Saint Jude, whose feast the Church celebrates on October 28, is known the world over for his patronage—that of hopeless causes—and for the Children’s Research Hospital named in his honor.
But what some might not know about Jude is that he’s identified, traditionally, as the author of one of the letters of the New Testament. And that unique and power-packed epistle constitutes a kind of schema for identifying false Christian teachers, of any kind, in any age.
At just twenty-five verses and about five hundred words, Jude’s letter is one of the shortest in the whole Bible. Aside from its brevity, it’s perhaps best known for a line in its opening verses: “Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (3). It’s also remarkable for referencing two apocryphal works, the Assumption of Moses and the Book of Enoch—a move unique to Jude among all the other New Testament writers.
But the heart of the letter itself, which can be read in just a few minutes, is a grave warning about “ungodly” teachers stealing in among an early Christian community (4). Who were these heretics in Jude’s literary crosshairs? What did they believe? We don’t know for sure, but the text itself suggests a group of proto-Gnostics in the late first century, whose root error, like their more organized descendants a century later, was a perversion of spiritual things (4). Jude calls them “dreamers” (8)—the only use of the word in the New Testament—and compares them to “wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever,” a uniquely negative spin on a typically positive symbol of spiritual and heavenly heights.
What exactly were these proto-Gnostics “dreaming” about? Jude, interestingly enough, doesn’t examine and dismantle their beliefs in the manner of Irenaeus’s Against Heresies a hundred years later (as important as this kind of theological takedown can be). Instead, he simply points to the quality of their lives—and in so doing, not only tells us all we need to know about their beliefs (since faith and works go hand in hand) but also gives us insight into the kinds of behaviors characteristic of any kind of false teacher, “dreamers” of all stripes, down through the ages.
The first thing Jude notices is that these dreamers “pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness” (4). Again and again in the brief letter, Jude focuses, in a particular way, on “sexual immorality” (7). These false teachers “defile the flesh” (8), act like “irrational animals” (10), and indulge in their own “lusts” (16, 18). A desire to justify, explain away, or otherwise turn a blind eye to behaviors that the biblical tradition—from Genesis through the Gospels to the book of Revelation—consistently condemns is one of the clearest signs that a Christian has fallen on the wrong path, in whatever direction.
For the proto-Gnostics, their immorality stemmed from a “top-down,” “antinomian” rejection of the Mosaic law; for modern secularists, it stems from a more “bottom-up,” “inclusivist” rejection of the natural law; in any case, dreamers wear their lawlessness on their sleeve: They are a law unto themselves.
Next, Jude turns to a second, and more fundamental, warning sign: The dreamers “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (4), reject the authority of the Church (8), and unsettle the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist: “These are blemishes on your love-feasts”—the “agape meal” of the early Church associated with the Eucharistic celebration—“while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves.” In short, they stand against what Augustine called Totus Christus—the “whole Christ” of Jesus the Head together with his Body the Church—insisting on their own way and drawing others into it.
The inevitable result is dissension, schism, and fragmentation: “These worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, are causing divisions” (19). Heretics across the ages—whether esoteric or exoteric, “spiritual” or “carnal”—tend to fit this mold.
The open “rebellion” (11) of the dreamers is closely related to a third red flag—namely, their destructive and deceitful use of speech. These teachers, Jude warns, “slander the glorious ones” and “whatever they do not understand” (8, 10); they are “grumblers,” “malcontents,” “scoffers” (16, 18), “bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage” (16). Flouting both moral and spiritual truth, they rely on a warping of words—instrumentalizing them, stretching them, twisting them, weaponizing them, and, at the limit, making them up altogether—both to vindicate themselves and to corrupt others.
We see this trend across Church history, but it’s especially palpable in the age of social media and artificial intelligence, which has made public speech endlessly amplifiable and malleable; indeed, Cardinal Burke recently released a powerful fervorino on digital deception engineered to divide Christians—a trend, he says, that bears “the unmistakable mark of the Evil One.”
Moral disorder, ecclesial discord, and manipulative discourse: one or the other of these might indicate a struggling Christian, but two—and certainly all three—signal a believer caught in his or her own dream of Christianity. And our task, Jude reminds us in closing, isn’t just to contend for our own faith; it’s also to contend for theirs: “Have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear” (23).
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If it helps, a little more on the Letter of Jude
https://www.newoxfordreview.org/read-the-letter-of-st-jude/
In Mexico St. Jude is also invoked for those who suffer from the drug & smuggling cartels. His feast day is celebrated on the 28th of every month. I think it’s in part an effort of the Mexican Church to counter the Santa Muerte cult.
I’m not sure that “dreamers” is the best choice of words to describe what the epistle of St. Jude is teaching about in our Bibles, even though that is the word used in the epistle. I think a clarification is needed.
For many Americans, the term “dreamers” currently refers to “undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S.A. AS CHILDREN (!), think that they are American citizens, and have no memories of their native country (usually Mexico and other South American countries, etc.).
I don’t think that’s what this article is talking about, but it’s what many Americans, including Catholic Americans, will think of when they hear the term “dreamers.” It’s certainly what I thought the article would address.
These children have grown into teens and younger adults as “Americans,” and have little or no memories or knowledge about the country where they were born, and often, they know very little or nothing of the language of the country where they were born.
They have considered themselves “Americans” since they were old enough to understand “citizenship.”
Also for the most part, these teens and young adults have no “evil plans” for the U.S.A. or have been members of or are currently participating in street gangs that have a goal of overthrowing authority, law enforcement, and government in the U.S.A.,
I and many other Americans who are not “liberals” or anything resembling “liberals” (although most of the liberals would agree with my thoughts regarding this issue) think that these children and teens should immediately be granted American citizenship by the POTUS, perhaps by an executive order and by any other agency who determines U.S. citizenship.
I hope I’m not out-of-line to bring up this potential “confusion about the word choice in the article”. But I do think the Scriptures and our Church history makes it very clear that we are to welcome “sojourners” who are seeking peace and freedom from violence, crime, and fear, and I assume that this includes immigrants, especially babies, children, and also teens in the U.S.A. “illegally with no knowledge of their illegal status” who have not become involved with street gangs or other criminal activities or criminal acts that have made them “wanted by the police.”
And I have to admit that I have a motive that might be considered “selfishness”–frankly, we are desperately in NEED of more people in the U.S.A. to do all the work of our country that isn’t getting done!! The shortage of health care workers and workers in the skilled trades is woefully short of what is needed and these jobs are pretty vital to our health and comfort, especially as so many of us are Baby Boomers getting older every day! Many of these “dreamers” who are teens or have come of adult age would be happy to work in these jobs–but their lack of citizenship usually prevents their being hired–and often they don’t realize that they are not American citizens.
My apologies if these comments are out-of-line. I realize that there are some very literal people who refuse to use words or a phrase to refer to something that the word was not meant to mean. I also realize that this is a word in St. Jude’s epistle ant the author of the article was clearly referring to this epistle. But…”dreamers” is currently a term for undocumented children and teens of illegal immigrants that has been around for quite a few years now and is often used in various media and even in Christian media and at Christian events. I think some clarification would be helpful.
“And I have to admit that I have a motive that might be considered “selfishness”–frankly, we are desperately in NEED of more people in the U.S.A. to do all the work of our country that isn’t getting done!! The shortage of health care workers and workers in the skilled trades is woefully short of what is needed and these jobs are pretty vital to our health and comfort, especially as so many of us are Baby Boomers getting older every day!”
This assertion is simply not true. You are thinking locally and colloquially. The population of the United States is currently over 330 million. We certainly don’t need more people. We need to deport illegals so that tax-paying, law-abiding citizens have the opportunities they should have.
I’m repeating again, but the problem we will face in the future isn’t the number of Americans but the increasing number of elderly Americans & the shortage of young people in our workforce. Mrs. Sharon is correct about that.
We’ll have to make the necessary adjustments, and that might not be a bad thing in the long run. Boomers will have to figure out how to make it work.
The USCCB version of the Bible may use “dreamers” in verse 8, but a Protestant NIV I have right uses “ungodly people” and the Douay Rheims online uses “these men.” KJV uses “filthy dreamers>’
So, yeah, you aren’t wrong. When I first saw this article and read about “Dreamers” I thought it was another article about immigration, and I almost didn’t read it.
I don’t think I’m confused by the word “dreamers” in St. Jude’s epistle any more than I’m confused by the symbol of the rainbow in the story of Noah. The stronger meaning prevails for me.