War of the Worldviews Contest Winners Announced

After releasing the powerful book War of the Worldviews, we announced an essay contest to encourage high school and college students to share their faith through a research paper. Students were asked to write a Bible-defending research paper using the book and at least one AiG web article as references and then share their experience in a short personal essay.

The response was tremendous: we received 126 entries from across the country, ranging from homeschoolers to university students. A team of AiG staff members selected the top ten papers based on the criteria given to the students and the top paper and runners-up were then selected from that group. The student submitting the top paper is being given a Gateway laptop loaded with Bible-defending software and media, including Online Bible Deluxe, 2005 and 2006 Answers … with Ken Ham radio programs, Desktop Dinosaurs, Evolution: Science or Myth?, War of the Worldviews audiobook and Buddy Davis's newest music CD. Each of five runners-up is being given a gift certificate for $150, and each of four honorable mentions is being given $75, toward resources from the AiG bookstore to support them in future efforts aimed at defending the authority of God's Word.

The winners were announced at Creation College 2 held over the weekend at Higher Ground Conference Center in West Harrison, Indiana. Their pictures and the winning entry can be seen below. We will be releasing all the winning papers in a future online article.

We want to thank all of those who submitted entries for the contest; the task of choosing the top papers was very difficult with the many excellent submissions. The topics ranged from detailed explanations of astrophysics to the social aspects that are natural consequences of an evolutionary worldview. It was exciting to see so many students sharing their faith and their biblical worldview with others through a school project that normally focuses on topics that have less spiritual impact. Those students who chose to research a Bible-defending topic related how much their faith was strengthened by the process of research and sharing with others.

What about other writing projects now that the contest is over?

For those that are in public school settings, whenever a project is issued to the students that is not limited to specific topics, we would encourage Christian students to choose a faith-based topic. If the report is on an important person in history, students can choose a person who was influential in Christianity-Jesus Christ is always a good choice as a historical figure. If the report is on a significant event, one of importance to Christians, such as the Reformation, might be presented. Even reports on important scientists or political figures could mention how their faith played a role in their contributions to society. There is an ever-growing body of resources that students can draw from for these types of projects. Through these papers, peer editing, and the oral reports that often accompany them, many can be reached with the message that God is real and plays an important role in every area of our lives.

Also, be watching for another contest this fall that will encourage students to defend the Bible.

Announcing the War of the Worldviews top 10 prize winners!

Grand prize winner Paul Lamicela age 15 homeschool Pennsylvania “Antimatter and the Big Bang” > Read the winning entry!		First runner-up Sarah F. age 17 homeschool Colorado “Worldviews and how they Affect Science”
Runners-up
R. Josiah Magnuson age 14 homeschool, South Carolina “When Freedom Rings: Life, Liberty and the Worldview Wars”	Pamela Santana age 31 public college, Texas “Geology and Fossils”	Olga Dziubina age 22 private secular college, Florida “Myth vs. Fact regarding Homosexuality”	Rachel Kizer age 17 homeschool, Indiana “Creation, Science and the Bible”
Honorable mention
Candace Okupski age 18 Christian school, New York “The Impossibility of Protein Formation in the Pre-Biotic Soup”	Lindsay Hobbs age 17 homeschool, Arkansas “Did God Really Say … ?”	Megan Cullinan age 14 homeschool, Virginia “Have You Not Heard?”	Rebecca Tappendorf age 13 homeschool, Arizona “Creation vs. Evolution: The War of the Worldviews”