James 1:5-8 as translated by James B. Adamson, p. 55:
5 But if any of you is lacking knowledge (of God's way and will), let him ask of God, who gives it to all as a simple (unconditional) gift and chides not (the petitioner for previous ignorance). 6 But let him ask in faith, with no halting between two opinions: for the man who halts between two opinions is like a sea of waves, the way it is blown and beaten under the winds. 7 Let not that (sort of) man imagine that he will get anything from the Lord. 8 A man who is of two minds is unsteady in all his ways.
The title Harold Kaplan gives to the first section of his critique of James Joyce is Stoom: the universal comedy of James Joyce. As we have seen with Gustave Flaubert, this brand of comedy is as serious as it gets.
It is necessary to discuss some terms before we begin Adamson’s commentary on James 1:3-4. Otherwise we will have to define the terms in the middle of the discussion. The first term is approbation.
Approbation is a formal noun meaning approval or praise. Adamson compares approbation in Christianity to a scholastic examination course. It requires endurance under trial and temptation.
The second term is peirasmos.
According to an online source: “The matter of significance about peirazo (the verb form) is that it is used in both a good sense and a bad sense. It can have the idea of testing with the purpose of bringing out that which is good, or it can have the idea of testing with the purpose of bringing out that which is bad.”
Deem it nothing but an occasion for joy, my brothers, whenever (on each occasion when ) you encounter trying assaults of evil in their various forms (The Epistle of James 1:2, translated by Adamson, p. 52).
James includes verses 2 through 4 in this section but this article will only discuss his commentary on verse 2. I think it’s important to include the citations and notes relevant to his arguments. If I include all three verses in this article it will be too long. I’ll discuss Jame 3-4 in the next article.
Peirasmos
According to Adamson, the dominant ideas of the Epistle are the duty and the reward of endurance under peirasmos, a ‘certain and not distant victory’. The words and example of Jesus inspire this approach. He cites Luke 6:22.
According to James B. Adamson, the word salutation is the usual greeting with which Greek letters of all periods opened. (He cites Acts 15:23 and 23:26.) In Hebrew (and ancient Syriac and modern Arabic) the regular greeting is “Peace!” In Latin it is “Health!” (Salve or Salvete, in Letters Salutem, i.e., salutem dicit). In Greek it is “Joy be to you.”
James, a bond slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion, salutation. (James 1:1)
James B. Adamson begins his commentary with the assumption that James is the brother of Jesus. He argues this point in detail in his introduction. I have chosen not to include that detail because I prefer to start right away with the text of the Epistle and Adamson’s related commentary. However, if anyone is interested in the arguments presented in the introduction, please let me know and I will write about them. Alternatively, readers can order the commentary.
As I studied James Joyce to prepare for the next chapter of Harold Kaplan’s book, I realized that I need to at least mention the historical context of modern literature. This background is not included in The Passive Voice. Kaplan probably assumed his readers would be familiar with it, but the missing political and social history was crucial for my own understanding. I suspect its importance will become more clear as we continue with this study.
I have been working my way through the Book of James using the commentary of James B. Adamson1. As I read, every section seems relevant to our political conversation so I decided that I may as well share it here. This first article in the series will introduce Dr. Adamson and explain his unique approach to James. This is important in my opinion, because it adds to the enjoyment of the work.
In the Epistle of James, Chapter 3, James continues his teachings on wisdom. The first half of the Epistle instructs the Christian on the duty to guard his tongue. Adamson refers to James 1:26 for example.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. (Bible quotations are taken from the Catholic Bible NABRE unless otherwise stated).
I wish this was just paranoia, but it’s real. It seems to me the current political environment is calculated to stomp all over everything we stand for. It is eery how well-aimed certain activities appear to be in this regard. But the most disorienting thing about it is that Trump has no legal authority and yet, like a bad penny, he remains at the head of our country.
Trump’s election in 2024 was not legal. He was only allowed to appear on the ballot thanks to ‘conservative’ manipulation of the Supreme Court. Therefore, his presence in the White House is nothing more than insubstantial hocus pocus. We betray the Constitution every time we talk about him as though he belongs there.
However, there is a more horrifying part of this–the shadowy cabal in the background with plans to duplicate Trump when he’s gone. The cabal is helped along by the silence of our news media, which is supposed to be helping us. Meanwhile, the media’s pundits harangue us for not doing anything to stop the bad guys. What exactly are they suggesting I wonder? I assume they mean we should protest even though protests are ongoing.
Counting Our Blessings?
If this was the wild west we would form a posse and hang the bastards–anything less would be futile. But I don’t think that’s what the pundits have in mind. If they dared to suggest such a thing, they wouldn’t remain in their cushy jobs for long.
Then there’s the famous progressive tactic of fighting the bastards through the electoral system. Sadly, the only positive effect I can see from our participation the 2016 and 2020 elections is that we forced them to show their hand before they were ready. They have actually been here for decades betraying us in small increments in hopes that we wouldn’t notice what they were doing. Now we see them.
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