James 1:27 has long been a central biblical text from which our podcast community has drawn from. But to what extent have we delved into the depths of the Jewish context in which James wrote? To help us go deeper on this text and the social implications of true religion, we've invited Dr. Andrea Siegel to the show. Dr. Siegel has years of experience in humanitarian work, Hebrew studies and counseling and brings that to the text as the curriculum writer on Helping Children Worldwide's most recent orphan care resource. If you want to hear some things about James 1:27 that you've never heard before, this is a podcast to check out.

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Resources and Links from the show

One Twenty-Seven by Dr. Andrea Siegel and Helping Children Worldwide

Conversation Notes

The Old Testament backdrop of caring for orphans and widows
The collective nature of James 1:27 and what it means to be guarantors of one another in caring for the vulnerable in society
The connection with Exodus 22:21-23 and parsing out singular and plural pronouns for collective responsibility
Not forgetting what we look like in the mirror and how that keeps us aware of our Genesis-selves
A number of different Hebrew words and applications that enrich the understanding of the passage

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License

A Jewish Understanding of James 1:27 with Dr. Andrea Siegel