Paul vs. James: The bible’s core contradiction on justification

Paul says we are “justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16), while James bluntly says “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jas 2:24).

If the claim is “no contradiction,” then defend both statements using the same definitions of “justify,” “faith,” and “works,” in the same context, without importing theological patchwork like “the faith that saves is never alone.” If you can’t do that, you’ve conceded there’s a contradiction or, at minimum, that the text is so unclear you need post hoc harmonizations to rescue it.