Historical background of the New Testament that the Temple would not be rebuilt in their lifetimes, Christianity reflected the acknowledgment of early Christians that the Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of God's kingdom on earth was not to happen in their lifetimes. The critical analysis of the Gospels involves, at least in part, a consideration of how these concerns affected the Gospels' accounts of Jesus. According to historian Paula Fredriksen (1988: 5), critical scholars rely on four basic criteria for extrapolating an "authentic" historical account of Jesus out of the New Testament sources: As Fredriksen observes, these criteria do not guarantee an accurate historical
Homosexuality in the New Testament Homosexuality in the New Testament In the New Testament (NT) there are at least three passages that refer to homosexual activity: Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, and 1 Timothy 1:9–10. A fourth passage, Jude 1:7, is often interpreted as referring to homosexuality. Jesus only discusses marriage in a heterosexual context when he cites the Book of Genesis during a discussion of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9). The references to 'homosexuality' itself in the New Testament hinge on the interpretation of three specific Greek words: "arsenokoitēs" (ἀρσενοκοίτης), "malakos" (μαλακός), and "porneia" (πορνεία) and its cognates. While it is not disputed