John 3:16 Its a sign from God

1
John 316Its a sign from God!

• Brian Rodick
• Honors 201
• November 4, 2003

2
What is John 316?

• John 316 is a passage from the New
  Testament in the Bible. It is often regarded as
  the most famous verse.
• Many born-again
• Christians credit
• this verse with
• saving them or
• renewing their
• faith.

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So what does it have to do with sports?
Some people need attention. What better way to
get it than being on national television?

• Paint faces
• Wear costumes
• Buy giant foam fingers
• Make signs

4
How did Rollen Stewart help make it one of the
most widely known Bible verses?

• Rollen Stewart went to a Portland Trailblazers
  Basketball game in 1977
• Appeared on television during a break in play
• Wore a rainbow colored afro wig, which earned him
  the nickname rainbow man
• Wore a loincloth
• Said he became addicted to the attention
• Made a goal to be on TV as much as possible

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Rollen turns religious

• Previously lived a life of sex and drugs
• 1980 Super Bowl in Pasadena, CA
• Watched Today In Bible Prophecy upon returning
  to his hotel room
• Gave his life to Christ

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Not exactly what I had in mind

• Began living out of his car
• Pushed to attend even more events than before
• Began eating only one meal per day
• Smoked massive amounts of marijuana
• Began carrying a John 316 sign with him at
  sporting events
• Wore Jesus Saves t-shirts along with his now
  signature rainbow afro

• Used a hand-held television
• to figure out camera angles
• so he would always be visible
  
  

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Where did it get him?

• Several golf tournaments including the Masters
• Numerous football games including several trips
  to the Super Bowl
• Multiple baseball games including several trips
  to the World Series
• The Summer Olympics
• The Winter Olympics
• The Republican national convention
• The Democratic national convention
• The Indy 500
• The Kentucky Derby
• The NBA finals
• The NCAA basketball finals
• The Stanley Cup
• The wedding of Princess Di and Prince Charles
• The World Cup
• Characters based on him on The Tonight Show,
  Saturday Night Live, and St. Elsewhere.
• He also appeared in a Peanuts comic strip and his
  own Budweiser commercial

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Interesting facts about this guy

• He despised sports. They reminded him of when
  the Romans used to watch Christians being eaten
  by lions.
• Authorities at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics removed
  him from the stands because they thought he was a
  spy and John 316 was a coded message
• At one point he was traveling about 50,000 miles
  per year to over 100 events
• He hated watching TV
• Choked his wife during a
• 1986 World Series game
• because she was blocking
• his sign

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So what happened and where is he now?

• Serving three life sentences in prison for
  hostage drama
• Sept. 1992 held a cleaning lady hostage at the
  Los Angeles Hyatt hotel
• Demanded a national television broadcast so he
  could warn of Armageddon
• Set fires and shot at airplanes landing at Los
  Angeles International Airport next to the hotel
• Stewart flashed biblical verses in the window for
  the media below to show everyone
• SWAT members ended the standoff after
• 10 hours
• LA Times later reported he had contemplated
• killing President George Bush and candidate
  
• Bill Clinton, but their security was too
  tight.

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Sources

• http//www.amiannoying.com/(n0goh145dp35x3555hwwds
  45)/view.aspx?ID2600
• http//www.fanfic.net/jeffwong/rant24-john-316.ht
  ml
• http//home.pacifier.com/dkossy/rainbow.html
• http//classic.sundancechannel.com/festival97/webc
  ast/s1335970443.html
• http//www.straightdope.com/classics/a971107.html
• http//www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_186.html