Denounced!

(Just playing—06' 🤙🏽)

For those unfamiliar, the Divine 9 (also known as the NPHC) is a collection of 9 historically black, Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities. From time to time, you will see a member make a public denouncement, which is when they officially remove themselves from the organization’s national roster¹. Reasons vary, but generally, they seem to be centered around an individual’s angst regarding their ability to be religiously obedient while holding membership in a fraternity/sorority.

It’s time-consuming and exhausting to have a chapter/verse battle with anyone, so whatever leads a person to denounce, I respect it. If someone feels that their spiritual journey is hampered by being Greek, then they should denounce as soon as they can. If you feel it boils down to God or Greek, please choose God.

But it’s wrong to chastise people’s decision to remain in these organizations and brand them un-Christian² (or un-anything) and question their religious sincerity because of your personal decision. Religion is an organized interpretation of a group’s beliefs and faith³. But it is just an interpretation. That’s why you have different variations and sects of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. Scolding someone for not adopting your religious stance is destructive and says more about your spiritual rigidity than theirs.

Some people take Greek life way too far. Every organization has them by the pound. But I can’t say I’ve ever felt conflicted about my faith and being Greek⁴. I’ve met pastors and community leaders who embody service and faith to the highest degree while still being proud members of their organizations. It is possible.

Until we close our eyes for the last time, we won’t conclusively know if our religious beliefs are right. In the meantime, all we can do is pray and practice our faith the best way we can (as long as it’s non-violent, don’t do nothing wild). Greek life is an interesting opportunity and should be pursued if you feel you can balance your faith with your D9 affiliation. You are no more a sinner than someone who denounced, no matter how much they may huff and puff at you. I may not be able to go chapter and verse with anyone, but I know God is the ultimate judge (or whoever is the major deity in your faith). We can all say “amen” to that.

Footnotes

¹ 5 of these organizations’ Founder’s Days are in January, so there’s usually a rash of them around this time.

² When I was writing this, I thought about how the Ku Klux Klan has claimed to be a Christian-based organization, and how wild that is. They read the Bible and came away with that.

³ This is a Modelo-driven, off-the-cuff definition. Webster’s looking at this and shaking their head.

⁴ There are about 20 denouncers I know that are probably muttering, “You hell-bound heathen” (playing but not playing but playing).