Spirituality and Character in Fraternities...

[elwoodpfiggs]

Hi! This is Phil again -- the new guy who started the thread.

On the subject of wine in the Bible, here is a thought: I think that the water that Christ turned into wine was probably actual wine, not just grape juice. If you remember the story, the wine that Christ provided was very good, which led the wedding guests to question why the best wine had been saved until the end of the feast. My understanding of this is that the really good wine was traditionally served earlier in the evening and the cheap stuff was saved for later when the guests would have been less discerning of its inferior quality.

I think it was Kevin who pointed out that the Bible does not openly condem drinking, only drunkeness. (Wasn't it Paul who wrote that a little wine each day is good for you?) However, the Bible DOES talk about repecting the law and the leadership of one's country. Underage drinking, then, is not consistent with that mandate -- that is my opinion, anyway.

In addition to the t-shirts on ebay, I am also unhappy that there have been actives in my own chapter in recent years who have had their girlfriends live with them for the summer in the chapter house. Speaking in a strictly practical way, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen! That aside, premarital sex in the house really goes against our historical roots. I'm not even sure that most acitves realize this.

There has probably always been premarital sex in frats, but at least there used to be some shame attached to it. People realized they were doing wrong and that if they were caught there would be punishment. I don't think that is particuarly true anymore. Guys are pretty open about the fact that their girlfriends are living with them. Bring back those blue-haried housemothers of the old days!

Speaking of housemothers/fathers, I'm just not convinced that a senior who has graduated in May is likely to be an effective housefather the following fall. I'm sure some of them are, but I'll bet many are not very successful as disciplinarians/moral examples. If I had a son who wanted to move into a house where the housefather had been a senior in the active chapter just a few months before, I think I would consider that the boys in that house were living more or less unsupervised. Maybe I'm being unfair, do you think?

Phil