03_Biblica_Foster_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:56 Pagina 393 393 IS Q A “JEWISH CHRISTIAN” DOCUMENT? spectives have entered into the document suggests that at least at some stage of its transmission there were tradents who downgrade the traditional centrality of Torah within their own socio-religious context and also adopted a positive outlook towards the inclusion of believing Gentiles within the group. Notwithstanding these striking features, perhaps it is equally im- portant to state that Q reveals very little of its original context or of its attitude towards either typical Jewish religious practices or open- ness towards Gentiles. The available evidence is limited, and con- sequently conclusions are tentative. Streeter’s assessment that Q was written in Antioch for Gentile believers was linked to his reconstruc- tion of wider source-critical issues as well as debates in early Chris- tianity. Similarly, Arnal’s suggestion that Q was written for a Torah observant sectarian Jewish group located in northern Galilee reflects his own understanding of the origin and development of the Jesus movement 72. That Q traditions are so malleable, and that competing reconstructions can gain enough support from the traditions con- tained in Q by enabling certain elements to support diametrically opposed views should at least give pause for thought. This raises questions not only about the theological perspectives of the traditions that are contained in Q, but also whether a document of the genre and with the contents of Q is capable of such a classification. When such traditions are taken up by Matthew, or by authors of doc- uments such as the Gospel of Ebionites, many scholars conclude that they were used to promote a greater degree of law-observance and Jewish ideology. By contrast, when Luke takes up those same traditions he can use this material, including Q 11.42c and 16.17, to address Gen- tiles like Theophilus without feeling any embarrassment 73. Is Q a Jewish Christian document? Well, it depends upon who was using it and for what purposes. Did Q promote Torah obser- vance? There appears to be no evidence to show that it expected its readers to practice circumcision, to maintain the sacrificial sys- tem, or to observe Sabbath. Does Q reveal a uniformly negative at- titude toward Gentiles? It can stereotype their practices, while also seeing them as examples of belief and partakers in the eschatolog- ARNAL, Jesus and the Village Scribes, 160-161. 72 See P.F. ESLER, Community and Gospel in Luke-Acts. The Social and 73 Political Motivations of Lucan Theology (SNTSMS 57; Cambridge 1987). © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati