It has been the custom of rationalistic critics to throw doubt on the genuineness of the Epistle of James, by assigning it a date too late for James to have been its author. Christian Baur placed it at the close of the first century, and his followers have held tenaciously to this date, but now come two critics, Spitta and Massebieau, contending that it was written by a Jew, not a Christian, in the century preceding the birth of Christ. Their arguments are reviewed in the Expositor for August, by J. B. Mayor, and, strange to say, he thinks that they are stronger than those for the late date alleged by Baur. He shows, however, which any reader of the Epistle ought to see, that in order to make out their case these critics have to reject from the text allusions to Christ which make it certain that the writer had a knowledge of our Lord, even if he did falsely call himself "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."

      When we find German and French critics constantly hatching out successive broods of hare-brained conjectures like this, we ought to learn caution about receiving anything from their hands that savors of novelty.

[SEBC 218]