Have you ever thought of Christmas being associated with hope and fear? Kamal Sidhu picks his favorite Christmas carol and explains why 'Little Town of Bethlehem' so wonderfully captures the true spirit of Christmas.

2004 ended with the worst of natural calamities with the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster but 2005 began with a display of the best of humanity's virtues. The outpouring of giving and care internationally in the disaster's wake has indeed been commendable. However, it dawned on me that every situation wherein we have the opportunity to give, no matter how much we give we can always offer more. And that gives pause for reflection.

The fact of the matter is Christianity does, indeed, rest critically on the reality of Christ's resurrection. It is only through the Resurrection that we can understand who Christ is, what God's will through Him is and why our hope in Him makes any sense at all. Kamal shares.

It is still intriguing to me how the subject of Christian missionary activity makes so many non-Christians uncomfortable, often to the point of remonstration. One mention of Christian conversion in company as diverse as a devout Hindu, a nominal Jew, or an enlightened secularist and you immediately get the feeling that this is a distasteful subject. The reaction is especially common amongst the post-colonial cultures of Asia, where missionary activity is associated with a crusading westernization that is out to undermine the virtues of indigenous culture. Are the critics right? Is the spreading of the gospel necessarily an arrogant enterprise that presumptuously proclaims to unbelievers, “we know better than you”?