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.
- 09/17/2019 12:00 PM
What Kind of World Is Needed for Science to Work?
Advancements in science, technology, and medicine over the last century or so have benefitted virtually all people. Scientific progress has lengthened human life spans and improved quality of life. These great strides prompt a provocative question: Why does science work? That is, why is the scientific enterprise so effective in delivering critical, reliable information about the natural world that can inform…
() - 09/10/2019 12:00 PM
3 Things You May Not Know about St. Augustine the Writer
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was born in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother. Following a youth and an early career steeped in debauchery and ambition, Augustine experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity when he turned from his pagan beliefs. His classic book Confessions details his conversion story and, to this day, remains a perennial bestseller. Over his lengthy career Augustine was a prolific author,…
() - 09/03/2019 12:00 PM
Blaise Pascal on the Human Condition
Poets, playwrights, philosophers, and psychologists all take their turns offering insights on the “human condition.” They seek to explain the basic nature, identity, struggle, and aspirations of human beings. In fact, all philosophies and religions try to define and explain humanity’s underlying condition. But do any of them succeed? One Christian author who I think has written candidly and insightfully about the state of…
() - 08/27/2019 12:00 PM
Wednesday Wisdom from Thinker E. D. Hirsch
On my Facebook and Twitter pages I have a weekly segment called Wednesday Wisdom, where I provide quotes from great thinkers in various fields. One topic I return to often is education, for I view my central calling in life as that of a teacher. One of my favorite educational reformers is E. D. Hirsch, Jr. His books have influenced my…
() - 08/21/2019 12:00 PM
Three Goals in a Christian Apologetics Encounter
Recently someone asked me how you can know if you have had a successful apologetics encounter. My immediate answer was that defending the faith (Greek: apologia) is never easy and one must trust in God’s grace for the results. Ultimately, I believe that only God by his extraordinary grace can instill a desire for himself in a human being. Yet I do…
() - 08/20/2019 10:30 PM
Three Goals in a Christian Apologetics Encounter
Recently someone asked me how you can know if you have had a successful apologetics encounter. My immediate answer was that defending the faith (Greek: apologia) is never easy and one must trust in God’s grace for the results. Ultimately, I believe that only God by his extraordinary grace can instill a desire for himself in a human being. Yet I do…
() - 08/13/2019 12:00 PM
Worshippers by Nature
Virtually every human being seeks to find an overarching purpose in life. As part of this common pursuit, people naturally attach themselves to belief systems, values, causes, interests, and even physical things in order to give their lives meaning and fulfillment. Philosophers talk about the idea of worldview, which is understood as a person’s big-picture view of reality and consists of a cluster…
() - 08/06/2019 12:00 PM
Five Greek Words and Apologetics Persuasion
What role does persuasion play in communicating Christian truth to people? To engage in Christian apologetics is to enter into the enterprise of personal persuasion. When apologists defend the faith it is for the purpose of persuading people of the truth of historic Christianity. But what actually goes into making a good case of persuasion in general and for Christian apologetics in…
() - 07/30/2019 12:00 PM
St. Augustine on Three Aspects of Creation
Science-minded people today may find it surprising to learn that a person who lived 1,600 years ago offers sensible insights on creation, but such is the case with Augustine of Hippo (354–430). St. Augustine is arguably the most influential Christian thinker outside the biblical authors. According to historical theologians he has influenced Protestant theology nearly as much as Catholic theology in his…
() - 07/23/2019 12:00 PM
Voted the Best Christian Book of All Time
What is the best Christian book of all time? (Outside of the Bible, of course.) And how could something as grand as that claim ever be determined? Well, scholars are typically never afraid to take on big challenges. Scholar Voting In a bracket reminiscent of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament, several years ago members of InterVarsity’s Emerging Scholars Network picked…
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Last updated November 25, 2001
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