The Washington Post today has a piece on how the Epistle of James is being invoked again and again by Democrats. The epistle, at times maligned for its emphasis on works (which, say critics through history, implies that it downplays faith), is regarded by many as one that emphasizes community and ethics.
The repeated references to James highlight an often overlooked and sometimes criticized book of the Bible. For centuries, its supposed conflict with St. Paul and the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone relegated it to the sidelines of biblical scholarship.
Yet the book is finding new life in American politics, with James emerging as the Democrats’ go-to theologian, and his epistle as their favorite passage of Scripture.
” ‘Faith without works is dead’ translates politically into ‘rhetoric without action is dead,’ ” said Kevin Coe, co-author of “The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America.
James stresses the theme of faith in action perhaps more than any other book of the New Testament. Unlike other New Testament letters, many of them attributed to Paul, James plays down dogma in favor of practical ethical guidelines that center on loving one’s neighbor and, in particular, serving the poor.
The article continues with some famous “James” moments in history, such as Luther’s belittling it as the “Straw Epistle” and other times when it was invoked by abolitionists as well as the “Social Gospel” movement of the late 19th and early 20th century.
You can read it here.