03_Biblica_Foster_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:56 Pagina 378 03_B 378 PAUL FOSTER Notwithstanding these observations, patristic sources refer to groups of adherents to Jesus who maintained a Torah observant lifestyle. Skarsaune helpfully proposes that the terminology “Jewish believer in Jesus” be used to represent the wider phenomenon of any person who was ethnically Jewish and who expressed faith in Jesus, regardless of whether or not such a person maintained any form of Torah observance 41. Therefore, the term Jewish Christian can be main- tained as a narrower categorization of the type of “Jewish believer in Jesus” who maintained certain aspects of Jewish life. In effect, it is possible to adopt Mimouni’s definition, which describes a law-obser- vant ethnic Jew who expresses some kind of faith in Jesus. He therefore defines “Jewish Christianity” in the following manner: Ancient Jewish Christianity is a term designating those Jews who recognize Jesus as messiah, who recognized or did not recognize the divinity of Christ, but all of whom continued to observe Torah 42. This will function, in a slightly modified form, as the working definition that is adopted in this discussion when addressing the ques- tion of whether Q originated with such a group of believers. How- ever, there is one major complicating factor. Q is well known for its non-use of Χριστός language. Hence, it is not possible to assert whether or not the Q compilers regarded Jesus as fulfilling a mes- sianic role. What is certain is that Jesus and his teaching are regarded as authoritative in some sense for the Q document. The range of competing and at times diametrically opposing views about the social location of the Q document raises major methodolog- ical questions about the task of determining the social profile of this source. There would appear to be at least three major questions that should be considered when attempting to determine the social profile of the author and initial reading community of a text: In order to help clarify his definition, Skarsaune provides a helpful dis- 41 cussion of what it means to believe in Jesus. Here his first point shows that he wishes to maintain a fairly open definition that would include a wide range of expressions of faith: “On the level of doctrine we want to include any type of Christology that accords a unique role to Jesus as Messiah of the end time, final Prophet, or any other role that makes him decisive as a saving figure.” SKARSAUNE, “Jewish Believers in Jesus in Antiquity”, 13. S.C. MIMOUNI, Le judéo-christianisme ancien. Essais historiques (Paris 42 1998) 39-72. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati