Epistle Of James, one of the books of the New Testament canon, which has been ascribed to James the son of Zebedee, to a pseudo-James who assumed the name to gain authority, to James the son of Alpheus, and to James the brother of the Lord. Luther doubted its apostolic origin, and called it an "epistle of straw;" but recent Protestant theologians are generally in favor of its canonicity, without being able to agree as to its author. The entire recent literature on the epistle is reviewed in the Studien und Kritiken, January, 1874, by Prof. Berschlag, who believes that it was written by James the brother of the Lord, whom he distinguishes from both the apostles of that name. He regards it as the oldest book of the New Testament, reflecting the sentiments of the most religious portion of the Jewish people, in which Jesus himself and his brothers were reared. It was addressed to the Jewish Christians of Asia Minor. In his doctrine, James lays the greatest stress upon the necessity of works, in distinction from Paul and John, respectively the preachers of faith and love. That his doctrine is consistent with theirs, exhibiting it from another point of view, has been shown by Neander, in his practical exposition of the epistle.

Its style is highly eloquent and poetical.