Structure or Communicative Strategy? The 'Two Ways' Motif in James' Theological Instruction

Abstract

The related issues of structure and coherence in James have been perennial questions for students of this letter. Though a number of studies have begun to appreciate the coherence of James, there has been little consensus regarding James' structure. This article attempts to bypass arguments regarding the structure of James to consider how the text seeks to communicate its overall (theological) message. Given the difficulty to clearly identify James' overall structure on the one hand, and the apparent thematic use of contrasts on the other, this article argues that the contrasts function to move readers to a decision between one of these two extreme ways or paths of living and that these contrasts largely function along the lines of the traditional Jewish Two Ways motif.