The following paper argues for the potential relevance of scholarship on New Testament/Christian origins to the study of religion generally, in response to recent institutional developments that have driven the Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion to hold separate meetings. The paper claims that Christian Origins scholarship suggests a series of cautions — about originary stories, the boundaries of traditions, and the predictability of historical developments — as well as some substantive contributions — regarding the desultory character of ‘‘religious’’ interventions, the role of narrative, and the input of intellectuals — to our views of religion that should be of interest to students of other data-sets. At the same time, and in some ways more to the point, it is incumbent upon those scholars of Christian Origins who aim to situate their scholarship within the larger field of the study of religion to be willing to generalize and not only to draw broad conclusions about the development and origins of ancient Christianity, but also to ensure that their own analyses and conclusions are, at least potentially, formulatable in terms of expansive generalizations about human behavior. Thus not only does the incorporation of Christian origins into the study of religion potentially add at least to the relevant data-set of the latter, but it may also be a way to enhance the responsibility and intelligibility of the former.
Of a total of twelve parables or similitudes appearing in Q, fully half are paralleled in the CopticGospel of Thomas. The two writings share approximately forty separate sayings. The similarity between these collections extends beyond considerable shared content, however, to embrace a common genre, a common predilection for aphoristic and proverbial forms, a common concern with both practical and speculative wisdom, and a surprising lack of interest in the death and resurrection of Jesus. As the similarities between Q and theGospel of Thomasare necessarily of a literary variety, attempts to explain them have naturally tended to favor documentary hypotheses. This is certainly true of the conservative claim that theGospel of Thomasis dependent for its traditions on the synoptic gospels. The trend toward denying any such dependence, however, has hardly diminished the tendency to explain the two writings' common content, formal features, and theological motifs in terms of essentially literary connections. Helmut Koester, who is largely responsible for the status theGospel of Thomasnow enjoys as an early and valuable document, has argued that, if theGospel of Thomasis not actually dependent on an earlier recension of Q, which it very well may be, it at least shares common sources with it.
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