In 1946, Walter Russell Bowie wrote the following Christmas story about fictional men who had been in Bethlehem on the night that Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Militant groups like the Islamic State have long targeted Christian holy sites in the Middle East. According to Sara Savva, the destruction of sacred Christian sites in the region is “a loss for every single Christian around the world” and a “big loss for mankind.”

With Christmas just around the corner, many will soon be singing carols about that silent night in the little town of Bethlehem. Two thousand years later, it is worth asking what has become of the biblical town of Bethlehem and its Christians.

Why is the Muslim sector of Bethlehem growing while the Christian sector is falling? Both face the same exact set of circumstances. Could it be that this disparity tells the true story?