Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Melinda Meshad's avatar

The misinterpretation of James 4 certainly has contributed to the arrogance I was raised in, and the destruction of young people to not have goals and reach their potential in careers and hobbies outside of the church, and even isolates those in the church from being open to other opinions.. at least where I was raised. Definitely it contributes to the ideas proposed in the Dominionism movement and what we are seeing today with the religious nationalistic movement. Thank you for clearing that up, but I fear that it won't make a dent in those churches that need to hear.

Expand full comment
Cercatore's avatar

James’s admonishment is pretty harsh though and in verse 4 he calls them “moichalides” [Adulterers] possibly the feminine plural (?) Reading between the lines, one wonders what’s been going on with those “12 tribes of the dispersion” whom it is addressed to. Young's Literal Translation however has both the feminine and the masculine mentioned. An external deflection of this message onto others ‘outside of the fold’ can often tie into a ‘Purity Cultural’ nonsensicalness, i.e. – no intimate relationships with non-believers who think differently than you, or we can’t eat or shop at that place, or we can’t do business with those “non-believers”. An exclusivity hermeneutic that then becomes a rallying call for demonization.

Expand full comment
5 more comments...

No posts