Abstract
Rather than impose a quick conclusion as to the literary genre of Q, we should examine first in detail the contents and arguments, as for instance does R. Burridge, in his What are the Gospels? (1992). Following his analysis of bios in late classical antiquity, and especially the analysis of verb subjects, it seems likely that Q would have appeared at the time more like a Life of a Philosopher than anything else; though genres were probably more flexible still than Burridge allows. Objections to genre categorizations are often made in terms of lists of 'differences'; but when rival genre claims are being made, we can only work with comparisons of sets of similarities. The most significant similarities seem to be with Cynic material, as Christian thinkers in the early centuries bear witness (and as displayed in the present author's Cynics and Christian Origins).
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