More About John 3:16
For God
so loved the
world
that he gave
his one and only Son,
that whoever
believes in him
shall not perish
but have
eternal life.
- The U.S.-based
In-N-Out Burger chain prints John 3:16 on the inside of the bottom rim of
their paper cups and their french fry containers.
- Forever 21, the
U.S.-based clothing company for trendy and inexpensive clothing for women, has the verse printed on the bottom of their
shopping bags. The other companies
within the Forever 21 corporation—Forever XXI,
For Love 21 and Gadzooks—also print the John 3:16 reference on the bottom
of their shopping bags.
- In
March 2007, a Vermont man filed suit against the state’s Department of
Motor Vehicles for the right to have John 3:16 on his car license
plate. The DMV rejected his first
two vanity plate requests -- for "JOHN316" and
"JN316," saying they would have violated a rule against vanity
plates with more than two numerals.
His third request, for the "JN36TN" plate, has been
rejected because it conflicts with rules banning religious viewpoints on
license plates, according to the state.
- The 1996
Oscar-winning movie Jerry Maguire
contains a fictional example of John 3:16 at a sporting event. A John 3:16
sign is prominently visible in the football game crowd during the sequence
in which Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) is knocked unconscious.
- Rollen Stewart,
also known as Rainbow Man, was a fixture in American sports culture in the
1980s best known for a wearing rainbow-colored afro-style wig and holding up
signs reading “John 3:16” at stadium sporting events. Stewart appeared in one Budweiser
commercial holding the same sign.
Many TV shows have parodied this phenomenon including the animated
show Family Guy.
- In a Pearls Before Swine cartoon strip, Pig
thinks people holding signs reading “John 3:16” during football games are
all the same person. He also thinks the person in question does this “so
his friend John can know what time it is when he forgets his watch.” While
watching another one he states “Great. Now Luke forgot his watch.”
- Best-selling Haitian Rapper
Wyclef Jean recorded a song titled "John 3:16" together with DJ Muggs, featured on Muggs 1997 "Soul
Assassins" album.
- A
Georgia-based
dirt racing 1977 yellow Camaro has John 3:16 emblazoned on its side. The crew pit team hands out Bibles and
photos of the car with the verse written in its entirety.
- In 1997, a
Cincinnati minister won his case against the Cincinnati Reds for the right
to display “John 3:16” at sporting events at Cinergy Field.
- The online free
encyclopedia Wikipedia.com calls John 3:16 “one of the most widely quoted
verses from the Christian Bible.”
It also calls the verse the “Bible in a nutshell” because it is
considered a summary of some of the most central doctrines of traditional
Christianity.
# # #
April
2007