In James 2:20, the apostle calls some of his readers "senseless." But didn't Jesus teach in the Sermon on the Mount that it was wrong to call someone a fool?

James 2:19 uses a bit of rhetorical sarcasm to make a point. You can claim to be faithful in a way that might be true of any self-respecting Jew. But if it doesn't show in your conduct and character, are you doing any better than the demons?

Our visual perception works in a way that we see what we expect to see, and don't see what we don't expect to see. If you read James 2:18 closely, you might be surprised to see something you didn't expect to see...

In James 2:14-17, the apostle offers what is meant to be a ludicrous example of the failure of Christian compassion. He does this to make a point: if you say you have faith, shouldn't it make a difference to how you treat others?

This episode completes our examination of James 2:8-13. There's a difference between an appropriate use of "judgment" and being judgmental or relating to people through our prejudice (pre-judgments). This distinction helps us understand what James means when he says that "mercy triumphs over judgment."

When James teaches about the "royal law" of loving one's neighbor, he echoes the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus challenges his hearers' understanding of what it means to be righteous. That teaching may sound strenuously difficult! But understood rightly, it can actually be liberating...

James 2:13 speaks of both judgment and mercy. This episode uses both the Lord's Prayer and Jesus' parable of the Unmerciful Servant as background to James' teaching.

"Love your neighbor," Jesus taught. But who is my neighbor? In this episode, we explore the relevance of Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan for our understanding of James.

What kind of father is our heavenly Father? To some of us, James 2:8-13 may sound a little threatening, with its emphasis on law and judgment. We'll need a few episodes to explore this passage, beginning with this one. Throughout, we will connect what James says back to the teaching of Jesus.

We've seen how believers were giving preferential treatment to the rich and dishonoring the poor. This episode briefly explores what attachment theory and the example of Father Greg Boyle might teach us about the quality of Christian community that James might encourage.