Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (153 page)

Geographic Context

Is anything in the book more significant because of the location of the author and/or readers of his work?

Theological Context

What did this author know about God? What was the relationship of his readers to God? How much Scripture did they have access to? What other religions and worldviews were competing for influence?

T
oday’s assignment is to choose some of the terms in James for a comparative study (comparing Scripture with other Scripture). Use a concordance and search for other uses of one or more key themes in James. For example, the topic of joy comes up early in James (1:2). In
Living By the Book
we saw how
joy
was also a key theme in Philippians (pp. 258–59). You might begin by continuing to see what Scripture says about
joy,
or you can select a different theme from James. There are abundant choices for you to pursue. Below are just a few possibilities from the first chapter of James alone!

O
n Day 2 when you were answering the Observation questions (who? what? where? etc.), the authorship of James came into question. Of all the different New Testament men named James, which was responsible for this book?

At the observational stage, you might not have gathered enough evidence to find a satisfactory answer. But now, as you begin to interpret what you have observed, you can pull out some other sources for consultation. Today, check a number of handbooks, commentaries, and so forth, to see what other people say.

As is the case for several books of the Bible, you may find varying opinions as to who should be credited with authorship. Don’t just check a single source and move on. Do enough searching to discover a couple of possibilities, and read the arguments in defense of each one.

And while you’re at it, see what else you can find out about the author of this book. Once you determine which James is the correct one, what else can you discover about him? How does this information help you interpret what he had to say?