Atheists as members?

[Liberal_South]

I don't think Atheists should be a member, since wehn you join a glo you take an oath to that organization and most importantly to god. And if you don't believe in god, then there is nothing to hold you accountable.

[RACooper]

Originally Posted by Liberal_South

I don't think Atheists should be a member, since wehn you join a glo you take an oath to that organization and most importantly to god. And if you don't believe in god, then there is nothing to hold you accountable.

Hmmm.... well other than I guess your honour as a gentleman or as a lady...

[Drolefille]

So if you don't swear an oath by God, it's not a real oath?

Huh.

Not every GLO includes an oath to God within it. Just because yours does doesn't mean that's the end all be all of GLOs...

[Corsulian]

Originally Posted by Liberal_South

I don't think Atheists should be a member, since wehn you join a glo you take an oath to that organization and most importantly to god. And if you don't believe in god, then there is nothing to hold you accountable.

Sure, I agree that from the standpoint of someone who is not an Atheist the whole thing doesn't seem to make sense. It especially doesn't help that many Atheists treat the term as a religion in and of itself and so claim to represent all others.
Allow me to retort: As it turns out, "God" for many Atheists in Greek Life is more of a concept than anything else. When I swear to my oaths "under God" I'm swearing my oaths to the respectable simplification of moral guidance and ethical conduct that our founders saw fit to enact. I'm not a Christian, and I don't believe in God. But I can't entirely say that I'm not religious, for my fraternity is my religion. It's values are great enough to guide me to live a good life, do well by others, and hopefully die having made the lives of others not only improved and happier, but also changed in such a way that they would also seek to do well by others whenever possible.
Perhaps not everyone is comfortable with this definition, but I've yet to be confronted about it.

[Lady of Pearl]

I stated that Alpha Kappa Alpha is Christian based, others may choose to affiliate with any religion, but once in the organization they will see that our members are mostly comprised of those upholding Christian principles and our members serve in many capacities in various churches. I have been a member for over twenty years and do not recall reading any obituaries of members who were not affiliated in some aspect with some religious affiliation . I think an atheist and an AKA is a misnomer and I don't know of any of my Sorors who have sponsored as such Upon what would she have based her critieria for membership? since we are selective about our membership- I don't see how something as important as that would have been overlooked- and more importantly what moral compass does she follow internally? As an organization founded on Moral principles- I believe that a belief in God would include that also. I'm sorry if you were given the impression otherwise Perhaps with more maturity within the organization you will truly find out its purposes.

[Lady of Pearl]

Originally posted by Strongbeauty
I am baffled. If an organization claims to have Christian principles, then clearly they intended for Christians to be a member of it. Why would someone who does not even believe in God want to be a member of something that goes against that? This is especially true if Christianity is used in the rituals... If someone is willing to violate their own belief system, what makes you think they will uphold the tenets and ideas of the org?

My sentiments exactly-we wouldn't know what they believed in.:

[ADSigMel]

Originally posted by Lady of Pearl
... and more importantly what moral compass does she follow internally? As an organization founded on Moral principles- I believe that a belief in God would include that also.

I don't know anything about AKA and what beliefs its members have to have. But I don't think that, in general, the fact that a person does not believe in God means that they don't have morals. I believe that morals are something that is built into humans (other than, for instance, sociopaths, of course), and no one needs to believe in God in order to know the difference between right and wrong. I do believe that God gave us the knowledge of right and wrong, but that is a different question - you don't have to believe in God to have what he gave you. In fact, I think that it is probably more impressive for an atheist to still be moral, because they really are doing what is right for right's sake, instead of out of fear of post-death retribution.

I know this was beside the point (sorry, y'all), but I thought I'd throw that in.

[MSKKG]

Originally posted by DSTRen13
very select Protestant denominations to be "real" Christians - Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and my own church (since we rejected the Protestant label) were not allowed in the club.

Just so you know, the Orthodox Church is neither Protestant nor a denomination. She is the Church founded on Pentecost and has not changed her doctrine since then.

[enigma_AKA]

Originally posted by ADSigMel
I don't know anything about AKA and what beliefs its members have to have. But I don't think that, in general, the fact that a person does not believe in God means that they don't have morals. I believe that morals are something that is built into humans (other than, for instance, sociopaths, of course), and no one needs to believe in God in order to know the difference between right and wrong. I do believe that God gave us the knowledge of right and wrong, but that is a different question - you don't have to believe in God to have what he gave you. In fact, I think that it is probably more impressive for an atheist to still be moral, because they really are doing what is right for right's sake, instead of out of fear of post-death retribution.

I know this was beside the point (sorry, y'all), but I thought I'd throw that in.

Thanks for that...

enigma_AKA

[enigma_AKA]

Originally posted by Lady of Pearl
I stated that Alpha Kappa Alpha is Christian based, others may choose to affiliate with any religion, but once in the organization they will see that our members are mostly comprised of those upholding Christian principles and our members serve in many capacities in various churches. I have been a member for over twenty years and do not recall reading any obituaries of members who were not affiliated in some aspect with some religious affiliation . I think an atheist and an AKA is a misnomer and I don't know of any of my Sorors who have sponsored as such Upon what would she have based her critieria for membership? since we are selective about our membership- I don't see how something as important as that would have been overlooked- and more importantly what moral compass does she follow internally? As an organization founded on Moral principles- I believe that a belief in God would include that also. I'm sorry if you were given the impression otherwise Perhaps with more maturity within the organization you will truly find out its purposes.

Soror, check your PM...

enigma_AKA

[DSTRen13]

Originally posted by MSKKG
Just so you know, the Orthodox Church is neither Protestant nor a denomination. She is the Church founded on Pentecost and has not changed her doctrine since then.

I apologize if my post made it sound like I was saying that the Eastern Orthodox Church is a Protestant group. I am saying that many Protestant groups in my area do not recognize Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or various other forms of Christianity as being part of Christianity - not only do they disagree with parts of their doctrine, they consider them outside of the realm of "acceptable" Christianity.

[preciousjeni]

Originally posted by DSTRen13
I apologize if my post made it sound like I was saying that the Eastern Orthodox Church is a Protestant group. I am saying that many Protestant groups in my area do not recognize Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or various other forms of Christianity as being part of Christianity - not only do they disagree with parts of their doctrine, they consider them outside of the realm of "acceptable" Christianity.

I just presented a seminar at my parents' home church (Protestant). I was talking about different types of prayer than the congregants were used to. Then a woman spoke up, saying, "This sounds awfully Catholic to me" or something to that effect. After that, the seminar took a turn for the worse only I had the support of the pastor (who recognizes all sects of Christianity) so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Before I went in, I knew that I was speaking on a topic that had very distinct Catholic elements but I knew it was the right message to give this particular church. My roommate (Roman Catholic) and I constantly defend ourselves at this seminary where the general view is that non-Protestants are "misled." *SMH*

[MSKKG]

DSTRen13, no offense taken.