Galilean upstarts
Subtitle: Jesus' first followers according to Q
By: Leif E. Vaage.
Publisher: Trinity Press International
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Valley Forge, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
Subjects: Jesus Christ -- Friends and associates.; Evangelists (Bible); Q hypothesis (Synoptics criticism); Palestine -- Social life and customs -- To 70 A.D.
Description: Who were the first followers of Jesus in Palestine? How were they responsible for gospel traditions that grew out of developments at the eastern end of the Mediterranean basin in the cradle of Syrian Christianity? Did these "Galilean upstarts" constitute the earliest form of Christianity known to us?

Based on a thorough study of the literary stratum biblical scholars have designated "Q," Professor Vaage concludes that these "Galilean upstarts" looked very much like Cynics, claimed to be acting as agents of God's kingdom, wandered from town to town trading their uncommon wisdom for gestures of hospitality, practiced asceticism, looked back to John and Jesus as heroes of their fledgling movement, and conducted a form of popular resistance to the official truths and virtues of their day.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (=. 193-216) and indexes.
Based in part on the author's doctoral dissertation, Claremont Graduate School.