faith and works.

alright, so you don't leave a turtle dove
at the altar anymore to make up
for having slapped your wife.

that is not a work of faith.
never was, that was an act of
propitiation in lieu of Christ.

drifting this way,

there is no schism between James and Paul.

in fact, James and Paul were friends.


so, when James proclaims that
faith without works is dead,
he is not arguing with nor against Paul.

in fact, Paul goes to great lengths
to suggest that we offer ourselves
as a living sacrifice to God.

but neither suggest that an offer
of a turtle dove on the altar of
the Temple is any longer a sufficient
or necessary _work_ of Faith.

oh, and James and Paul drafted a letter together.

we don't have this, but we have
referrence to it in the book of Acts.

the one where they suggest to the
new gentile converts that they "refrain
from things strangled, and from blood,
and from certain sexual immorality."


here's some of the bit from the book of
acts where we see that James and Paul
were not at odds nor strife torn.


Acts 21:17-20

When we arrived at Jerusalem,
the brothers received us warmly.
The next day Paul and the rest
of us went to see James, and
all the elders were present.
Paul greeted them and reported
in detail what God had done among
the Gentiles through his ministry.
When they heard this, they praised God.


--
Paul was greeted by James and the elders as "brother"
James and the elders of the church praised God in
acknowledgement of Paul's good works among the gentiles.
--


Acts 21:21-20
Then they said to Paul:
"You see, brother, how many
thousands of Jews have believed,
and all of them are zealous for the law.

---
James was seeking to protect Paul from those who *claimed*
they were in "The Way" but actually sought to destroy
Paul and his message.
---

acts 22:1-4
"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense."
When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they
became very quiet. Then Paul said: "I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this
city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained
in the law of our fathers and was just as
zealous for God as any of you are today.
I persecuted the followers of this Way
to their death, arresting both men and
women and throwing them into prison,

---
Paul, in his defense, said he was "just as zealous
as they are now" *before* his conversion, insomuch
as he Paul, sought to destroy the followers
of "that way"
---

Acts 21:21-22
They have been informed that you teach all
the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn
away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise
their children or live according to our customs.
What shall we do?

---
James wonders what to do, to protect
Paul from "the angry mob"
---

Acts 21:22-24
They will certainly hear that you have come,
so do what we tell you. There are four men
with us who have made a vow. Take these men,
join in their purification rites and pay their
expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.
Then everybody will know there is no truth
in these reports about you, but that you
yourself are living in obedience to the law.

---
James does not suggest that Paul repudiate his testimony,
but only to make a show for those "zealous for the law"
that he, Paul, is a jew and lives according to the law,
just as they.

---
Acts 21:25
As for the Gentile believers, we have written
to them our decision that they should abstain
from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from
the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

---
James does not send a letter to the gentiles insisting
that they conform to the law of moses, but only that
they should "abstain from meat offered to idols etc.."
---

Acts 21:26
The next day Paul took the men and purified himself
along with them. Then he went to the temple to give
notice of the date when the days of purification
would end and the offering would be made
for each of them.

---
Paul did as James suggested in order that he,
Paul, may enter the temple without causing a riot.
---

Acts 21:27-28
When the seven days were nearly over, some
Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at
the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd
and seized him, shouting, "Men of Israel,
help us! This is the man who teaches all men
everywhere against our people and our law
and this place. And besides, he has brought
Greeks into the temple area and defiled
this holy place."

---
It didn't work, as those "zealous for the Law"
siezed Paul and beat him anyway. and also, considered
it hateful that Greeks were brought into the Temple.
or, in to "the way"

a thing which James praised God for.
---

Acts 21:29-31
(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian
in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul
had brought him into the temple area.) The whole
city was aroused, and the people came running
from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged
him from the temple, and immediately the gates
were shut. While they were trying to kill him,
news reached the commander of the Roman troops
that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.

---
these people that "sought to kill Paul" were clearly not
1. working under the direction of James a pillar
of the church. James greeted Paul as "brother"

2. quite likely, "false brothers, crept in unawares"
who were, as Paul once was "zealous for the law"
to the point of murder. murder of followers of "the way."

Acts 21:32-40
He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran
down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander
and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
The commander came up and arrested him and
ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then
he asked who he was and what he had done.
Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some
another, and since the commander could not get
at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered
that Paul be taken into the barracks.
When Paul reached the steps, the violence of
the mob was so great he had to be carried by
the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting,
"Away with him!" As the soldiers were about to
take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander,
"May I say something to you?" "Do you speak Greek?"
he replied. "Aren't you the Egyptian who started
a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out
into the desert some time ago?" Paul answered,
"I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen
of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to
the people." Having received the commander's
permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned
to the crowd. When they were all silent,
he said to them in Aramaic:


Acts 22:1-5
"Brothers and fathers, listen now to
my defense." When they heard him speak to
them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus
of Cilicia, but brought up in this city.
Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in
the law of our fathers and was just as zealous
for God as any of you are today. I persecuted
the followers of this Way to their death,
arresting both men and women and throwing
them into prison, as also the high priest
and all the Council can testify. I even
obtained letters from them to their brothers
in Damascus, and went there to bring these
people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

---
Paul says; "I was once like you, trying
to murder the followers of "the way"
---

Acts 22:6-10
"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly
a bright light from heaven flashed around me.
I fell to the ground and heard a voice say
to me, `Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'
"`Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "`I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom you are persecuting,' he replied. My companions
saw the light, but they did not understand the voice
of him who was speaking to me. "`What shall
I do, Lord?' I asked. "`Get up,' the Lord said,
`and go into Damascus. There you will be told
all that you have been assigned to do.'

---
Paul has a vision of Christ on the Damascus road,
his story of conversion.

note; Paul does not in his defense,
repudiate his earlier teachings,
but, in fact, makes his usual attempt to
go into this selfsame "story of conversion"

but, as was Paul's usual manner, spoke to his
audiance in a language they understood.

and so, Paul says, in essence,
"why do you seek to kill me?
"I'm a jew just like you are."

---
Acts 22:11-18
My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because
the brilliance of the light had blinded me. "A man
named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer
of the law and highly respected by all the Jews
living there. He stood beside me and said,
`Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at
that very moment I was able to see him. "Then he said:
`The God of our fathers has chosen you to know
his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear
words from his mouth. You will be his witness
to all men of what you have seen and heard.


And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be
baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
"When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the
temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking.
`Quick!' he said to me. `Leave Jerusalem immediately,
because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

---
Jesus, in a trance, assures Paul that those
in Jerusalem will not accept Paul's witness,
and tells him to leave there.
---

Acts 22:19-20
"`Lord,' I replied, `these men know that
I went from one synagogue to another to
imprison and beat those who believe in you.
And when the blood of your martyr Stephen
was shed, I stood there giving my approval and
guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'

---
in Part, because, Paul was known
as a persecuter of "the way"
---

Acts 22:21-22
"Then the Lord said to me, `Go; I will send
you far away to the Gentiles.'" The crowd listened
to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their
voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him!
He's not fit to live!"

---
Paul fails in his attempt to "win over the jews"
to "the way" in Paul's defense, you must note
that Paul does *not* repudiate his early testimony.

he gives his normal speech.
and the "mob" in jerusalem
are in an uproar.

not James.

James is not angry with Paul.

James greets Paul as "brother.

Acts 22:23-30
As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and
flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered Paul
to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be
flogged and questioned in order to find out why the
people were shouting at him like this. As they
stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the
centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog
a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"
When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander
and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked.
"This man is a Roman citizen." The commander went
to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?"
"Yes, I am," he answered. Then the commander said,
"I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."
"But I was born a citizen," Paul replied. Those
who were about to question him withdrew immediately.
The commander himself was alarmed when he realized
that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
The next day, since the commander wanted to find out
exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he
released him and ordered the chief priests and all the
Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and
had him stand before them.

Acts 23-1-3
Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said,
"My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God
in all good conscience to this day." At this the
high priest Ananias ordered those standing near
Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said
to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!
You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you
yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"

---
note, those "zealous for the law" are lawbreakers.

while Paul has never been so, only taught
the gentiles that they have no need to observe
circumcision and mosaic ritual purity laws
to enter into "the way"

James said this;

Acts 21:25
As for the Gentile believers, we have written
to them our decision that they should abstain
from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from
the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

---
tell me if this isn't blatantly obvious
but the implication is;

"I am YHWH you shall have no other Gods before me"
is the chief instruction given to the gentiles.
they were not instructed to enter into mosaic ritual.
---

Acts 23:20-21,29
He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul
before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting
more accurate information about him. Don't give in to them,
because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush
for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink
until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting
for your consent to their request."
I found that the accusation had to do with questions
about their law, but there was no charge against
him that deserved death or imprisonment.

---
this entire incident centers around Paul's desire
to come to jerusalem and those "zealous for the law"
laying in wait so as to kill him.

but James knew they meant to kill Paul,
and sought to protect him.

James NEVER insisted that
Paul repudiate his testimony.
James greeted Paul as "brother"

Acts 23:30,35
When I was informed of a plot to be carried
out against the man, I sent him to you at once.
I also ordered his accusers to present to
you their case against him.

he said, "I will hear your case when your
accusers get here." Then he ordered that
Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

---
circumcision is no avail unless you keep the law to the letter.
Paul's testimony still stands as revelation from God.
James and Paul are in no conflict, at all.
---