Adam Curtis began by stating that many texts in the Bible make their purpose explicit; he used the example of the gospel of John where the writer states the purpose, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). In James, the purpose is not explicit; our big question for the workshop was therefore: what does the letter of James try to achieve?
As we entered the text we underlined anything relating to the context of the text (the ‘they-then’), we put a letter C by anything that was a command / instruction, and marked the text every time the topic changed. My experience was of following a thread until another one quickly appeared. The letter of James carries many parallels to the wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible, directly addressing the reader, pearls of practical wisdom strung together (aphorisms), and a richness of imagery for the ‘they-then’ to ground both the nature of the problem and resolution into their lived experience (cf. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes).
Contextually, the writer roots the text throughout by weaving a myriad of references to the Hebrew Bible: a feature typically found in texts written in the first century, helping readers align the continuity of covenantal promises fulfilled in the Old Testament to God’s face revealed through Christ (cf. Genesis 12:2-3, Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 5:17).
James calls out to the early church facing external persecution (trials) exposing their spiritual forgetfulness both individually and collectively (James 1:2-4). James identifies one internal cause of suffering as the splitting within the self as being ‘double-minded’ (dipsuchos: literally ‘double-souled’), describing the doubter as unstable and tossed by the wind, caught between faith and uncertainty (James 1:6–8). We might refer to it as ‘soul-splitting’, where faith and doubt compete within us, leaving us feeling fractured and lacking.
This inner conflict extends to other oppositions, where friendship with the world competes against devotion to God, prompting the call to “purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). Furthermore, James critiques self-reliance and pride in future plans, highlighting how self-reliance fractures trust in God’s plan for us (James 4:13–16), exposing the double-souled person who attempts to live by their own strength while professing faith. The split heart is not whole, it is fractured, and suffering grows exponentially if we do not address our own part in suffering (James 1:13-15).
Yet, the letter assures us that whatever we lack: wisdom, strength, wholeness – God is ready to provide through a prayerful relationship with him, and trustful reliance on divine grace (James 1:5, James 1:17, James 4:6-8). If God seems distant, it is because we have moved (James 4:8).
We have forgotten who we are in Christ, we are children of God’s grace and wisdom, and we are called to actively grow into the likeness of Christ (James 1:23-25, cf. Romans 8:29). However, we worship and value the false light of social status, worldly hierarchies, and riches (James 2:1-9). “Friendship with the world” and its values is “enmity against God” (James 4:4). The progressive path of desire leads to sin and subsequently spiritual death (James 1:15). Trustful reliance on the material world and its values is a ‘diaspora’ (scattering) from divine will and from living as image bearers of God (James 1:1, Genesis 1:27).
James invites us to break the silence of spiritual deafness through action aligned with hearts renewed in Christ (James 1:22, 2:14-17). The problematic silence of a true response to God’s word is summarised in James’s aphorism, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). To truly speak is to act in accordance with the word already planted within us, so our words and actions align (James 1:21-22). Hearing the word of God is not sufficient in itself, we deceive ourselves thinking listening alone makes us followers of Christ (James 1:22). Our response to the word of God must be active and not passive. James’s point is to do what the word of Christ says (James 1:25). James urges us to look into the mirror of scripture to reveal who we really are as image bearers and our divine calling (James 1:23-25). When we look intently into the royal law, the command to “love your neighbour as yourself” (James 2:8; cf. Leviticus 19:18), and persevere in doing what it says, it brings true freedom (James 1:25).
A gift of Pop-Up Theology is its embodiment of James’s central idea of an active faith that offers transformation to those who accept the invitation. At the end of the session, we went round the room giving ideas on what we thought the purpose of James’s text was. Everyone had a unique perspective to offer – another gift of Pop-Up Theology. I was drawn to the opening image of the twelve tribes as ‘scattered’, as I see James exposing the multitude of ways in which we have scattered from our divine calling both individually and collectively (James 1:1). On reflection I see the letter as a spiralling and repeating call to divine truth revealed through the mirror of scripture, giving us a faith that works, a design for living, for a life under any external conditions (James 1:2-4, 2:14-26).