Author reflects on God’s interactions with humankind, and the ultimate value of his life.
The Great Contest
Dr. Michael P. Manahan, Sr.
State College, Pennsylvania, August 25, 2026. He holds a doctorate from MIT, founded his own engineering firm, and has decades of accomplishment leading pioneering nuclear and applied mechanics research.
Despite all he’s learned, however, Michael P. Manahan admits he learned the most profound truth from the Bible under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
“Eventually I learned — none of my accomplishments mean anything except in the context of my relationship with God. All of it was worth nothing in comparison with the privilege of knowing Jesus personally. Apart from Him, we can do nothing of eternal value,” said Manahan, author of the just-released book, The Great Contest.
He shares that during his 36 years as a volunteer prison chaplain he had witnessed great contests in the lives of many men in prison: the cosmic battle between God’s truth and Satan’s deception.
“I saw men who’d sold their souls to sin discover redemption in Christ, and I saw faith bloom in the darkest places,” he explains. “When men who had been told they were worthless encountered God, they found purpose. They battled Satan’s deception and faced the contests God gives to those He loves.”
Early in his years of academic study that would culminate in a Sc.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Manahan had a life-altering encounter with Christ that shaped his study and worldview. After his academic study in science and engineering, he later also completed a graduate degree in theology. He continued study on how science, theology, and God’s interactions with humankind through trials and testing for a person’s growth all combine into how we are to live and view life, worship, creation, and eternity. That study became his just-released book, The Great Contest.
“God puts his people through tests and intends it for a blessing, but we don’t think of it that way,” Manahan notes, “despite a plethora of real-life examples in the Bible as well as that verse in James telling us to count it all joy when we face trials.”
In his new book, Manahan draws on his personal faith experiences as well as scientific and academic credentials in a book aimed at helping both non-believers consider faith, and Christians to grow deeper in their understanding of how God works in their lives.
The Great Contest (ISBN–978-197-1324401, $19.99 paper, $24.99 hardcover and $9.99 Kindle)was recently released from Hillshire Media and is being distributed by Esteem for God Ministry. The book is available from selected bookstores and online retailers.
For review copies of The Great Contest or to interview Mike Manahan, contact Joni Sullivan Baker, Buoyancy PR, at 513/319-3231 or jbaker@buoyancypr.com.
A downloadable, 12-session Discussion Kit including guided sessions, chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, and facilitator notes, available at no charge, is anticipated to be released in October.
To connect with the author and learn more about his teaching ministry, visit www.EsteemforGod.com