Comparative Theology · Pauline Epistles & Early Church
Conflict Between Paul and James the Just
In short
- 1.**James the Just**, leader of the Jerusalem Church, insisted on **Torah observance** and faith proved **by works** (James 2:24).
- 2.Paul openly attacked James's emissaries and called **Peter a hypocrite** at Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14).
- 3.Paul taught **faith apart from works of the law** (Romans 3:28) — directly against James 2:24.
The claim being examined
The apostles preached one unified gospel.
The Islamic position
James, the brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem church, taught the opposite of Paul on salvation.
Analysis
The Jerusalem community under James remained a Torah-observant Jewish movement. Paul's Gentile mission dispensed with circumcision and food laws. The New Testament preserves both voices unreconciled — a record of conflict, not consensus.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 61:14
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ
O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah.
From the Bible
James 2:24
ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Read it in their BibleRomans 3:28
For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Read it in their BibleSources
James D. Tabor, Paul and Jesus (2012), ch. 2 and 9 · Bart D. Ehrman, Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene (2006) · Ali Ataie, lectures on early church history (Zaytuna College) · Galatians 2; James 2; Tabor, Paul and Jesus, ch. 9
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