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
Jan Lambrecht (New Testament scholar) Jan Lambrecht (New Testament scholar) Jan Lambrecht (born in Wielsbeke, 1926) is a Belgian Roman Catholic priest of the Society of Jesus, Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Biblical Greek at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium and former member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. As a theologian, biblical scholar, and prolific author, he has contributed numerous studies on almost all the books of the New Testament, but focusing especially on the Gospels and the Pauline letters. His publications include books and articles written in English, Dutch, and French. Lambrecht joined the Society of Jesus in