With fraternity rush ramping up at NU, I had an interesting thought last week: Would Jesus have joined a fraternity? Would he have associated himself with the stereotypes of the Greek system (i.e. binge drinking and one-night stands)? Would he have been drawn to typical fraternity pillars, such as brotherhood and service? Would he have shown up for his fraternity’s “The Ho Depot” themed-party?
I think the answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes! Jesus turned water into wine when the party ran out of booze. Jesus had a lengthy conversation with a Samaritan prostitute. Jesus surrounded himself with twelve dudes for a few years. Jesus would definitely have joined a frat. He would have been a Rush Chair or the President. He would have loved his brothers, no matter how drunk they got or how many girls they hooked up with. Jesus loved spending time with everyone, even sinners. Sure, he wouldn’t have been doing keg stands or making out with drunk freshmen girls, but he would have been at every party he could make. Jesus was in the world, but not of the world.
The question ‘Would Jesus have gone Greek?’ really gets at how and where Greek life and Christianity intersect. This intersection is particularly important for me because I am a Christian and in a fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. As a senior, it is interesting to reflect on my time in ZBT and think about how being Greek has impacted my faith journey. When I stepped onto campus as a freshman in September 2008, I was not sure what role Christianity would play in my life while at Northwestern. I had grown up a Christian, but going to church on Sundays was pretty much the extent of my faith. One thing I was sure about, though, was that I wanted to join a fraternity. I tried to check out as many of the fraternities as I could during the fall and wound up meeting a lot of great guys in several houses. For most of the fall, my focus was on rushing a house… and school, of course. Faith slipped into the background. It wasn’t until I made a mistake and hurt a girl that I realized Christianity needed to be a part of my life again.
Luckily, a Christian guy in SigEp asked me to grab lunch that week. I told him what I had done, and he immediately assured me that everyone makes mistakes and that the important thing was to learn from them. I told him I wanted faith to be a part of my life again. He told me about Greek InterVarsity, and he explained that Greek IV was a place where being Christian and Greek came together. He talked about how his faith had been strengthened through being in SigEp, even though his house was made up of mostly non-Christians. I started showing up at Greek IV events regularly, and even though I hadn’t joined a house yet, I saw what it could look like to be Christian and Greek at the same time. It was really cool to see members of Greek IV be so strong in their faith and still be fully present at Greek events. Like I said about Jesus, it was really clear that the students in Greek IV were trying to be in the world, but not of the world. I remember admiring a few Greek IV friends at a party one time because they were just as rambunctious as all the other people, but they didn’t need to drink alcohol to do so. It was also amazing to see how many great relationships they had with non-Christians and how involved they were in their houses.
That winter, I wound up joining ZBT. A lot of people questioned why I joined a stereotypically Jewish house if I was a Christian. Although I chose ZBT because of the strong connections I made with the older brothers in the house, looking back on it, I think God wanted me to surround myself with people that were different from me, much like Jesus did. Over the past three years in ZBT, I have had several opportunities to talk about religion with people in my house, most of them non-Christians. I love hearing about what other people believe and I even enjoy when my brothers challenge my beliefs. It forces me to better articulate why I believe what I believe. I don’t think I have helped anyone in ZBT come to Christ, but I have tried my best to provide opportunities for people in ZBT to explore God and to ask questions about Christianity. Furthermore, being in ZBT has made me really think about how my actions reflect my faith. It is common to hear the associations between Greek life, drinking and hook ups. Even though those might be stereotypes, the reality is that alcohol and hook ups are prevalent at some Greek events. Being in a fraternity has put me in situations where I have had to make tough choices about what I choose to do and not to do. Being in Greek IV at the same time has helped me realize that I can still have fun at those events without getting trashed or hooking up with random girls, which do not align with my standards as a Christian.
That being said, I don’t want to make it seem like my actions have been perfect throughout my time in ZBT. I have had, and still have, my fair share of struggles. Underage drinking was always something I battled with. I wanted to enjoy parties, and I liked the camaraderie of drinking with my friends. Although Greek IV helped show me how to be present at parties without drinking, I can’t say I was perfect at every event. Even now that I’m 21, it’s still difficult to know what is appropriate when it comes to drinking. Sexual sin has been tough for me too. Beyond those struggles, being humble, loving people I don’t particularly like and being selfless are all things I have to remind myself about constantly. I sometimes wonder if I would have had fewer of these struggles if I had not joined a fraternity and instead spent most of my time in a Christian group. Instead of having fraternity brothers hand me beers, Christian friends would have been handing me the Bible. However, shying away from Greek life in order to protect myself from those temptations would have essentially meant shying away from reality. Jesus did not live in a bubble. Jesus did not spend all of his time with holy people. He doesn’t want me to either.
Going Greek has been one of the best decisions of my life. I have made lifelong friends in ZBT and in other Greek houses and I am challenged every single day to live out my Christian faith. Greek InterVarsity has provided me with a supportive community that encourages me to keep sharing my faith in ZBT. Being a part of ZBT has also helped me understand the importance of being friends with people who hold different beliefs from me. Together, Greek IV and ZBT have helped me grow tremendously as a Christian, a friend, a leader and a person.
I firmly believe that Greek life and Christianity intersect quite well. So it’s clear to me that Jesus would have been in a fraternity. It would be interesting to see which house he would have wound up in. Which house do you think Jesus would have joined?
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