Building Oneself and the Community: The Importance of Faith in the Epistle of St. Jude

Bogdan ZBROJA

Chair of Theology and Computer Biblical Science, The Institute for Biblical Sciences, The Faculty of Theology, The Pontifical University of John Paul II, ul. Siostry Faustyny 3, 30-420 Cracow, Poland , Poland

Abstract

The article focuses on the theme of faith in the Epistle of St. Jude. The hagiographer emphasizes the fact that the true faith was communicated only once, and as such it must be guarded and consolidated. According to the Epistle, the greatest threat to faith is posed by teachers of a false doctrine: the one based on their own ‘fantasies.’ Such teachers are compared to negative characters portrayed in the Old Testament (such as Cain, Balaam, and Korah), while the community of the Church they succeeded in penetrating is described as credulous. The article also discusses the threats to the true faith, as perceived by the hagiographer and his exhortations to protect it and to build oneself and the community through prayer, vigilance, and hope for God’s grace.

Keywords:

Faith, morality, community of believers, Epistle of St. Jude.