Posted on 11/06/2013 6:24:40 AM PST by JoeProBono
A Kentucky high school student athlete declined to participate in her team’s cross-country race after she was assigned the number 666, saying it would have gone against her religious beliefs.
Whitley County High School junior Codie Thacker and her coach tried to get her a different number, but race officials denied the request.
Coach Gina Croley knew there might be a problem as soon as she saw the number Thacker had been given. "I saw it and I was like, 'whoa,'" she said. "I don't think she will wear that number."
The number 666 is often associated with the biblical "mark of the beast."
Thacker was looking forward to running, but her high expectations quickly gave way to disappointment. "I've trained since June for this race," Thacker said. “I was so nervous I thought about it all week.”
A Kentucky High School Athletic Association spokesperson said that race officials would have granted Thacker’s request had they been made aware it was for religious reasons.
"I told them to mark out my name because it makes me sick just thinking that my name is associated with that number," Thacker said. "I didn't want to risk my relationship with God and try to take that number.”
Someone here has a tag line that basically reads “ 668 neighbor of the beast”. I always laughed at that one. (Suppose it could have been 664 )
That seems like pushing it a bit. Would the church I go to refuse a corresponding tithe (hypothetically... I prefer the system of offerings as I prosper, not strict tithes) of $66.60? But to each their own spiritual comfort level.
Before I retired, my AF flight helmet storage bin as indicated in big numbers on the bag tag, was 666. It’s just a number. The aircraft never fell out of the air, I never suffered any injuries or other bad luck, and the devil never appeared to me to lure me to the dark side. There is plenty of evil to worry about in the world besides a number.
So long as they don’t make her wear the number on her forehead or on her hand, I don’t see a problem with it :)
Yes,since 666 only stands for Emperor Nero.
Somebody objects to getting 666, and the race officials can’t figure out that there it is a religious objection? How stupid are they in Kentucky?
One classic explanation from bible scholars is that it may be intended in contrast to the number 7, a “perfect” number in biblical symbolism. Three sevens, 777, would signify the holy God known to Christianity that comprises Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So 666 would mean the attempt of the sinful world in collusion with Satan to attain to godhood, as in the sin of the Garden. The book of Revelation is deeply couched in mystical terminology, as if that needed to be said. So the literal usage of 666 like that might never take place, any more than the churches of Asia had literal lamp stands.
LOL! Thats like making Lemonade out of lemons!
I am proud of what she did.
Rampant secularism. This is bible belt territory, or close to it. One of these city slicks. Kentucky rednecks tend to know their bibles well.
Tell her to just wear it and not try to buy anything with it like gatorade or sell anything like her autograph and she should be just fine.
Make the check out for $6.67 - a tithe and an offering. God sets the minimum at 10% but the maximum does not seem to be defined.
She’s not risking her relationship with God over this. God already knows all about it. Personally, I would have stitched it upside down and raced as “999” and hoped nobody noticed.
The numerology of Torah is confusing enough for me, even as it warns of superstition. But I wouldn’t wear 666 either, out of respect for Christian sensibilities.
So why do a lot of buildings not have a 13th floor?
Superstition.
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