James reflects both features of Hellenistic paraenesis and wisdom
instruction, but its contents owe more to the latter. The work can be
seen as a ""countercultural"" wisdom instruction containing various
aphorisms, aiming to challenge the hearers' worldview and to reorient
them to the values acceptable to God. The concern of perfection comes at
the prologue and the epilogue, which forms the framework from which
James is to be understood. The units 2:8-13, 3:13-18, and 4:11-12, which
link the seemingly unrelated adjacent sections together, reflect similar
arguments. The perfect law of liberty and the wisdom from above, and
ultimately God the Lawgiver and the Judge, are the yardsticks by which
one's speech and actions have to be measured and judged (1:19-25). The
preeminent concern of our author is the importance of the perfect law
with its fulfillment bringing about perfection, freeing one from the
power of evil desire. ""Cheung has mastered both the literature on James
and that on the relevant Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds. He has
provided a creative new look at the problems of genre and structure that
have plagued the study of James. His contribution is a welcome one,
which we will be digesting for some time given the significance of his
proposals and the extent of his evidence. This work will be required
reading for any future scholar wishing to write on James. Hopefully it
will lay to rest some of the misperceptions that have been foisted on
James ever since Luther."" --Peter H. Davids, The Vineyard Church,
Stafford, Texas ""There are emerging signs of a renewal of interest in
James and in the place that this work occupies in our understanding both
of early Christianity and of the traditions of Jesus. Yet scholars still
find it difficult to describe a coherent argument for the work. Luke
Cheung makes an important and original contribution to the appreciation
of James by demonstrating the significant role attributed to the Shema
in its argumentative structure. He relates the appeal to wholehearted
commitment in the Shema to the call to perfection in James (in contrast
to 'doubleness'), and in doing so also seeks to clarify the vexing
relationship between Torah and wisdom in the work. Readers will find
this a challenging and enlightening study packed with detail but
revealing a helpful new approach to one of the New Testament's most
difficult works."" --Ronald A. Piper, University of St. Andrews Luke L.
Cheung holds the degrees of MDiv, MTh, and PhD. This book is a
development of his doctoral thesis for which he studied at the
University of St. Andrews. He is currently Associate Professor of New
Testament Studies at the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong.
