Faith and works in James and Paul

[BartholomewB]

So much has been written about the apparent disagreement or “tension” between James and Paul that it’s hard to remember all the arguments. Jimmy Akin, for example, once posted a long piece about it at Catholic Answers, focussing on the different meanings attached to the word “faith” in Catholic and Calvinist theology.

I’m pretty sure I read somewhere online, not long ago, that Catholics are allowed to believe , quite simply, that James and Paul disagreed on the question, and that’s that. There’s so need to hunt for subtle arguments in an attempt to reconcile their views. However, in the last few days I’ve been trying to find it again and I simply don’t remember where I saw it. Can anybody here kindly help me out? Whether the answer is Yes or No, in either case I’ll be very grateful.

Here are the relevant verses in the NRSV-CE:

James 2:17: So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Eph 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

[po18guy]

Martin Luther's ever-faithful lieutenant Philipp Melanchthon wrote an extensive apologia harmonizing Paul with James. That is probably why the Epistle of James remained in Luther's bible.
However, words confuse whereas teaching clarifies. What does "works" mean? Under the Mosaic Law, works were required and were a major part of one's righteousness before God. In the New covenant, works of Christian charity - the greatest of the virtues (1 Cor. 13:13) - are the expected result of a relationship with God that begins with faith, blossoms into hope and matures into love.
We are constantly beat over the head with 2 Timothy 3:16, but we see at the end of the sentence that the true purpose of scripture is "that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every GOOD WORK." How does this square with "faith alone"?
There is neither tension nor discord between Paul and James, if we take the entirety of the faith into account. The alleged discord is a "reformation" rending asunder of what God had joined together.
So I have learned.