Source: Alan Saxby and James Crossley, James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church: A Radical Exploration of Christian Origins (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2015)

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This podcast on James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church delves into the historical figure of James, the brother of Jesus, who the authors argue has been largely overlooked despite his significant role in early Christianity. The text meticulously examines New Testament accounts, extra-canonical writings, and modern scholarship to challenge the traditional narrative of Christian origins centered primarily on Peter and Paul. It highlights the "corporate amnesia" surrounding James and the recent resurgence of scholarly interest aiming to re-evaluate his importance within the context of Second Temple Judaism and the nascent Jerusalem church. Ultimately, it proposes a "fresh perspective" on Christian beginnings, suggesting James led a significant Torah-observant movement in Jerusalem, possibly predating Jesus' ministry in Galilee, thus offering an alternative to the conventional "Lucan paradigm."

Major Topics

  1. The podcast begins by highlighting that James, the brother of Jesus, is a largely overlooked figure in early Christian history, despite some indications of his significant role.
  2. It explores inconsistencies in the New Testament's portrayal of James, showing him initially as unsympathetic or unbelieving towards Jesus, but later emerging as a key leader in Jerusalem.
  3. The podcast discusses how James was often overshadowed by Peter in developing Christian traditions, particularly those emphasizing Peter's authority. However, memories of James were preserved in Jewish Christian circles.
  4. The traditional, canonical view of Christian origins, starting with Jesus and then spreading through a unified church, is presented as potentially oversimplified. The text suggests early Christianity was more complex, with tensions between different figures and communities like Paul and James, and Jewish and Gentile Christians.
  5. The concept of a "corporate amnesia" surrounding James in biblical scholarship until recently is introduced, noting a significant surge of interest in him in the past few decades.
  6. The work of Robert Eisenman, who controversially linked James to the Dead Sea Scrolls and portrayed him as a central figure in a nationalistic, Torah-zealous movement in opposition to Rome and Pauline Christianity, is examined. While influential in sparking renewed interest, his specific theories have faced criticism.
  7. The text outlines the revival of scholarly interest in James from the 1980s onwards, with various scholars offering new perspectives on his historical significance and his place within Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.
  8. Different scholarly approaches are discussed, including those focusing on James's Jewish context, his leadership in Jerusalem, the relationship between Jesus and his family, and the authenticity and significance of the Epistle of James.
  9. The Bard College Consultation on James is presented as a significant effort to understand James within the context of pre-70 CE Judaism and the early Christian movements, particularly in response to Hellenistic interpretations of Jesus.
  10. The text considers the idea that James's importance might stem from leading a pre-existing Torah-observant renewal movement in Jerusalem, possibly influenced by John the Baptist, even before Jesus's more prominent ministry in Galilee.
  11. An analogy with the eighteenth-century Evangelical Awakening and John Wesley is used to illustrate how complex origins can become simplified and attributed to a single central figure, suggesting a similar process might have occurred with the early Christian movement and the focus on Peter and Paul.