New Testament Timeline

In an effort to become fully absorbed in my study, I am interested to know the dates during which James composed his letter included in the Bible. What years did he live and what the events surrounding his timea

According to tradition, James was the brother of Jude (or Judas Iscariot not, as it is called in Scripture), and the half-brother or cousin of Jesus. Some think the apostle James was Jacques Alpheus, the cousin of Jesus (son of Joseph's sister Mariam and Alpheus), and the brother of Judas (not Iscariot), Simon (Zealots), Levi (Matthew) and Joseph.

The ancient tradition, however, argues that James was the half brother of Jesus, the son of Joseph by a previous marriage, and the brother of Jude (or Judas). It was not an apostle, and do not believe in Jesus, until he had a vision of the risen Jesus (according to Paul, Jesus appeared first to his half-brother James, then to the apostles). He was known as "Jacques the Just", and he spent most of his life in the temple, kneeling before the veil and prayer for the coming of the Messiah. In the early church, James was the first bishop of Jerusalem, and chaired the board Apostolic Jerusalem (Acts 15). He wrote this letter in the 50s AD. In the late 60 AD, members of the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem called James Wall of the Temple to denounce Christianity. When he refused, someone pushed the temple. As he struggled to get up, another man ran forward and hit him in the head with a "club of Fuller," kill him. According to Josephus, this act provoked the Jewish revolt against Rome that led the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

The book itself has a complex history. It was rejected by many in the ancient Church because of its questionable paternity. He was admitted to the list of books by Athanasius in the 3rd century, as the Council of Carthage in the 4th century and has since been in the Bible. It was rejected by Martin Luther, who insisted that it was written by a Jew who had never had direct contact with Christianity. The popular opinion forced him to keep the book in his German translation of the Bible, but he expressed his determination to "throw" altogether. The book, of course, completely refutes Luther's doctrine of salvation by faith alone. While Luther understood this point, many modern Protestants try to streamline the book of James to be in harmony with Luther.

An interesting point about the book: It maintains that salvation is based on the works, that faith alone is dead (as opposed to Luther), and that even the demons have faith (a point which is generally softened in the translations of the Protestant Bible). It also gives a concise explanation of the concept of theosis (deification), or the ontological union with God by good works.

The James in Scripture:

Jacques, son of Zebedee, brother of John

Alphaeus James, son of Alheus (Cleophas) and Mariam (Mary, sister of Joseph), brother of Judas (not Iscariot), Simon Zealot, Levi (Matthew) and Joseph, Jesus' cousin

Jacques, brother of the Lord, son of Joseph by a previous marriage, brother of Jude (Jude), and half brother of Jesus

62 EC, I have lots of info. e mail me if you wish.

Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam.

I can tell you what it says in my Open Bible Study. James was a popular name and they do not know with certainty that he wrote James, but they think because of references to what was happening in the new church, which was written from 45AD - 49 AD If you can, get a Bible study because they are filled with tons of information.

a date of the letter in the early 60's there are indicators, however, he was wr.