Comparative Theology · Pauline Epistles & Early Church
Conflict Between Paul and James the Just
In short
- 1.James, the brother of Jesus (PBUH) and leader of the Jerusalem church, kept the Jewish law and said faith is proved by what you do (James 2:24).
- 2.Paul confronted the men James sent and called Peter a hypocrite at Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14).
- 3.Paul taught that a person is accepted by faith, apart from keeping the law (Romans 3:28) — the opposite of James 2:24.
The claim being examined
The apostles preached one unified gospel.
The Islamic position
James, the brother of Jesus (PBUH) and head of the Jerusalem church, taught the opposite of Paul on salvation.
Analysis
The first community in Jerusalem, led by James, kept living as Jews: circumcision, the food laws, the Sabbath. Paul's mission to non-Jews dropped those requirements. The New Testament keeps both voices side by side without ever settling the argument, so what we are reading is a record of a real disagreement, not an agreed position.
From the Qur'an
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوٓا۟ أَنصَارَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَا قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ لِلْحَوَارِيِّـۧنَ مَنْ أَنصَارِىٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنصَارُ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَـَٔامَنَت طَّآئِفَةٌۭ مِّنۢ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَكَفَرَت طَّآئِفَةٌۭ ۖ فَأَيَّدْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ عَلَىٰ عَدُوِّهِمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ ظَـٰهِرِينَ
yāayyuhā alladhīna āmanū kūnū anṣāra l-lahi kamā qāla ʿīsā ub'nu maryama lil'ḥawāriyyīna man anṣārī ilā l-lahi qāla l-ḥawāriyūna naḥnu anṣāru l-lahi faāmanat ṭāifatun min banī is'rāīla wakafarat ṭāifatun fa-ayyadnā alladhīna āmanū ʿalā ʿaduwwihim fa-aṣbaḥū ẓāhirīna
O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah.
From the Bible
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 BibleFor we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Read it in their BibleSources
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