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.

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April 2007