God created a beautiful world and a massive cosmos. Scientific developments are helping us to describe and experience that beauty in new ways all the time. We want to read more articles at the intersection of scientific discovery and Christian faith—and we want to publish more of them, too! So this year, we’re holding an essay contest. We’d like to read your best story, whether it draws from the natural sciences or the social sciences, a new peer-reviewed study or a centuries-old epiphany.

Your essay should be a researched or reported nonfiction piece that helps us to marvel at God’s world, ponder the significance of scientific discoveries and current research, and seek to explain more about the world we live in. A winning submission is unlikely to be a work of apologetics or an argument on origins. Those are interesting, but tend to take up too much of the discussion already. Tell us about the diving beetle just discovered in Thailand. About new research on pain. About someone researching the physical actions of prayer. Tell us about something we haven’t even thought about before. It’s a big universe with lots to think about.

Awards will include $6,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place, and $2,000 for third place. We will publish the winning essay in a print issue of Christianity Today, and second- and third-place winners on ChristianityToday.com.

Essays, which should be 1,300 to 1,800 words long, can be sent to sciencecontest@christianitytoday.com. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2017. We can’t wait to see what you send in.

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