Cynics or Luddites? Excavating Q Studies

In the last 20 years the Sayings Gospel "Q" has come to play an increasingly important role in the reconstruction of Christian origins. One might argue in fact that the field has reached a tipping point: the canonical myth of Christian origins—running along the traditional axis of Mark, Paul, and Luke-Acts—is now on the verge of collapse. Q has thus become a crucial site of conflict and contestation in the struggle over origins, and as such "Q studies" is particularly revealing of the ideological investments of professionals on both sides of the fight. This article tries to identify some of the stakes involved in this disciplinary crisis, and worries that the new counter-history of Christian origins has not entirely divested itself of the commitments of its more conservative adversaries.