05_Biblica_Aletti_Layout 1 01/04/14 12:04 Pagina 97 97 JAMES 2,14-26 But what is even more effective is to look for the reason for the use of the chreia in the components of Jas 2,14-26 themselves. Thus, the initial question clearly indicates to the reader that what is in ques- tion is a subject debated in the Christian communities of the day: if justification is obtained by faith alone, is it necessary to conclude that works have no salvific purpose? Like those questions posed to Jesus in the Gospels, the question in Jas 2,14 reflects a disagreement existing within the communities of the first century A.D. And any debate on faith and works cannot but echo the positions of the Apostle Paul. Certainly, as several exegetes have shown, one cannot find in the Pauline letters a statement saying that for Chris- tians good works are useless — Gal 5,6 explicitly says, in effect, the opposite: what matters is “faith working through love.” Never- theless, the thesis of Jas 2,17 and the scriptural allusions/citations of Gen 22,9 and 15,6 that accompany it are not due to chance: clearly they are alluding to Gal 3:6 and Rom 4,3.9.22. Thus, the chreia allows James to discuss and criticize an opinion that refers to the Pauline letters even if it does not come from them. But because his thesis is expressed under the form of a maxim, and not as a specific chreia — which would require naming the author of the opinion cited, as noted by Theon and the other ancient rhetors — it does not mention Paul and thus implicitly indicates that it is not from him but is only an opinion that deforms his doctrine of justification by faith alone. In short, the chosen form of argumen- tation allows for combatting an erroneous opinion without polemi- cizing against the one (Paul) who is probably being used by those defending it to recommend it. III. Jas 2,21-23 and Romans 4 19 Since Jas 2,21-23 evokes Romans 4, it is now necessary for us to compare briefly the order of the respective examples. Like many commentators, let us say at the outset that the faith in question in Jas 2,14-26 is not designating the same reality as that of 19 On the connection between the letters of James and Paul, see the good status quaestionis made by E. CUVILLIER, “‘Jacques’ et ‘Paul’ en débat. L’épître de Jacques et la tradition paulinienne (Jc 2:14-26/Ep 2:8-10, 2Tm 1:9 et Tt3:5.8b)”, NovT 53 (2011) 273-291.