High School Football Fans Fill Stands With Biblical Verses

The New York Times reported yesterday that high school football fans in a Georgia town have found a way to respond to the school district's ending the practice of cheerleaders carrying banners with Biblical quotations onto the field. As previously reported, Fort Oglethorpe High School, concerned about potential litigation, ended the 8-year old tradition of the players breaking through paper banners painted by cheerleaders with New Testament verses. Cheerleaders switched to banners carrying secular slogans." But now, fans calling themselves "Warriors for Christ" (a take-off on the team's name), have filled the stands with their own signs carrying Biblical verses, along with others reading "You Can't Silence Us" and "Living Faith Outloud." The fans have also held large rallies and sold more than 1,600 T-shirts carrying passages from Deuteronomy and Timothy. Also at last week's game, led by students, the team prayed on the 50 yard line before play began. The team captain shouted "In Jesus Name!" as players broke out of a huddle. The Times commented: "the backlash demonstrates the difficulty of separating church and state in communities, especially in the South, where many prefer the two merged."