This is NOT of God: Not What I Did and Not What Greek Organizations Do (Part 3)
- Whitney Nicole
- Feb 18, 2024
- 19 min read
Updated: Feb 25, 2024
The recording is not the usual recitation of the blog. I recommend listening first.
I only have one word to describe my heart and motivation behind writing this series on Greek organizations, and that word is love. Dear reader, I love you. Whether you are my brother and sister in the faith or whether you have yet to taste and see that God truly is good, I love you. This love didn’t originate from me but from Him. And His heart is that you know and love Him as He knows and loves you. Out of His love and concern for you, I write as one who longs to see you know the truth which sets us all free. And can I just attest for us all that sometimes the truth doesn’t feel freeing at all. It can feel hard and burdensome. But I promise that if you set your eyes upon Him and hold fast to the truth of His character, He will lift the weight and resistance you may now feel as I bring this word to bear.
As I mentioned previously, this is something God set before me and called me to faithfully relay to any who would hear. After listening to just two testimonies of a brother and a sister in Christ, I was overwhelmed and repentant before our Holy God. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. But now that I do, I am responsible for shedding light on what’s not plainly evident for many to see. I understand that there are deep roots and ties these organizations hold not just for individual lineages but for the collective history of the African American people. Let those works that have been for the good, according to Christ’s goodness, stand. However, this message is to distinguish the difference between our definition of good and His.
If you are in a fraternity or sorority, including those of the Masonic order, I am not against you. I am, however, against that which is contrary to Christ (Ephesians 6:12). And through my time of delving into the foundations and practices of these organizations, I have discovered that they are indeed oppositional to the King and His Kingdom. In an analysis of black Greek letter organizations, Brother Jordan L. Rice breaks down what makes something adversarial to Christ and Scripture, thereby satanic, beginning on page 11. I won’t recount his words here, but I encourage you to read this for yourself. For something to be adversarial means that it is opposed and hostile to its subject. In this excerpt, I will present to you evidence of how Greek letter organizations’ rituals and practices fit this description of oppositional and hostile towards God and His Word.
If you have your ritual book, you may retrieve it to look at this evidence for yourself. For those who do not have access to this information, I have accessed each ritual online except Kappa Alpha Psi’s. The testimony of a former member of Kappa Alpha Psi, among others, has been sufficient to document my findings, however. I was also only able to retrieve Iota Phi Theta's policy book and not the ritual. Although I have been directed to address black Greek letter organizations, namely due to my audience and context, the information that will be laid before you, shall apply to other Greek letter organizations. There is an index containing a list of these, as well as a blog from a former Panhellenic Greek letter organization member sharing her testimony and discoveries for why Christians need not partake in them.
Below I will lay side by side the foundations, rituals, and practices of Black Greek letter organizations with the Word of God. Below each comparison will be a variety of quotes and references from the rituals, ex-member testimonies, and other relevant sources related to each comparison (not exhaustive). Greek letter organizations have been noted to be derived from Freemasonry (many BGLO founders were lodge members) and therefore, the organization will have some references below as well. Quotes from former members have been taken from the videos cataloged in this playlist. (Note: Emphasis indicated by bold text are my own to highlight relevance.)
I want to highlight at this point that many may be tempted to disregard and lessen the claims below. But it is important to remember the words of Jesus who tells us that “you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you” (Matthew 12:36). We even have precedence for how to respond should we discover our words were ill spoken (Leviticus 5:4-6). And we are told that we will be held accountable even if we should suppress the truth (Romans 1:18-32).
Although every person may not have participated in certain practices of the organizations, anyone having been initiated into a Greek letter organization has become a participant of idolatry on the basis of the organizational foundations, rituals, and oaths. This is not a light matter. And all must seek repentance and renunciation as the Father is calling for in this hour, whether having joined, only desiring to have joined, or having facilitated the perpetuation of the organizations within your sphere. In conclusion, I will highlight videos of ex-members who share how they went about this process of repentance and renunciation.
Foundations & Rituals
"The candidate shall kneel and eat the food prepared by the gods for ALPHA PHI ALPHA men” (Alpha Phi Alpha Ritual, pg. 4).
“President: Hear now the Delta Prayer. (All sing Prayer). President: ‘We believe in a spiritual life but we leave to the individual the selection of the medium for its outward manifestation.’ A fire–mist and a planet, A crystal ball and a cell, A jellyfish and a saurian… Some of us all it longing, And others call it God.” (Delta Sigma Theta Ritual, pg. 29).
“But SIGMA has outlawed the warring Greeks and is now under the protection of Pallas Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, Arts and Industries. Are you willing to give your time, energy, thought and service to PHI BETA SIGMA? What is your answer?” (Phi Beta Sigma Ritual, pg. 4)
“After a moment's pause the Basileus shall distinctly say: Swing ye open, O wondrous Gates of Omega: Admit these, our friends, but let them take heed upon what they enter; let them give listening ears, to all that may be said and done, and seal within their bosoms the sacredness of the Temple of Omega.” (Omega Psi Phi Ritual, pg. 4) A temple is defined as “an edifice or place dedicated to the service or worship of a deity or deities” (Dictionary.com).
“Freemasonry contends that the holy book of every religion should be ‘on the level’ with every other holy book. They can then pretend that all the different deities are equal. Freemasons also claim all deities are only different manifestations of the same God.” (Unmasking Freemasonry, pg. 21)
“[I]n the lodge that I was in, I was actually serving as the worshipful master which is the ‘president of the lodge.’ […] If there was anything that I regretted about that was the fact that I literally led other people into an organization that they had no idea was demonic. […] Because you can’t even mention God. You can pray but you can’t even mention Jesus in the prayer. […] They wanted to make it so universal, they included so many other gods in this whole concept of a messiah. Different religions – the Hindu religion; Greece, the Phoenicians, the Egyptians. […] And because they created this false god, this false messiah, it takes you back to the Scripture where Jesus says first of all, ‘I am the way. I’m the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father, except through me.’ […] They say you can serve all these other gods and still be able to make it to heaven because of good works. Which is something else Scripture talks about. There is no such thing as being right with God because of good works. You have to have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus because He’s the only way that you can go to the Father, and freemasonry does not offer that one.” -Former Mason
“And that’s what when we say… it’s idolatry, you’re worshiping the organization but people go well I didn’t worship it, I’m not bowing down to anything. The very things that we did in initiation, in chapter meetings is worship. We sung hymns in the name of the organization. We did prayers in the name of the organization. To spirits in the name. I don’t care if you threw in some verses here and there. You can use the term “God.” Which God are we talking about? Because the Bible is clear about a god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:1-6). […] All these things are actually termed as syncretism. And syncretism is exactly what the Bible says - a mixing of the holy and profane. It’s mixing in belief systems, paganism, occultism, Gnosticism, every all kinds of isms you can think about, esotericism; you pulling in all these things together and then you’re trying to amalgamate and merge it with Christianity. […] And here’s deception.” -Former BGLO Member
Gr
“Omega Dear, we are thy own. Thou Art our Life, our Love, our Home, We’ll Sing Thy praises far and nigh. We love Omega Psi Phi. To all thy precepts make us true…” (Omega Dear, Omega Psi Phi)
“To our Founders, we bow (candidates bow their heads) […] Basileus to the Candidates: Are you willing to be submissive and in every way subjugate yourself to the highest authority?” (Alpha Kappa Alpha Ritual, pg. 26, 27)
“In this cup is the blood of the Fraternity. Unless you partake of their blood, you are not fit to know them. Drink, you seekers. […] Seekers, are you willing to give your time, energy, thought, and service to PHI BETA SIGMA for the uplift of mankind?” (Phi Beta Sigma Ritual, pg. 3).
“And I say let’s grab your ritual book. So, I said let’s look at your hymn. I said what is the purpose of a hymn? The purpose of a hymn that’s a religious thing that you’re doing. A hymn is not just a song. You’re actually singing to a deity; that’s why they call it a hymn. And as we started reading the very first stanza of the Delta’s hymn – ‘Oh Delta, Oh Delta we praise thee.’ So I go, wherever you see the word ‘Delta’ put ‘Jesus’ and reread it.” -Former Mason and BGLO Member
“So, let’s read some of the lyrics to the Kappa hymn. It says “Oh noble Kappa Alpha Psi, the pride of all our hearts; true manliness, fidelity thou ever does impart; the source of our delight and joy and happiness thou art; O Kappa Alpha Psi from thee we’ll never part.’ And then it skips down and it says, ‘But we honor, love, and sing thy praises over and over; Kappa Alpha Psi we will live for thee; we will strive for thee, we’ll all thy ways adore; we will long for thee and toil until we reach the golden shore.’ If you are singing anything like that other than to God, that is [idolatry]. First of all, if you’re not singing this song to God, you’re singing this song to a deity. You’re singing this to something that is not God…” -Former BGLO Member
“I felt some kind of way when we had to do that ceremony. We had to kneel down and put our hand over our heart and all that. […] ‘Our hearts and our minds we give to Zeta.’ And I knew growing up that our heart, our mind, and our soul is for Jesus Christ. So that immediately was like whoa. But still being 18, 19 years old at the time, lukewarm, not strong in your Word, it was just like ah well, you know Imma just go through with it.” -Former BGLO Member
“You are about to take upon yourselves vows and obligations from which you can never be freed. They will follow you to the Final Judgment” (Delta Sigma Theta Ritual, pg. 27).
“I’m reading exactly from the rituals. […] ‘The altar of Kappa Alpha Psi which is the sacred Delphic shrine shall be placed in the center of the room and covered with a crimson and cream coverlet.’ And so first of all ‘the altar of Kappa Alpha Psi,’ it’s already telling you what this altar is unto. And then it says that the altar is the sacred Delphic shrine. […] So, when you make an altar unto something that is the thing that you are reverencing and worshiping. […] So, this altar is to make sacrifice, to make reverence, to make worship to Kappa Alpha Psi. […] The Delphic shrine is where the Greeks went to worship the god Apollo. So, Kappa Alpha Psi is saying their initiates are going to go to this altar of Kappa Alpha Psi, this sacred Delphic shrine. The altar of Alpha Kappa Psi is also the altar of Apollo. See how the enemy is so deceptive and he tries to make it seem, tries to just push that part out of the way.” -Former BGLO Member
"Basileus: Now you come to the most serious part of the intake process, 'taking the Oath'. I admonish you to think of the words you will repeat after me. Think of what you are saying and what they mean, for truly, this oath must be your constant guide for as long as you live, ‘Once a Zeta, always a Zeta.’” (Zeta Phi Beta Ritual, pg. 2)
On the Alpha Kappa Alpha crest is a picture of Atlas, a Titan “responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. […] For Plato, he was the eponymous first king of Atlantis, and this giant of a god also gave his name to a huge mountain range in northern Africa, the great Atlantic Ocean and any large collection of maps.” (World History Encyclopedia)
“I said but they don’t have a false god. He said Death is a god. And He showed me the skull and crossbones and He said that’s the symbol for Death. I said Death is a god? He said why do you think Jesus had to conquer it? […] Even for Sigma Gamma Rho they’ll say one of the symbols they have on the crest is the serpent on the medical staff, which means “united we stand, divided we fall.” […] During that next day [God] said research every symbol on that crest. […] So, I find that that’s not the serpent of the medical staff on that symbol. […] The serpent of the medical staff has one snake. That one had two. And so, what it is is the caduceus or the staff of Hermes. […] So now I already see a symbol of a false god because I know who Hermes is right. I also noticed in my research that that symbol is the same symbol as the phallus on the statue of Baphomet, which is the universal symbol for the church of Satan. That Baphomet statue which is like that man with the goat head and he’s got the fingers one up, one down. So, if you look at his phallus in between his legs, it’s the same symbol that’s on the SGRho coat of arms.” -Former BGLO Member
“How I’m gon look to El Elyon to save me and I bowed at the altar of another god? The other thing I learned through practicing the false religion Epha is the elements that it takes to make an altar active. I didn’t know that when I pledged. The white tablecloth, the presence of the candles, the fire, the air, and when you kneel down and take the oath, you are the sacrifice. Those initiation rites formulate an altar. They tell you to get pictures – some people have pictures of the founders [or coat of arms]. That’s what you put on the altars when you making sacrifices to other deities. […] The altar set up is the exact same; it’s no different.” -Former BGLO Member
“Let’s talk about the ritual. You bowed down to an altar? Yes. Were their candles on the altar? Yes. Was there a Bible? Yeah. Was there a shield? Yeah. I said all of that, this is what God said to me – He said ask her to whom was the altar that you bowed down erected for? […] And she said, uh Delta. I go, yes. It was not erected to God. And the other thing that God showed me is even if we as believers, as Christians would say that when we bowed down to that altar that we were actually bowing down to God who we say we serve, right. He said if any other person on that line had bowed down to that same altar and they served another god, there’s no way that you can use that altar for Him because that altar would then be defiled. God will never share His altar with another god. Ever.” -Former Mason and BGLO Member
One of the things that you learn about freemasonry […is] you kneel before an altar and every oath that you take is at that altar. The crazy thing that we’re talking about covenants because what we don’t understand is when you come to an altar, you are actually making a spiritual agreement with whatever god is the ruler of that particular altar. Whenever you saw altars set up in the Bible, you could tell which god was the dominant god of that particular altar. […] And when you take that oath, there’s a penalty to the oath. […] Every penalty that they have for every degree is […] a penalty of death. Whether your throat’s being cut. Whether your tongue is being torn out. Whether your body is being severed in two. Whether your skull is being exposed. […] And this is the covenant that you make when you come to the altar of freemasonry. It’s a covenant of death. But Jesus said I came that you might have life and have it more abundant. […] You would never think it was wrong because there’s so much Bible. There’s so much Scripture. There’s so many biblical characters associated with masonry that you would think that it was of God, but it’s not. Because anytime you decide that you want to come into an altar, you are making an agreement. You are giving the god of that altar right and authority to rule over your life. And because it’s a covenant of death, it extends far beyond you. It goes to your children, your next generation. -Former Mason
“BROUGHT TO LIGHT. All members shall say: ‘BEHOLD! BEHOLD!’ as the candidate’s blindfold is withdrawn, and he sees “ALPHA PHI ALPHA, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD,” in large letters just over the altar.” (Alpha Phi Alpha Ritual, pg. 5)
“O Master Eternal, give to each of us The deep consciousness of Thy presence That the spirit of Fraternity may so Direct our thoughts, guide and control Our hearts and lives, that we may become Through Thee, servants of all mankind” (Alpha Phi Alpha Ritual, pg. 7)
“Delta Sigma Theta! We rejoice in thee! Delta Sigma Theta! We pledge thee loyalty, Devoted to truth; a bond of our youth, That keeps our hearts clean and pure to the end; The bright gleam of thy vision has lighted the world; Delta Sigma Theta! Our Own!” (Delta Sigma Theta Ritual, pg. 31)
I charge you to go forth holding high the light of Zeta that the world might know that you are a Zeta Woman with all principles and standards befitting a fine woman of service! (Zeta Phi Beta Ritual, pg. 3)
“Basileus: Whence come ye, my friends clothed as ye be and accompanied by these my true and tried brothers? Neophyte Commandant: From the outer chamber of darkness into the Shekinah of light of Omega. Basileus: What come ye here to do? Neophyte Commandant: To seek further knowledge of Omega, to learn traditions and to swear allegiance to her cause” (Omega Psi Phi Ritual, pg. 7). See the meaning of Shekinah at Compelling Truth and Christianity.com.
“So, this is part of the rituals [of Kappa Alpha Psi] where the polemarch or the president says… ‘Why do these men seek admittance into our sacred, noble clan?’ And then somebody else responds, it says, ‘These men seek admittance because they realize that only here can they fully receive the principles that are essential to success and true happiness.’ -Former BGLO Member
“The final problem I had was the matter of obedience to the Master and the governing authorities of the craft. The Master takes a significant part in the Craft Degree rituals. He leads the Initiate from "darkness to light" with a sharp instrument pressed against his breast. He leads the Fellow Craft from "death to resurrection" and one can't but wonder if this is a symbolic usurping of the place of Christ in our Christian teachings, putting Masonic teachings at total variance with the Word of God.” -Former Mason
“I , __________________, do solemnly promise to love and revere the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and to do all in my power to perpetuate the organization.” (Alpha Kappa Alpha Ritual, pg. 32)
“Our motto is: ‘Intelligence is the Torch of Wisdom.’ Behold the Torch of Wisdom. (Pointing to the red taper.) It burns wherever Delta women are assembled, and guides our footsteps as we work in the name of our sorority. As college educated women, holding the torch aloft, we seek to use our trained intellect toward the advancement of intellectual, social and spiritual pursuits in the service of mankind” (Delta Sigma Theta Ritual, pg. 26).
“Do you understand that you must give of your time and talents in promoting and in the implementing of programs of the Sorority? Answer.” (Zeta Phi Beta Ritual, pg. 2)
“He would give me questions to ask her. And this was one of them. He said ask her this… I said babe let’s say – you love God. Yeah. She’s a Christian. I said name a false god. Name one of them. Just any one of them. Buddha. […] I said how do you think God would feel if we were to go get a statue of Buddha and put him in our bedroom? And she was like that wouldn’t be good. I said okay, okay. I said well, guess what? We’ve got Buddha.. I mean we’ve got Minerva all over our house. And she’s like what? I go yeah. Minerva is a false god. And Minera is on the shield of every one of the Delta paraphernalia.” -Former Mason and BGLO Member
Alpha Kappa Alpha Pledge Poem/Song, I Think I Shall Never Know (Tune of Trees): “I think when I shall come to die, They’ll be no need of fear or sigh, For it I’ve been an A.K.A., Life owes we naught – I’ve lived my day” (AKA Ritual, pg. 5).
“The OMEGA CHAPTER HYMN (Tune – Alpha Hymn): “Commend him, through each test to OMEGA our chapter of sweet rest” (Alpha Phi Alpha Ritual, pg. 6).
“In the spirit of eternal love and sisterhood, we do commit this our Soror to Omega Rho, our chapter of departed Sorors” (Sigma Gamma Rho Ritual, pg. 2)
“Also, assign a brother to bring additional white roses to honor the memories of deceased Founders as they are to be placed as anchors to the right and the left of the floral arrangement. […] As Founders transition into the “Chapter Eternal,” the white roses should move from the right and left of center to the upper most place of the arrangement.” (Iota Phi Theta Policy Book, pg. 40)
Iota Phi Theta recites “The Last Chapter” at the burial of their deceased members. A few stanzas of the poem are as follows: “The time has come to re-pledge my soul, I have no fear I am of Brown and Gold […] I heard a voice and it said, ‘Welcome to Iota’s Last Chapter,’ And all I saw was beauty and Rapture” (Iota Phi Theta Policy Book, pg. 41)
Practices
A poem many Greek organizations have their members learn and recite is Invictus. Invictus promotes self-belief rather than reliance and dependence on God. And the poem presents thanks to other gods. Some of the lines in the poem are, “I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul” and “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
“Honesty: Truthfulness to one’s own heart in determining the moral quality of all one’s own thoughts and actions is the loftiest faculty of the human mind. […] In the name of our mothers who, by precept and example, instilled in us a love and respect for truth, I light the first jewel of our golden Sigma–Honesty” (Delta Sigma Theta Ritual, pg. 27).
"First Anti-Basileus: The sign of recognition: Place the right hand over the heart and withdraw quickly. The mono: 'Omnia Vincit Labore: All is conquered by labor'.” (Zeta Phi Beta Ritual, pg. 3)
“When you go to the probates when lines are walking in you hear them singing that song that all of my love, my peace, and happiness I’m going to give it to Kappa, Alpha, Delta, whatever org it is. We’re saying these things out of our mouth. It’s literally worship. That is a form of worship.” -Former BGLO Member
“This is foolishness. Why are we coming here over and over again just to get beat up, just to get ridiculed, to get abused. This is not brotherhood. And now that I have this revelation, if you read Romans Chapter 12 it speaks about what it means to be a real Christian. If we’re going to be a Christian organization that’s based on Christian principles, there’s a disconnect here. There’s no love here. This is not brotherhood.” -Former BGLO Member
“He said okay what do you gain when you go through it? And I was like respect. And he was like okay so you get that respect, so you’re getting a sense of pride. He said who’s the father of pride? I was like Satan. He said that’s been your father this whole time. You’re prideful when you chastise these people that didn’t go through what you went through. He’s your brother.” -Former BGLO Member
“They called it “giving neck.” He slapped me so hard on the back of the neck, literally my throat closed. It was like stuck. And I was having a difficult time getting my throat back open to just breathe. To me it’s purely devilish one that you abuse me but then you tell me you love me.” -Former Mason & BGLO Member
"There is a part that wants to keep it in the dark. But I still have very close contact with this young lady and I still see the residue of it. [...] And then to see my friend having a panic attack and the verbiage that they used... 'She ain't gone die out here on us. Take her to the hospital and drop her at the front door.' I was fine with all the other childish things we were doing until that. That has never left my mind. We pledged in 2009. That has never left my mind. Because why would you say something like that about a person -- if this is a sisterhood. If this is supposed to bring us together." -Former BGLO Member
We’ll have to turn around to each other and basically slap in the face and wipe the smile off your sister’s face. […] It was always like hitting your sister in the face and then them hitting us in the face. I always questioned like how is this sisterly love? This don’t make sense. But did it because you came this far so you might as well keep going. You paid money, you might as well. -Former BGLO Member
“And on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it [Revelation 2:17]: What is the meaning of this new, secret name promised to him who overcomes? Is it God’s name, or is it the believer’s name? This is probably the believer’s new name, and the name itself is probably more important than the stone itself. One idea behind this new, secret name is that is shows what an intimate relationship we have with God. When a couple is close, they often have “pet names” for each other. This is probably the same idea. Another idea associated with the new name is simply the assurance it gives of our heavenly destination. Your name is there, waiting for you. It is as if your “reservation” in heaven is made.” Read more about the meaning of the white stone in this Blue Letter Bible Study on Revelation 17.
“For people who want to make the claim that they’re founded on Christian principles, look at the fruit. What do a lot of these organizations produce? They produce fruit such as drunkenness, lust, […] vanity… through people in the organization who want to promote themselves and they want notoriety, people want to exalt the name of the organization and not the Lord. They produce fruit such as lying, covetousness. […] Jealousy, envy, idolatry. We know it produces violence because we talked about hazing. Lack of self-control. Look at the fruit. Pride. […] There is a sense of entitlement and arrogance that’s built from the onset. You go through all this stuff even before you pledge. Oftentimes you trying to gain this notoriety. You trying to gain acceptance so you try to do all this stuff. That’s why the whole concept of pledging versus not pledging, ‘being paper,’ is such a big thing. People feel like you didn’t earn this. You didn’t do what I had to do to go through this. And it’s like a noble thing to have gone through a rough process, a hard process as if it gives you a more esteemed status.” -Former BGLO Member
“My response was I thought that’s what you asked me. And my response was hay to the nizzo. I don’t think becoming a Mason is going to make me a better man because if you thought becoming a Mason would make you a better man, then my concern is hmm why are you sitting on that side of the table. Maybe that question is not for me. Maybe that question is for you. As a matter of fact, the only person that’s going to make me a better man, and is the one who has made me a better man, and is making me a better man, and that’s my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I said as a matter of fact, gentlemen thank you for this opportunity, but I thank God more than anything for this opportunity to tell you all that this is not where I belong. And I got up. I made an about face, and I excused myself from the place, and I have not looked back.” -Freemason Recruit Who Declined
Repentance and Renunciation
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