Oct. 22. 2007
The News Argus
3
QPTNTON/EPrrORIAL
Conflict between Greek letter organizations
and Christianity becomes subject of debate
Jameka Merriweather
BLACK COLLEGE WIRE
//
S'
ftomping the yard"
I with desired colors
and Greek letters.
Leading the university in
community service projects.
Throwing the biggest parties
of the year.Lending a helping
hand to fellow members.
Greek-lettered organiza
tions. Their purpose and
function can become blurred
not only in the eyes of the
university, but with its mem
bers.
Is Greek Ufe compatible
with Christianity?
Recently, a debate over
Greek-lettered organizations
and their relationship to
Christianity has emerged —
a debate that goes back at
least to the mid-1980s.
The campus of Prairie
View A & M University in
Prairie View, Texas, experi
enced this debate firsthand
and with full effect: The pres
ident of the campus chapter
of Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, Inc., stepped
down and denounced his
membership in the organiza
tion.
The events began with an
opinion piece in the student
newspaper, the Panther,
"Why God wants you to
denounce your letters."
A student anonymously
urged others to denounce
their Greek letters or steer
clear of Greek-lettered organ
izations.
He said fraternities and
sororities were "idols to
themselves and to people
who long to be a member of
them." He said these organi
zations take the place of God
in some people's hearts
because they spend time
"worshiping" the organiza
tions and not God.
The student said,
"demons used the founders
of secret societies and
Greek/Egyptian organiza
tions to create a stronghold
for young people for years
to come." He claimed these
demons purposely .work
against the will of God.
"Organizations encourage
members as well as poten
tial members to dedicate all
their time and efforts to
their success," he said.
which conflicts with God's
will.
The debate lasted until
the semester's end. In
response to "Why God
wants you to denounce your
letters," the Panther pub
lished, "Why God is ONE
with my letters."
The author of that piece,
B.J. O'Neal, summarized the
opposing arguments as "a
common mishap that occurs
when religious people err in
their understandings or
over-interpret human action
as it relates to historical
events documented in the
Bible." He argued that peo
ple should realize that "the
true intentions of Greek
organizations are in fact
aligned with what God
would have his people
doing."
O'Neal supported his
statements by citing person
al experiences and Bible
verses.
Fuel was added to the fire
when the president of the
Eta Gamma Chapter of
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc., Asad Abdul-Salaam,
stepped down and
denounced his fraternity
membership. Abdul-Salaam
wrote, "Why I denounced
my letters."
Abdul-Salaam con
demned Greek images and
symbols, and called the ritu
als "anti-Christian."
"Asad was a great presi
dent," said Mark Anthony
Williams II, the new presi
dent of the Eta Gamma
Chapter. "He was some
body that I truly looked up
to and still do. It takes brav
ery to work hard and to get
somewhere but also to step
down due to religious rea
sons. I don't know a lot of
people that would do that."
"We, as Alphas, don't look
at him differently. We don't
talk about him behind his
back. I still love Asad to
death," Williams said. "If he
believes his walk with God
will be greater, it's not for us
to judge. Asad is not a spo
radic guy; it was something
well thought out."
However, Williams said,
"I personally know a lot of
people that are extremely
involved in church —
Photo by Garrett Garms
The conflict between Greek life and Christianity is becoming a major issue on cam
puses across America.
preachers, deacons, mothers
— and it's all about how you
personally portray your let
ters," he said. "Your organi
zation may be flawed, but
you can try to help it
become better and [get] back
to its original intent."
Williams said it would be
better to have written about
how Greek life has
digressed from its original
path.
The Rev. Kenneth I. Clarke
Sr., a member of Alpha Phi
Alpha and director of
Cornell United Religious
Work at Cornell University,
traces the current debate to
such ministers as Frederic
Hatchett and Gail Gray, who
condemn Greek-lettered
organizations.
Hatchett is the founder
of the Web site www.dont-
gogreek.com and author of
"Coming Apart at the
Seams: Biblically
Unravelling the Evils of
Sororities and
Fraternities." On his Web
site, he claims to have 21
years of "experience" with
Greek-lettered organiza
tions, "six years as an out
sider looking in, five as an
insider, 10 and counting as
a born again, denounced
member."
Hatchett says the origin of
these organizations can be
found in the "Ancient Cults
of Babylon," which can be
proved in "SEVEN imdeni-
able similarities between
Ancient Babylonian Cults
and Greek Organizations
today."
Gray is the author of
"Greek-Letter
Organizations: Offspring of
Abomination." Her mission
is to teach about "the spiri
tual conflict surrounding
Christian membership with
in secret societies," accord
ing to her Web site,
www.gailgray.com.
Clarke says of these crit
ics, "They take text [from
the Bible] that supports
their case with a snip of a
ritual and say it's evidence.
You can't take a quote out of
an initiation without put
ting it into context," Clarke
said.
Clarke said he finds this
difficult to do if you have
not been a part of a Greek-
letter organization because,
he said, members under
stand the symbolism behind
the rituals.
"For example, I shouldn't
know what a Kappa ritual
means as an Alpha any
more than a Kappa should
know about Alpha's rituals,"
he said.
He also said, "some of the
language of the rituals are
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used symbolically and not to
be taken literally."
He maintains that some
rituals have been handed
down throughout history
and have historical refer
ences or references to
African culture.
"I have never had to make
a decision between Alpha
Phi Alpha and my faith,"
Clarke said. "No one is
asked to serve something
else other than God, just
have a commitment to your
organization."
Clarke said he is con
cerned that this debate will
affect younger members
who do not have tight grasp
on their organization's histo
ry or black history.
Thus, Clarke says it is
essential for older members
and graduate members to
converse with the younger
ones and help them to have
a better grasp of their orga
nization's past and of the
purposes on which they
were founded.
"These arguments are
problematic," he said.
"Christianity, as well as
other religions, are most
potent, most transformative
when they clarify what they
stand for as opposed to mis
guided interpretations of
faith that speak about what
they are against."
dr
MOVIE
REVIEW
Zeitgeist takes
in-depth look
at religion
from three
perspectives
Larry Williams
ARGUS STAFF
Zeitgeist, which means
"the spirit of the age", is a
documentary that digs deep
through history to show the
truth of religion and its
political manipulation.
The documentary is split
up in three parts; "The
Greatest Story Ever Told",
"All the World's a Stage",
and "Don't Mind the Men
Behind the Curtain".
The first part explores the
history of Christianity. It
starts with Kemet, one of
the earliest civilizations. The
film talks about their pagan
customs and how their
beliefs were based upon the
sun and its movements
through the zodiac. The
movie later goes on to draw
comparisons between
Horus, their pagan god, and
Jesus Christ.
"All the World's a Stage"
is the next part of the movie
that breaks down the 9/11
tragedy, using scientific
knowledge and insider CIA
information. This section
talks about the mysterious
collapsing of the World
Trade Center—not only
buildings one and two but
also building seven.
The film claims that
NORAD, the United States
air defense system, conduct
ed drills at the same time
9/11 happened.
The most eye-opening
part of the movie, "Don't
Mind the Men Behind the
Curtain," breaks down the
history of government cor
ruption in America.
The film also explores the
way many wars were start
ed, allegedly involving
some of America's wealthi
est families as financing
both sides, to prolong war.
For further information or to
see the movie, it is available
online at zeitgeistmovie.com.
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Larry Williams
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