Andy Pierson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Supervisors: Dr. Bruce Marino and Dr. David Dippold
Address: Boyertown, Pennsylvania, United States
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Papers by Andy Pierson
My thesis states that the Bible is a Quality Control Manual for holiness and sanctification. This... more My thesis states that the Bible is a Quality Control Manual for holiness and sanctification. This is written for all the people out there that are part of an organization that is quality certified or has a process in place for quality and continuous improvement or those that understand the concept of corporate quality.
The intent writing this paper / thesis is to describe the Scriptural position on homosexuality wh... more The intent writing this paper / thesis is to describe the Scriptural position on homosexuality which is adamantly and strongly against the sin of homosexuality as it is against all sin. A predominately conservative, traditional or orthodox Christian viewpoint will be presented. At times though I will also view the debate from a non-orthodox or liberal theological viewpoint where there is no biblical parallel or where a liberal/non-orthodox view exemplifies, establishes or helps accentuates a point being made. To conclude I will offer a theological response and biblical reactions to the sin of homosexuality. Furthermore, homosexuality being a sin which is an affront to a Holy God should not be an acceptable practice or "alternative lifestyle" tolerated within the Body of Christ regardless of the pressure to accept it by modern culture which is decidedly homosexual friendly. In the end I will offer suggestion(s) on how the Church can better address and deal with the homosexual issue based on what can be learned from this paper.
The first thing that becomes immediately apparent when doing research on this topic is that there... more The first thing that becomes immediately apparent when doing research on this topic is that there are a few different theories on why John uses the designation of "the Word" in the John 1:1-18 prologue, but the "who" or "what" of the Word has never been in question (except by liberal scholars and heretics). The "who" or "what" is clearly Jesus Christ in his Incarnate form. The real question is why John chose to launch his Gospel with this peculiar terminology and why he chose to call Jesus or God "the Word". My intent in this paper is to clarify the thought processes behind this peculiarity and illustrate that John's primary motive was to show Jesus' true identity and thereby mute potential misidentification of the Son of God. I have tried to explain the synonymous nature of the Word and Jesus as early as possible because I will be using the terms "the Word" and Jesus interchangeably throughout this paper in a manner that is often times juxtaposing wordplay for effect.
To be able to understand what the church should be doing when dealing with the poor and how they ... more To be able to understand what the church should be doing when dealing with the poor and how they handle social issues like poverty we must understand how the Bible speaks to it.
It will be the primary focus of this paper to address the adverse or unpleasant aspects of the me... more It will be the primary focus of this paper to address the adverse or unpleasant aspects of the messages to the seven churches addressed by John in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. I will address the whether or not these aspects are of their own doing or because of things done to them. I will then take these aspects and draw parallels or applications to The Church/churches of today. The churches of John's day were, to a greater (Smyrna) or lesser (Laodicea) extent being persecuted by the outside world. Some were in stricter abeyance to the word of God than others in John's oracles / prophecies from Christ. Regardless of circumstance they are all called to faithful abeyance to Jesus Christ and His world and are exhort to remain faithful until the very end. As I again have a plethora of material to cover in a limited space, I will be limiting my scope to the calls to obedience and messages to repent more so than the commendations for faithful service to the King (except in the case of Philadelphia).
There are many figures in church history that have moved Christianity forward and some that have ... more There are many figures in church history that have moved Christianity forward and some that have moved it backward. One of the people that seemed to have moved it forward is Constantine. He has a lot to do with why the Christian faith went from a second rate middleeastern religion to a dominate religion worldwide. As important as he was to the Christian faith and irrespective of the abundance of texts written about him, there are still things that are enigmatic about him. One issue that comes to the forefront is the nature of his conversion. The question is often raised: Was his conversion legitimate? There seems to be manifestations / evidences, like the way he acted after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge to point to both sides of this argument. Did Constantine have a legitimate conversion due to "the sign of the cross" or was Constantine's conversion a ploy of political expediency? Did he have a supernatural experience that led him to the God if Christianity or was this a contrived attempt to manipulate an empire? I'll be presenting the evidences of why he did or did not have a true conversion and then present an informed conclusion.
My thesis states that the Bible is a Quality Control Manual for holiness and sanctification. This... more My thesis states that the Bible is a Quality Control Manual for holiness and sanctification. This is written for all the people out there that are part of an organization that is quality certified or has a process in place for quality and continuous improvement or those that understand the concept of corporate quality.
The intent writing this paper / thesis is to describe the Scriptural position on homosexuality wh... more The intent writing this paper / thesis is to describe the Scriptural position on homosexuality which is adamantly and strongly against the sin of homosexuality as it is against all sin. A predominately conservative, traditional or orthodox Christian viewpoint will be presented. At times though I will also view the debate from a non-orthodox or liberal theological viewpoint where there is no biblical parallel or where a liberal/non-orthodox view exemplifies, establishes or helps accentuates a point being made. To conclude I will offer a theological response and biblical reactions to the sin of homosexuality. Furthermore, homosexuality being a sin which is an affront to a Holy God should not be an acceptable practice or "alternative lifestyle" tolerated within the Body of Christ regardless of the pressure to accept it by modern culture which is decidedly homosexual friendly. In the end I will offer suggestion(s) on how the Church can better address and deal with the homosexual issue based on what can be learned from this paper.
The first thing that becomes immediately apparent when doing research on this topic is that there... more The first thing that becomes immediately apparent when doing research on this topic is that there are a few different theories on why John uses the designation of "the Word" in the John 1:1-18 prologue, but the "who" or "what" of the Word has never been in question (except by liberal scholars and heretics). The "who" or "what" is clearly Jesus Christ in his Incarnate form. The real question is why John chose to launch his Gospel with this peculiar terminology and why he chose to call Jesus or God "the Word". My intent in this paper is to clarify the thought processes behind this peculiarity and illustrate that John's primary motive was to show Jesus' true identity and thereby mute potential misidentification of the Son of God. I have tried to explain the synonymous nature of the Word and Jesus as early as possible because I will be using the terms "the Word" and Jesus interchangeably throughout this paper in a manner that is often times juxtaposing wordplay for effect.
To be able to understand what the church should be doing when dealing with the poor and how they ... more To be able to understand what the church should be doing when dealing with the poor and how they handle social issues like poverty we must understand how the Bible speaks to it.
It will be the primary focus of this paper to address the adverse or unpleasant aspects of the me... more It will be the primary focus of this paper to address the adverse or unpleasant aspects of the messages to the seven churches addressed by John in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. I will address the whether or not these aspects are of their own doing or because of things done to them. I will then take these aspects and draw parallels or applications to The Church/churches of today. The churches of John's day were, to a greater (Smyrna) or lesser (Laodicea) extent being persecuted by the outside world. Some were in stricter abeyance to the word of God than others in John's oracles / prophecies from Christ. Regardless of circumstance they are all called to faithful abeyance to Jesus Christ and His world and are exhort to remain faithful until the very end. As I again have a plethora of material to cover in a limited space, I will be limiting my scope to the calls to obedience and messages to repent more so than the commendations for faithful service to the King (except in the case of Philadelphia).
There are many figures in church history that have moved Christianity forward and some that have ... more There are many figures in church history that have moved Christianity forward and some that have moved it backward. One of the people that seemed to have moved it forward is Constantine. He has a lot to do with why the Christian faith went from a second rate middleeastern religion to a dominate religion worldwide. As important as he was to the Christian faith and irrespective of the abundance of texts written about him, there are still things that are enigmatic about him. One issue that comes to the forefront is the nature of his conversion. The question is often raised: Was his conversion legitimate? There seems to be manifestations / evidences, like the way he acted after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge to point to both sides of this argument. Did Constantine have a legitimate conversion due to "the sign of the cross" or was Constantine's conversion a ploy of political expediency? Did he have a supernatural experience that led him to the God if Christianity or was this a contrived attempt to manipulate an empire? I'll be presenting the evidences of why he did or did not have a true conversion and then present an informed conclusion.