On Faith latest: Wright and Crossan

Tom Wright and John Dominic Crossan weigh in again in the latest of the On Faith column from The Washington Post and Newsweek, both on the Pope, Wright's headed A Caste System for Chrisitans and Crossan's Primacy and Insecurity. Of relevance to the NT too is Randall Balmer, Peter, a rock he was not.

Crossan, Back to Greek, or, Better, Aramaic?

Crossan's latest contribution to On Faith is:

Back to Greek, or, Better, Aramaic?

. . . . In terms of Roman Catholicism, our ancestors in faith began with Aramaic, changed to Greek, then tried Latin, and finally, moved into the various vernaculars. If we wish to revert to our linguistic origins, why just to Latin, why not to Aramaic with Jesus or Greek with the New Testament? . . .

It is a response to the latest question, "Pope Benedict is encouraging wider use of Latin Mass. What elements of tradition -- including language -- are essential for worship?"

On Faith latest

The On Faith column at the Washington Post / Newsweek seems to be getting ever more prolific. The latest topic is:

What is the place of questioning in faith? Does questioning tenets or traditions make your faith less valid?

A couple of NT scholars have contributions to the latest topic:

Marcus Borg, Blind Acceptance is Idolatry
John Dominic Crossan, Questioning and Conscience

Faith and Works with Crossan, Wright and Others

I have recently been following with interest the new column in the Washington Post / Newsweek headed On Faith, which asks a controversial question and gets an array of contrasting expert views. This week's question is What's more important from a faith perspective? Being saved, or doing good works?. Three NT scholars on the panel have responses:

N. T. Wright: Start by Understanding Salvation
John Dominic Crossan: Both/And not Either/Or
Paula Fredriksen: Now or Later?

Fredriksen's is rather terse, just two or three sentences. All are quite interesting, though none will hold any surprises to those familiar with their work. The column is set up like a blog, so you can add your own comments into the debate.