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empty or pure?

James 1:26-27 (JDV)

James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious but does not control his tongue, his religion is empty and he deceives himself.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father looks like this: it looks after orphans and widows in their distress and it keeps oneself unstained from the world.

empty or pure?

James contrasts empty religion with pure religion here. If a person has a religion that allows him or her to lash out at others irresponsibly, that religion is empty of the one essential element of any religion: godliness. Godliness does not borrow hatred from the world; it gives love to the world. Godliness does not borrow impurity from the world; it reflects the purity of its author: God himself.