Thanksgiving Essays
This site annually hosts essay contests in November/December entitled "Why I am personally grateful to God." The essay was to be written including reasons why the author was grateful to God and how He has helped him in his life. Entries were selected on the basis of how they gave glory to God.
| 2001 Essay |
| No Entry Received |
| 2000 Essay |
| There is one real reason I am grateful to God. It is that
I am able to sit here today and type this. My answer is very simple
here. The basic fact that I am able to convey my emotions, and that I
have emotions which I can share is a miracle in itself. Before, when I
was doubting God and Christianity, I had no direction, no reason. Now I
do. I know that everything that happens to me, good or bad, has meaning.
Through my mistakes and talents, pain and happiness, I have learned more
about myself and the world than I ever would have without God. Without
God, nothing kept me from being unfaithful, nothing moved me. Without
God, I became very apathetic and undriven. Now, I am criticized for my
beliefs. I attend school in the engineering department of a university
and few of the students are religious. Often I have a hard time
justifying myself to these people. This has only makes me stronger,
because I am logical myself yet I still have strong faith and emotion
when it comes to my religion. To turn around an individual like myself,
God deserves praise. God deserves praise for allowing me the ability to
convey my beliefs through science. God gave us the ability to find the
truth, to answer questions. God gave us wonderful emotions all for free.
My understanding of God has not only made me more faithful but a better
person in general. But this understanding is only possible by God!
Without God, nothing is possible, but with God, so much is possible, and
I have witnessed this first hand by accepting Christ simply by my own
investigation and questioning, not by force from parents, etc.
Adam |
| 1999 Essay |
| I am personally grateful to God, because I was uncertain in
the path that I had chosen in life. Just under a year ago, I tried to
commit suicide; However, I was unsuccessful, even though I had very high
and dangerous levels of poison in my body. I took this as a sign from God
to change my ways and better myself. A second chance if you will. I'm am
very grateful for this "second chance" that he has given me. I
have used it in a productive way, I went on to graduate high school with
my class, and I am now attending college and maintaining a 3.33 GPA as a
true freshman with 17 credits, while being an active member of the track
and field team. I have become an active member of a local Christian church
that is here near my college campus. I am serving God in any way that I
can through my newly found church, and I feel that he has shown me my true
friends, and how I would have hurt them if I would have accomplished my
horrendous act. Every morning I wake up grateful that I am alive and well,
thanks to God and the second chance that he has given to me.
Joe |
Reflections
We are what we think.
- 07/16/2019 12:00 PM
A Memorial to Christian Thinker Norman Geisler
One of the central thinkers of modern American evangelicalism, Norman L. Geisler (1932–2019), died recently. He was a Christian philosopher, apologist, theologian, educator, and debater. He was also one of the most prolific Christian writers ever—having authored, coauthored, or edited some 127 books.1 Geisler received degrees from Tyndale College and Wheaton College and his doctoral degree in philosophy from Loyola University of Chicago.…
() - 07/09/2019 12:00 PM
Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
Life is full of big questions. And one of the most common is this: Does the universe have a purpose? In 2012 the Templeton Foundation asked this timeless question to astrophysicist and popular science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. In the video below, he explains his answer while a hand-drawn animated video illustrated his ideas. So does the universe have a purpose? According to Tyson, he’s “not…
() - 07/02/2019 12:00 PM
Why Would God Save Us?
Answering people’s questions is an important task in the apologetics enterprise. But defending the Christian faith often involves first explaining what historic Christianity teaches. This is why today’s Christian apologists need to recognize that the field of apologetics was seen historically as a branch of theology. Thus, skilled apologists must demonstrate a grasp of theology, doctrine, and history. Recently I…
() - 06/25/2019 12:00 PM
Quantum Mechanics and the Laws of Logic, Part 3
Can quantum science, the laws of logic, and the Christian faith coexist? Yes, they can. In fact, Christian thinkers have historically made many significant contributions to the study and development of both science and logic.1 In the first two parts of this series, I briefly examined whether the experimental results of quantum mechanics (QM) invalidate the law of noncontradiction (LNC) and whether the…
() - 06/18/2019 12:00 PM
Quantum Mechanics and the Laws of Logic, Part 2
Do the experimental results of the incredibly small and unusual quantum world undermine our traditional understanding of reason and the laws of logic? In part 1 of this three-part series I described a social media dialogue I had with a scientist on why the results of quantum mechanics (QM) need not be interpreted to invalidate the law of noncontradiction (LNC).…
() - 06/11/2019 12:00 PM
Quantum Mechanics and the Laws of Logic, Part 1
Having worked at science-faith apologetics organization Reasons to Believe for more than 20 years, I’ve observed that scientists and philosophers often think differently about the world. With the types of specialized training in their academic backgrounds, scientists and philosophers tend to ask different kinds of questions about reality and truth. Unfortunately, they also have a tendency to talk past one other. Recently, I had…
() - 06/04/2019 12:00 PM
A Christian Perspective on Pagan and Secular Belief Systems
How are Christians to view systems of thought that are rooted in pagan or secular beliefs? Are non-Christian belief systems so filled with error that Christians can learn nothing from them? Are they so foreign that they only corrupt Christian truth? Or is there important revelatory common ground made available to all people that allows non-Christians to discover critical truths about…
() - 05/28/2019 12:00 PM
Family Traits of Secular Naturalism, Part 2
In part 1 of this two-part series I noted that for Christians to effectively engage secularists in meaningful discussion, it is vital to understand secularists’ beliefs. I also pointed out that many people often refer to atheism (the view that no God or gods exist) as an overarching worldview, but it would be more correct to say that the worldview that encompasses atheism is called naturalism. Philosophical…
() - 05/21/2019 12:00 PM
Thoughts on the Movie Tolkien
British thinker and writer J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien (1892–1973) is one of the most beloved fantasy authors ever. As author of The Lord of The Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, his works rank among the best-selling books of all time. He has been popularly referred to as “the father of modern fantasy literature.” I saw the recent movie about his life, Tolkien, and wanted to offer my impressions.…
() - 05/14/2019 12:00 PM
Family Traits of Secular Naturalism, Part 1
Belief systems, like family members, often share recognizable features or traits. In that sense one can determine what a belief system is about by observing its traits. People often refer to atheism (the view that no God or gods exist) as an overarching worldview. But I think it would be more correct to say that the worldview that encompasses atheism is called naturalism.…
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http://godandscience.org/doctrine/thanksessays.html
Last updated November 25, 2001
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