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.
- 05/26/2020 12:00 PM
How the Trinity Shows God’s Love
Arguably one of the most important teachings in the Bible is the proclamation that “God is love,” which is found in verses like 1 John 4:8 and 16. This brief, powerful statement is laden with theological implications. I’ve also found it helpful when discussing how God loves people with those who hold non-Christian, yet theistic conceptions of God (God as a single, solitary person and being). Because…
() - 05/12/2020 12:00 PM
My Soul Is Like a House
One of the things I like about the writings of the Christian church father St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is his rich use of analogies1 in talking about critical theological topics. An analogy, of course, is a comparison between two things (how they are like and unlike), usually for the purpose of providing explanation. In his most popular work, Confessions,2 Augustine compares the human soul to a house…
() - 04/28/2020 12:00 PM
Does Everyone Have Three Lives?
I’ve enjoyed watching police dramas since childhood. Some of my favorites from the distant past include Streets of San Francisco, Kojak, and Starsky and Hutch. Currently, my favorite television program is CBS’s Blue Bloods. It stars Tom Selleck as New York City police commissioner Frank Reagan. A wise patriarch, Reagan often dispenses provocative quotes at the family dinner table,1 including this line from Colombian novelist and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014): “Everyone has three lives:…
() - 04/21/2020 12:00 PM
Coronavirus Pandemic & the Problem of Evil
Before the current pandemic, I only really thought of viruses when I got my yearly flu shot. But in light of the significant suffering and death caused by COVID-19, I’m sure none of us will ever think the same way about viruses again. But how should we think about the pandemic in terms of the pain and suffering left in…
() - 04/14/2020 12:00 PM
Reason, Emotion, and Watching Star Trek during the Pandemic
Sheltering in during the pandemic has left me with more downtime than I’m used to. And watching too much news tends to increase my anxiety level. So, along with writing books and blog articles, I have tried to focus my attention on prudent activities. This includes pursuing my spiritual devotions, spending time with my wife, and reading classic books. But I…
() - 03/31/2020 12:00 PM
Historical Reflections on the Pandemic
Few things in life get your attention like the subject of infectious disease. And this is especially true of pandemics (“all people” threatened by illness). It is, of course, natural to experience fear and concern during extraordinary times like this. There is great alarm about the illness and death caused by the coronavirus both in our country and worldwide. And there is also…
() - 03/17/2020 04:53 PM
How to Distinguish between Science and Scientism
Science is truly one of the great intellectual enterprises that humankind has ever developed. But what exactly is science? Is it mainly a narrow method or practice for obtaining knowledge about the natural world? Or does it involve a broad philosophical system? I respect and appreciate science and I enjoy interacting with scientists. But my background in logic and philosophy motivates me…
() - 03/10/2020 11:00 AM
4 Philosophical Nuggets You Can Use
Can we learn much from brief philosophical statements? Regular readers of my blog know that I occasionally feature the segment Friday Philosophy, where I provide quotes from profound philosophical thinkers both past and present. A contemporary philosopher that I appreciate is professor David Naugle. Naugle’s book Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness has been very helpful to me in…
() - 03/03/2020 04:06 PM
1917: A Movie about Choices, Character, Courage
The historical conflict goes by a number of names: the Great War, the War to End All Wars, and later, World War I (1914–1918). Though World War II (1939–1945) caused far more destruction and higher death tolls, some Europeans who lived through both catastrophic wars—such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—thought the First World War was more jarring…
() - 02/25/2020 01:00 PM
How to Appreciate Early Jesus Symbols
As someone who calls himself a “historic Christian,” I am very interested in learning as much as I can about the person of Jesus Christ. My interest extends to an appreciation of early Christian art and especially symbols that use Greek and Latin letters to represent the person of Jesus Christ. These early alphabetic artistic symbols were common in the…
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Last updated November 25, 2001
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