03_Biblica_Foster_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:56 Pagina 380 03_B 380 PAUL FOSTER In terms of the degree of certainty that can be attributed to pro- posals concerning social location, consideration needs to be given to the specificity of the situation suggested by the combination of fac- tors listed above. If all a document reveals is that the author draws upon a widespread belief system, then while this is undoubtedly in- teresting it does not provide a highly differentiated social profile al- though it may be an accurate description. On the other hand, one may reconstruct a much more specific description of social location, but if the evidence is ambiguous or open to a variety of interpretations the reliability of the profile is significantly lessened. As has been demonstrated, there are various descriptions of the social profile of the Q community. In terms of a theoretical Jewish ↔ Gentile Christian axis, significant points on this axis may include: Jewish — Christian Jewish — Jewish Christian — Gentile Christian Here the left-hand end of the axis denotes greater identification with and inclusion in Jewish society, whereas the right-hand end of the spectrum represents distance from Jewish society and its dis- tinctive religious practices. Yet even within this constructed axis the term “Christian Jewish” is problematic, because the overlap between this term and what scholars such as Arnal understand by the label “Jewish” as a descriptor of the Q people. Namely the term “Jewish” on this axis would denote Torah ob- servant Jews who have not been excluded from synagogue worship, even while confessing some form of belief in Jesus at least as a mes- sianic figure 44. Unless “Jewish” means non-acceptance of any special status attributed to Jesus (in which case it should not be included on a continuum of possible profiles of the Q community), then it is virtually synonymous with the label “Christian Jewish”. However, comparing “Christian Jewish” with “Jewish Christian” also creates confusion. Skarsaune uses the term “Jewish Christian” to designate “ethnic Jews who, as believers in Jesus, still practiced a Jewish way of life.” In con- tradistinction to this category he notes that “our term “Jewish believer in Jesus” also includes those Jewish believers who did not keep a Jewish lifestyle. The latter are sometimes called “Christian Jews,” as distinct Here again this reflects the definition of MIMOUNI, Le judéo-christian- 44 isme ancien, 39-72. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati