Everyone is pleased that the two Fox News employees who were kidnapped in Gaza were released Sunday. Their release was predicted by some because Hamas terrorists were opposed to the action. The kidnapping was harmful to their cause, since the reporter and photographer were actually helping to tell the Palestinian story to the world. After their ordeal was over, Steve Centanni, the American reporter said, “I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kindhearted. The world needs to know more about them."

The most disturbing part of their story is the fact that they were forced to “convert” to Islam at gunpoint. Centanni explained, “It but it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns.” Obviously, this is not the normal way of increasing the number of Muslim believers, but it does remind us of an important difference between Islam and Christianity. Historically, Islam has been spread by conquest, while Christianity grows best when love is displayed. Many Muslims are peaceful people. I have had the privilege of meeting numerous Muslims, and especially Palestinians in the Middle East. As Centanni said of the Palestinians, they are very beautiful and kindhearted. But as we have all learned since our wake-up call on September 11, 2001, their leaders can whip them into a frenzy, using the fundamentalist teachings of the Koran. We were all slow to accept this fact at first, but as time has gone on, and we have reviewed history, learned the teachings of Islam about Jihad, and heard leaders like Iran’s President Ahmadinejad threaten to eliminate Israel and destroy the U.S., we now know that Islamic terrorism is not an aberration, but a huge and still growing threat to world peace.

By contrast, the more fundamentalist a Christian is, the more he or she is compelled to love others, like Jesus loved us. The Bible teaches that God is love. And God loved the world so much that He gave us His one and only Son to die for our sins. Jesus Himself told His disciples,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)

Next, we will consider the question, “Would you convert to Islam at gunpoint?”