The following is a short history of the hospital that was hit by a rocket yesterday that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians who had sought refuge in the hospital's vicinity due to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The name "Baptist Hospital" was used in many news reports, even though the hospital is currently owned and managed by the Episcopal Church.

Rula Khoury Mansour writes: It is often said that in times of war, "when the cannons are rumbling the muses fall silent." Yet, it is precisely during these chaotic moments that the followers of Jesus are called to speak. How should they respond and pray in such circumstances?

Rula Khoury-Mansour touches upon the religious values that animated Archbishop Tutu in his pursuit of peace in his country. Tutu has succeeded in embodying the harmony between forgiveness and justice. He developed Ubuntu theology, which is derived from his Christian faith and African culture, a theology that resists apartheid through offering forgiveness while demanding justice.

As Palestinian Christians, we are engaging in peace because we know a better world is possible because being agents of change if part of our faith duty to get there. We are engaged in different forms, be it advocacy, civic participation and nonviolent protest, because of our ability to imagine “Peace on earth” (Luke 2:14).

As a reflection to the last round of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dr. Rula Khoury-Mansour proposes that conflict, despite its destruction, is an opportunity that calls us as Christians to act as the conscience of society. To do so we need to act according to the codes of Kingdom ethics and to practice peacemaking that is just.

This is the second instalment of a series on the Biblical significance of key Christian pilgrimage sites in Israel-Palestine. The first was on Nazareth. Due to length, this instalment on Bethlehem is divided into two parts. This is the first

Yoahanna Katanacho discusses the Christmas message of Andrea Zaki, the president of all Protestant communities in Egypt and one of the most prominent Christian leaders of Egypt

With the begining of the month of Ramadan ,Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho -a Palestinian Christian theologian brings forth Biblical principles on how should the followers of Christ respond to Ramadan and to the socio-religious activities of Muslims in this month.

Special For Come and See

Today we are again at a pivotal moment in Christian-Muslim and Western-Muslim relations. However this time the outcome is not going to be determined by military might, but on the strength of moral and ideological convictions. Unfortunately, that is exactly why the West is in danger, for while Islam is weak militarily it is strong on conviction, the West is strong militarily but weak on conviction. The West will either buckle, surrender and submit, handing Islam the ascendancy, or it will brace itself and stand firm for what it believes (if in fact it can remember what that is).

By his very public Easter baptism of the high profile Egypt-born Italian journalist and Muslim convert to Catholicism, Magdi Allam, Pope Benedict has made a decisive and very courageous statement in defence of religious liberty, specifically a Muslim's right to convert.

By Elizabeth Kendal, World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission

Christian Arabs in the Middle East hear the Islamic call to prayer five times a day. The Loud speakers make it clear that Allah is great (الله ٲكبر) and then invite the worshipers to prayer. Allah (الله) is the Arabic word for God. Just like the first century Christians used the Greek word theos (θεος) to refer to the God of Christianity, Arab Christians use the word Allah to refer to the triune God. Put differently, both Christians and Muslims use the label Allah to denote the Supreme Being who declared His will through His messengers. Interestingly, the last Old Testament book, Malachi, is sympathetic to asserting the greatness of Allah!

By Dr. Yohanna Katanacho