No, the contradiction is there without the two gospels. The two gospels resolves the contradictions while maintaining the plain meaning of the various texts involved.
The alternative is to pick and choose which passages you take to mean what they say and which you "interpret" in light of the other texts.
Baptists, for example, take Paul at his word and interpret Peter, James and John in light of Paul.
The Church of Christ does the opposite.
Other denominations usually fall somewhere in-between but its only a matter of degree.
It is Mid Acts Dispensationalists and ONLY Mid Acts Dispensationalists who take both the Pauline Epistles and the whole rest of the New Testament to mean what it plainly states. I have no need to interpret James 2! I simply read it and take it to mean what it says. "Faith without works is dead.". That's what it says and that's exactly what it means. I also take Romans 4 to mean precisely what it says when it states the exact opposite of what James says. It is the context which Mid Acts Dispensationalism provides that clears up the obvious and undeniable contradiction that exists outside a Mid Acts Dispensational paradigm.
Resting in Him,
Clete
Perfect, Excellent post. I recommend this post to be the "POST OF THE DAY."