Why I denounced my letters by Asad Abdul-Salaam

On April 19, 2007

The purpose of this article is not to judge or condemn anyone. My intent is to enlighten the true Christians who are currently members or considering joining a Greek Letter Organization (GLO). I recently stepped down from my position as president of the Eta Gamma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I completely denounced my membership and affiliation with the organization. It was not an easy decision to make, but it was necessary for me to continue in my spiritual growth.

The road to my denunciation began with the poem "Invictus." This poem is memorized and recited by a majority of GLOs. The last few lines always concerned me, but I allowed my ambitions of being in the fraternity to blind me. It says, "I am the Master of my fate; I am the Captain of my soul." Shouldn't it say "Jesus is the Master of my fate; Jesus is the Captain of my soul?" How can I profess to be a true believer yet recite and condone this poem? In the beginning of the poem, there is a line that says, "I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul." What soul can't God conquer? In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." I thank whatever gods may be? That is outright endorsement of polytheism which brings me to my next point, idolatry.

The Bible says in Exodus 20:3-4, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth." Webster's dictionary defines idolatry as the worship of idols, and idols as an image of deity used as an object of worship; a person or thing that is adored or revered. Many organizations are represented by and associate themselves with such images as: rabbits, the sphinx, the centaur, dogs, apes, ivy leaves, doves, etc. These images and other symbols can be seen on their paraphernalia, clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and branded in their skin. They aren't just some random logo. These images are symbolic and have meaning within the organizations. Can anyone in an organization dispute that they don't adore or reverence, these images? If you're in disbelief, go before another organization seriously mocking or disrespecting their symbolic image and see the reaction you get. Let's put idolatry into perspective. No respectful person would put a picture of their ex-girlfriend or boyfriend up in their room for their current girlfriend or boyfriend to see, because it would result in jealousy and conflict. You may not be bowing down before the picture in worship, but you would dispose of it out of respect for the other person in the relationship. Exodus 20: 5 describes God to be a jealous God. By reverencing, adoring, and deifying these idol images you disrespect God and his commandment. We are more faithful and show more respect towards our girlfriends or boyfriends than we do to God.

I Corinthians 6: 9-10 says, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicator, nor idolaters, nor adulterer, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." After reading this scripture I seriously began to question if my affiliation with a GLO could be considered idolatry according to God's standards. Many may say, "I don't worship my organization." To worship is to reverence, pay homage, love, admire, praise, etc. What do you think you are doing when you recite the organizations hymn or chant and dance around in the name of the organization? If that's not reverencing, paying homage, and praising then what is? Webster's dictionary defines a hymn as a song of worship of God; any ode or praise. When you sing the hymn you are definitely not worshiping God or praising him. Who you are worshiping and praising is that particular organization.

All GLOs have rituals they recite during their initiation. I recently attended a seminar where they exposed numerous GLO rituals. In these rituals, the founders took scripture from the bible and put their own twist on it to suit the organization; declaring that they were founded upon "Christian principles." Those aren't Christian principles, they are anti-Christian. Revelation 22: 18-19 says, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that were written in this book, And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that were written in this book." There are numerous other GLO rituals that add to and take away from the scriptures. These rituals approved by the organization's national offices acknowledge and speak of Greek gods. Every member of the organization, undergraduate and graduate level, is exposed to these blasphemous rituals. The really interesting, yet harsh reality is that most members of GLOs don't even know what their own ritual says. They probably never saw it and certainly don't own a copy of it. They recited it once upon a time and completely forgot about it. You may say, "It meant nothing to me, I didn't even think about it, or I just said it because I had to and everyone else was saying it." Our words carry weight and can be very dangerous. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are found in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Therefore, we must watch what we say.

Joshua 24:15-16 says, "And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my home, we will serve the Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods." As Christians, we can't serve God on our own terms or when it's convenient for us. In St. Mark 12:30 Jesus says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." We cannot do God's will some of the time; we have to do God's will all of the time. The question is whether it is God's will that you be in a GLO? Many say, "I prayed to God for my letters and my prayers were answered." Proverbs 15:29 says, "The Lord is far from the wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." If you weren't in a righteous state in the sight of the Lord when you prayed then the scripture says that he didn't hear you. GLOs are surrounded by false doctrine, anti-Christian principles, and deeply rooted in worldly things. Why would it be God's will for you to partake in such organizations?

There exists in this world two kingdoms; the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. You can't belong to or operate in both kingdoms. You are either a member of one or the other. Romans 6:16 says, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." A servant is a slave, and you can become a slave to your sins. When you are at humpday dancing to music that is not of God but of Satan, when you are at parties where the Spirit of the Lord is nowhere to be found but where the presence of Satan is heavily concentrated, or when you are out getting drunk; you become a slave to that sin and that sinful environment. St. Matthew 6:24 says, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." The question at hand is, "Who are you going to serve, God or Satan."

We are all born into sin and fall short of God's expectations on a daily basis. I am no different. I can admit that I used to drink, go dance around to Satan's music at humpday, listen to worldly music, and a whole slew of other things, but I made the decision to follow and serve the Lord Jesus Christ with my whole heart. I recognized that there was a serious need for change. I'm not trying to say that now I'm perfect and that I never sin, but it is my goal and mission to be just like Christ. That is what Christianity is all about, isn't it? Some may say, "It is impossible to be like Jesus. He was perfect and we are not and will never be spiritually perfect as he was." St. Matthew 5:48 says, "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

If after reading this article you felt like you needed to make some changes in your life or it made you second guess your membership or interest in a GLO; that's probably God's Holy Spirit convicting you. Listen and ask for guidance and I am certain that the answer will be revealed to you.