When was the book / letter of Jude written?
Let’s use a trinitarian website because, if you read my post #138 , you know why. (Unitarian websites would generally place it the same range but “unitarian” = DOA for trinitarians. There’s zero incentive for me to bring them to the attention of my trinitarian audience.)
”Date of Writing: The Book of Jude is closely related to the book of 2 Peter. The date of authorship depends on whether Jude used content from 2 Peter, or Peter used content from Jude when writing 2 Peter. The Book of Jude was written sometime between A.D. 60 and 80.”
I’m willing to accept the given range. Let’s say, just for the sake of discussion, that it was written toward the lower end of the range. I’m going to stick a pin in at A.D. 65. (Tradition - for what we think that’s worth - tells us that Jude was martyred about A.D. 65 in the Roman province of Syria.
How old do we think Jude would have been in A.D. 65? I don’t know. I’m going to go with 70 years old. We can adjust the figure up or down.
One of my favorite Protestant trinitarian scholars is Dr. Harold O.J. Brown (deceased). I didn’t have the opportunity to meet him or correspond with him but the book he wrote for people like me (Heresies: Heresy And Orthodoxy In The History Of The Church) has been very influential in my life.
Dr. Brown writes:
”It is impossible to document what we now call orthodoxy in the first two centuries of Christianity; heresy often appears more predominantly, so much so that orthodoxy looks like a reaction to it. But we can document orthodoxy for all centuries since then - in other words, for close to seventeen centuries of the church’s existence.”
(Heresies, p. 5)
”Orthodoxy” is historical orthodox trinitarianism; Nicene Christianity (though I think that’s a little questionable - Nicea was in AD 325 and that didn’t clearly establish orthodoxy; Constantinople was in 381 and it pretty clearly establishes orthodoxy. Chalcedon in AD 451 brought us the doctrine of the hypostatic union.)
“Heresy” isn’t limited to Jewish monotheism, but it would include it in the minds of trinitarians.
Jude is a Jewish monotheist. He died around AD 65. Being very generous to trinitarianism, let’s say somehow we could pin trinitarianism to AD 200, the beginning of the 3rd century rather than the 4th century. (Historians would be all over me for doing this but I’m exaggerating to make a point.)
Jude dies in AD 65. Trinitarianism begins in AD 200 (wowzer). AD 200 - AD 65 = 135 years.
Jude died at least 135 years (and much more likely 235 years) before trinitarianism arrives on the historical stage.
Jude didn’t know anything about trinitarianism in his lifetime. He lived and died a Jewish monotheist.
”Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the need to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
(Jude 1:3, NASB)
The faith “which was once for all handed down to the saints” Jude is writing about is 1st century Jewish monotheism, his own faith, the Messiah’s faith, all of the apostles’ faith, not historical orthodox trinitarianism. The doctrine of the Trinity was formulated centuries after his / their lifetime, in post-biblical days.
Let’s use a trinitarian website because, if you read my post #138 , you know why. (Unitarian websites would generally place it the same range but “unitarian” = DOA for trinitarians. There’s zero incentive for me to bring them to the attention of my trinitarian audience.)
”Date of Writing: The Book of Jude is closely related to the book of 2 Peter. The date of authorship depends on whether Jude used content from 2 Peter, or Peter used content from Jude when writing 2 Peter. The Book of Jude was written sometime between A.D. 60 and 80.”
Summary of the Book of Jude - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.org
Can you summarize the Book of Jude? Who wrote Jude? What is the Book of Jude all about?
www.gotquestions.org
I’m willing to accept the given range. Let’s say, just for the sake of discussion, that it was written toward the lower end of the range. I’m going to stick a pin in at A.D. 65. (Tradition - for what we think that’s worth - tells us that Jude was martyred about A.D. 65 in the Roman province of Syria.
How old do we think Jude would have been in A.D. 65? I don’t know. I’m going to go with 70 years old. We can adjust the figure up or down.
One of my favorite Protestant trinitarian scholars is Dr. Harold O.J. Brown (deceased). I didn’t have the opportunity to meet him or correspond with him but the book he wrote for people like me (Heresies: Heresy And Orthodoxy In The History Of The Church) has been very influential in my life.
Dr. Brown writes:
”It is impossible to document what we now call orthodoxy in the first two centuries of Christianity; heresy often appears more predominantly, so much so that orthodoxy looks like a reaction to it. But we can document orthodoxy for all centuries since then - in other words, for close to seventeen centuries of the church’s existence.”
(Heresies, p. 5)
”Orthodoxy” is historical orthodox trinitarianism; Nicene Christianity (though I think that’s a little questionable - Nicea was in AD 325 and that didn’t clearly establish orthodoxy; Constantinople was in 381 and it pretty clearly establishes orthodoxy. Chalcedon in AD 451 brought us the doctrine of the hypostatic union.)
“Heresy” isn’t limited to Jewish monotheism, but it would include it in the minds of trinitarians.
Jude is a Jewish monotheist. He died around AD 65. Being very generous to trinitarianism, let’s say somehow we could pin trinitarianism to AD 200, the beginning of the 3rd century rather than the 4th century. (Historians would be all over me for doing this but I’m exaggerating to make a point.)
Jude dies in AD 65. Trinitarianism begins in AD 200 (wowzer). AD 200 - AD 65 = 135 years.
Jude died at least 135 years (and much more likely 235 years) before trinitarianism arrives on the historical stage.
Jude didn’t know anything about trinitarianism in his lifetime. He lived and died a Jewish monotheist.
”Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the need to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
(Jude 1:3, NASB)
The faith “which was once for all handed down to the saints” Jude is writing about is 1st century Jewish monotheism, his own faith, the Messiah’s faith, all of the apostles’ faith, not historical orthodox trinitarianism. The doctrine of the Trinity was formulated centuries after his / their lifetime, in post-biblical days.
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