This post is the bridge between the first and last halves of this series.
Previously: (1) James & Paul don't have to be homogenized for the sake of our faith. (2) The conflict in their history together suggests there should indeed be conflict in their writings, but we may still believe they were both speaking truth and merely arguing from different perspectives - even if they often argued in the same terms, and even if this went on for years. (3) The traditional arguments for necessarily dating James' Epistle before 50 AD are invalid for various reasons.
Point: We need a better set of arguments for dating James' Epistle.
Also Recently: (1) The second chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians can only refer to the Council of Jerusalem, which therefore dates this letter after 50 AD. (2) The vocabulary of Galatians is consistent with a situation after the Council and reveals Paul's lingering sense of conflict with Jerusalem. Now: Without defending it at this point, for the sake of time, I'm going to take the position that Galatians was written some time in the middle of 50 AD, in between the events of Acts 15:39 and 15:40.
Preview of my Conclusion: The best and most conservative date for James' Epistle is a year or two after Paul's writing to the Galatians.
Preview of Posts Left in this Series: We need to look at the linguistic connections between Galatians and James and consider possible explanations for them. After that, it's back to chronology and logistics. The next chance Paul and James had to sit down together (Acts 18:22, in the Autumn of 52 AD) could possibly be a terminus point for the last most likely date of James' Epistle. Although we cannot assume the two men came to any unity of understanding about their significant differences in perspective - at this time, if ever - we should at least assume they saw one another and spoke at some length. However much headway James & Paul were able to make during this probable meeting, it is that much less likely James would have gone on to write the same Epistle that he did.
Bill Heroman, Amateur Academic