58 Huub van de Sandt One cannot pick and choose which commandments to keep. It is utterly wrong to disregard some prohibitions while obeying the others. Slandering is likely to have been taken as a minor transgression. According to James, however, one sets oneself above the Law in deciding which commands to comply with and which to ignore (58). Anyone believing himself entitled to ignore the weight of a minor sin like slander claims for himself God’s role as the ultimate lawgiver. James shows great interest in highly developed ethical behaviour. The core of his message is that equating the insignificance of a seemingly lesser offence with the gravity of the major ones entails a definite shift in moral focus and attitude beneficial to one’s neighbour. The subsections in Jas 2,8-11 and 4,11-12 are thus most naturally in accordance with Did 3,1-6 and Yir’at Het. In Douglas J. Moo’s view, these words of warning were indispensable “because of the tendency to think that obedience to the “heavier” commandments outweighed any failure to adhere to the “lighter” requirements of the law” (59). Since his readers might have lost the ability to properly assess the value of the minor commandments, James cuts away any grounds the person may have for a light-hearted attitude toward prohibitions of partiality or slander. There was no room for excuses or justifications, by emphasizing for example that one was, after all, keeping the Decalogue very well. The observance of all laws, regardless of their content and their relation to the centre of Torah, is explicitly demanded. In James’ mind, “to show contempt for the poor is equivalent to committing adultery or even murder” (60). In this respect, he is strongly rooted in the specific moral tradition thriving in pious Jewish groups. 6. Jas 4,1-4: an Interpretation in the Light of Did 3,1-6 In the first chapter of James (1,14-15) evil is explained as the product of an individual’s “desires” (ejpiqumivai). Also in Jas 4,1-4, the connection between desire and sin is shown. In the first subsection below, we will see that both passages, Jas 1,14-15 and 4,1-4, at least partially, seem to correspond closely to a pattern of moral exhortation like the one presented in the teknon section. Yet, as will become clear (58) See also B.T. VIVIANO, “La Loi parfaite de liberté. Jacques 1,25 et la Loi”, The Catholic Epistles (ed. SCHLOSSER), 213-226; esp. 223-224. (59) The Epistle of James, 95. (60) Cf. HARTIN, James, 137. See also the Venerable BEDE (672/3-735) who states that “if one practices partiality, then it is the same as if one had committed murder or adultery” (according to JOHNSON, The Letter of James, 233).