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.
- 09/27/2016 10:00 AM
Reflections on Social Media: Is Digital Networking a Good Phenomenon? Part 2
It seems a safe assumption that all new technologies—from cell phones to social media—present its users with both positive and negative possibilities. The challenge resides in learning how to manage the technology so one maximizes the positives and minimizes the negatives. How can we do this for the emerging and enormously popular phenomenon known as social media? In this second article (see…
() - 09/20/2016 07:00 AM
Reflections on Social Media: Is Digital Networking a Good Phenomenon? Part 1
In July 2016, the Facebook Messenger app marked the amazing milestone of having 1 billion daily active users.1 And Twitter now claims 313 million monthly active users.2 There are also numerous other social networking sites that are extremely popular, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Instagram, etc.3 Since social media doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon, I have decided to write a couple…
() - 09/13/2016 01:31 PM
Lessons About Evil: Reflections on the Movie Anthropoid
Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942) was a Nazi leader who impressed Adolf Hitler with his unbridled brutality. Historians consider Heydrich to be the central mastermind of the greatest state-sponsored crime in history—the Holocaust. As an evil genius, he planned the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews and 5 million other non-Jewish victims totaling a staggering 11 million people. Heydrich’s ruthless cruelty earned him such ominous…
() - 09/06/2016 07:00 AM
A Review of Patterns of Evidence
In his film Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus, documentary filmmaker Timothy Mahoney recreates his search for the historical truth behind the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. I previewed this film at a theatrical release in February 2015. The documentary is now widely available for rent and purchase, and I’ve noticed that it’s been getting some promotion within the Christian apologetics community…
audio/mpeg (1.7 MBytes) - 08/30/2016 07:00 AM
Christian Thinkers 101: A Crash Course on Irenaeus
Irenaeus was one of the first Christians to defend the faith against Gnosticism, but what exactly did he believe and what else did he contribute to Christianity? Here’s your crash course on the life and accomplishments of Irenaeus—and why he still matters today. Who Was Irenaeus? Irenaeus (c. 130–202) was a Greek thinker who was born in Asia Minor to…
() - 08/23/2016 07:00 AM
The Image of God Gives All Human Life Value
Lethal acts of terrorism, controversial police shootings, and attacks upon law enforcement officers have left many unsettled in America. These horrific public killings cause many to wonder whose lives really matter in life. So do all human lives have value? And, if so, on what basis do they carry worth? Without debating the controversial social and political issues involved, I…
() - 08/16/2016 07:00 AM
Christian Thinkers 101: A Crash Course on John Calvin
John Calvin was one of the great voices of the Protestant Reformation, but what exactly did he believe, and what else did he contribute to Christianity? Here’s your crash course on the life and accomplishments of John Calvin—and why he still matters today. Who Was John Calvin? John Calvin (1509–1564) was born in Noyon, Picardy, France, to a devoted…
() - 08/09/2016 07:01 AM
Apologetics Strategies: How to Select Resources to Give to Nonbelievers
Last year, I wrote two articles outlining basic strategies for engaging in evangelistic conversations with scientists and informed hobbyists who have more knowledge or education than you in a particular field (part 1 and part 2). One of the recommendations I made was to share resources with nonbelievers. But what should you look for when selecting a resource to…
() - 08/02/2016 07:00 AM
Christian Thinkers 101: A Crash Course on Martin Luther
Martin Luther is famous for posting his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg and for attempting to reform the Catholic Church, but what exactly did he believe, and what else did he contribute to Christendom? Here’s your crash course on the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther—and why he still matters today. Who Was…
() - 07/26/2016 07:00 AM
How a Christian Worldview Influenced America’s Founding Fathers
Today I offer an article by guest author Andrew Stebbins. *** It might be fair to say that most Americans tend to take our freedom for granted. We forget that our freedom was hard-won and is not guaranteed. In fact, the liberties we cherish are privileges not many societies enjoy. Tyranny, in its many guises, is the historical norm. In truth,…
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Last updated November 25, 2001
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