I Used To Preach Against Greek Life. Sacred Not Sinful Explains Why I Changed My Mind.
How a Sigma brother, a fresh look at Scripture, and the stories of Daniel, Esther, and Joseph reshaped my view of BGLOs.
When I first stepped onto my college campus, I was not signing up for Greek Life. I was preaching against it. I held revivals. I warned students. I repeated everything I had heard in church about Black Greek Letter Organizations. But I had never studied the subject myself. I was loud, but I was not informed.
Everything changed because of one man.
His name was Robert Saunders from Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. He was Church of God in Christ. I was Apostolic Holiness. We both loved Jesus and grew up on the solid ground of Pentecostal teaching. But Robert did something most people never do in this debate. He sat with me. He listened. He answered my questions. And then he challenged me to study Scripture without assuming the conclusion.
That challenge changed my entire worldview.
When I opened my Bible with an open heart, I saw something I had never seen before. God often placed His people inside cultural systems that did not look like the church. Daniel served faithfully in Babylon. Esther served with courage in Persia. Joseph rose to leadership in Egypt. They wore the clothing of the culture, spoke the language, and served in systems not designed by believers. Joseph was even embalmed and buried as an Egyptian. Yet the hand of God was strong on each of their lives.
That discovery led me to a new question. Why do we pressure Christians in BGLOs to leave the organizations they love when Scripture shows God using His people inside culture time and time again
A Double Standard in the Greek Life Debate
Today, we are watching a painful divide. Christianity Today recently published a story about a wave of Christians who feel pressured to denounce their BGLO membership. Many of their concerns sound exactly like the ones I preached as a freshman.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/black-greek-christian-exodus-denounce-social-media/
At the same time, CBN is reporting revival inside historically White fraternities and sororities through Greek InterVarsity. Hundreds of students are finding Christ inside their chapters. They are leading Bible studies and transforming their houses from within.
https://www.cbn.com/news/us/radically-transformed-hundreds-fraternity-sorority-members-trade-party-life-eternal-life
White Greek Life is described as a mission field.
Black Greek Life is described as spiritually dangerous.
Pastor Jamal Bryant addressed this imbalance directly. He pointed out that White fraternities are rarely told to renounce their letters, while the Divine Nine often face harsh scrutiny. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2530832730635971
That imbalance is not only unfair. It is unhealthy. And it keeps people from walking with clarity.
What Sacred Not Sinful Teaches
My book, Sacred Not Sinful, was born out of that search for clarity. It gives believers in Greek Life tools to think, not react. Pray, not panic. Study, not assume. The PROOF framework helps Christians walk through Process, Rituals, Oaths, Obscurity, and Founding with wisdom.
Let me give you one example.
Rituals Are Often Symbolic, Not Spiritual Allegiance
Many people panic when a BGLO ritual mentions a mythological figure. One example is the mention of Pallas Athena in the story of the Traveler. But the ritual is not calling members to worship Athena. She represents wisdom, courage, and strategy in classical literature.
We already accept symbolic figures like this in everyday American life.
- Lady Justice is Justitia, a Roman goddess.
- The Statue of Liberty is modeled after Libertas, another Roman goddess.
- The Caduceus, used as a medical symbol, comes from Hermes in Greek mythology.
Christians salute the flag, respect the Constitution, and trust their doctors. None of this is idolatry. These symbols represent values, not gods.
To make this clearer, consider the Caduceus story.
Many people assume the medical symbol comes from Moses and the bronze serpent. It does not. The Caduceus, with two snakes and wings, comes from Hermes, the messenger god. It was adopted as a medical symbol by mistake in the early twentieth century. Moses’ bronze serpent was a single bronze serpent lifted up as a sign of God’s healing and mercy.
They are not the same symbol at all. One is cultural. The other is sacred.
This is why understanding symbolism versus worship matters so much. Symbols point. Worship bows. They are not the same.
Paul Did This Too
When Paul spoke in Athens in Acts 17, he quoted pagan poets to teach biblical truth.
“For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Epimenides)
“For we are also his offspring.” (Aratus)
Paul did not worship the gods those poets honored. He used their language as a bridge to the Gospel.
That is the same relationship many BGLO rituals have with classical imagery. They teach virtue through symbol, not worship through ritual.
Why My View Changed
I changed my mind about Greek Life because I stopped repeating arguments and started studying. I let Scripture, history, conscience, and context speak for themselves.
God does not need us to fear culture. He wants us to influence it.
If God could use Daniel in Babylon, Esther in Persia, and Joseph in Egypt, He can use you inside Alpha, AKA, Kappa, Delta, Sigma, Zeta, SGRho, or Iota. You can live out your faith inside your letters with confidence and integrity.
Final Reflection
What might shift in your life if you stopped choosing between your faith and your letters, and started choosing clarity
Next Step
Strengthen your walk as a Christian in Greek Life by downloading the free Sacred Greeks Life App at www.sacredgreekslife.com
References
Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Rhodes, A. (2025, November 20). Black Greek life faces a Christian exodus. Christianity Today. Retrieved from https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/black-greek-christian-exodus-denounce-social-media/ Christianity Today
Wise, T. (2025, October 29). “Radically transformed”: Hundreds of fraternity, sorority members trade party life for eternal life. CBN News. Retrieved from https://www.cbn.com/news/us/radically-transformed-hundreds-fraternity-sorority-members-trade-party-life-eternal-life CBN
Bryant, J. H. [@jamalhbryant]. (2025). What exactly are you renouncing? [Video reel]. Instagram. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRXiGdKD7nH/ instagram.com
Caduceus as a symbol of medicine. (2024). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus_as_a_symbol_of_medicine Wikipedia
Caduceus. (2024). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus Wikipedia
Shetty, A., Shetty, S., & Hegde, M. N. (2014). Medical symbols in practice: Myths vs reality. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 8(8), ZC01–ZC04. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/8537.4696 PMC