightful and profitable. As with the Anchor Bible series a familiarity with theological idiom and a basic understanding of Greek is requisite.
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