ritten before A.D. 45. Second, there is no reference to the controversy between Jews and Gentiles about the need for circumcision. This first surfaced before the Jerusalem Council of A.D. 48 or 49. The point is that it is difficult to believe that James would not include this in his letter to the Jews since he was instrumental in the decision not to require Gentiles to be circumcised in order to obtain salvation. These two considerations lead to an earlier date around A.D. 45 to 48 (Moo 33-34).Place of WritingThe most probable place of writing for the book of James is Jerusalem. One can easily conclude after discussing the authorship and date of James that the book was written from Jerusalem. James lived and headed the church of Jerusalem during this time. All of this, however, is an assumption since there are no direct statements in the scripture. The reference in James 5:7 to the ‘earlier and latter rains’ seem to confirm the location of Jerusalem since it is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea where the rains come in that sequence. The social problems in the area also correspond to the area James was writing (Moo 35).Occasion and PurposeHarold Bryson says that the occasion and purpose of James is to tell early Christians how to apply there faith to the lifestyle they live (Lecture Notes). The letter of James is a practical homily designed to encourage believers to show the reality of their theological commitment in practice. This in effect shows why James does not contain much theology. Although, G.E. Ladd says, “It is impossible to include the contents of the epistle that he was not interested in theology; a theologian can write practical homilies (Davids 18).” The purpose of this letter was to show and assist the early Jewish Christians in living the Christian life not to discuss and debate theological issues. But, this does not mean that James was not theologically sound. Th...
