Study Guide for James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 1, 2, & 3 John

Study/Discussion Questions
How does the letter of James address Paul’s argument of “justification by faith”?


What are the “ethics” of the letter of James? How do these ethics compare to teachings of Paul or Jesus or other figures we have studied?


Who are the “false teachers” of Jude? What do they teach, and why does the author of Jude think their teachings are false?


Who are the opponents of the author of 2 Peter? What about them does 2 Peter criticize? How literally do you think we should interpret some of the criticisms (e.g., “they have eyes full of adultery”)?



What does 2 Peter think about the parousia?


As Ehrman argues, 1, 2, and 3 John probably were not written by the author of the Gospel of John. Nonetheless, they share themes with the Gospel of John. What are the shared themes? How are the messages related to those themes in 1, 2, 3 John similar to or different from the messages in the Gospel of John?