As an introduction to this week's "Crossroads" podcast (click here to tune that in), let's take a short true-or-false test about religion and journalism.

(1) True or false: The Jewish Messiah will, at the end of all things, appear in Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

(2) True or false: Jews believe that their Messiah will, at the end of all things, appear in Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

(3) True or false: Some Jews believe that the Messiah will appear in Jerusalem, etc., etc.

(4) True or false: Some Jews believe their Messiah will appear in Jerusalem, etc., etc., but when they make that statement it serves as a kind of metaphor about the role of hope and faith in the lives of mature, nuanced believers who read The New York Times.

OK, that last little bit was a bit snarky, but you get the idea.

So what was the point of this exercise?

Let's say that you are writing a piece for The New York Times about the city of Jerusalem and you need to describe its importance in Jewish life, culture, art and faith. Which of these statements would be accurate, as a statement of facts that can be trusted by journalists?