We study U2 today, will it be “Will & Grace” tomorrow?

Having just finished a Fall section of Bible 212, I must say I’m disappointed in the curriculum of ACU’s Christianity in Culture class.

This course is supposedly designed to teach us to “think like a Christian,” but how in the world is listening to popular music, reading novels, and watching movies supposed to do that?

How ridiculous is it to study a rock band who smokes, drinks, curses, and belongs to no formal church group as an icon of Christianity? Will we search for Biblical truth in “Friends” or “Will & Grace” tomorrow?

I have a suggestion for the Bible department. Why not look to the earliest Christians who established the church as the apostles taught them? Their writings are invaluable because they witness to the church’s universal beliefs and practices during the period immediately after the apostles died.

A book recently opened my eyes to the host of information on the early Christians that we leave completely untouched.

David Bercot’s “Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up” details the differences between the church today and the Christianity of the first three centuries.

The book’s first half discusses the character of the early Christians and shows a divergent way of life, immensely unlike the example of U2 studied in our class.

The second half illustrates the fourth century events that changed the face of Christianity and plainly exposes how off base we are in the practice of our faith.

The early church focused on living what they taught and had superior orientation toward Christian service and universal love. They shunned theology as an earmark of spiritual weakness and believed in learning to act like a Christian, not just “think” like one.

Several web-sites such as http://www.earlychurch.com furnish a wealth of information on early Christianity, and also provide direct access to the writings of the early Christians.

I think a study of early Christianity is essential to the Bible department’s “capstone class.” What better way to learn to live like a Christian than to study the most profound Christian practice of all time?

Shane Elliott Burk
Senior industrial technology major from Lubbock