Anderson Herald Bulletin Newspaper Archives September 19, 1995 Page 8

Anderson Herald Bulletin (Newspaper) - September 19, 1995, Anderson, Indiana B2 tuesday september 19,1995 a the Herald bulletin Gridiron prayer Sparks controversy Ansonia. Conn. A the Ansonia High school chargers huddle on the Field before every game a not to plot strategy but to Pray. Coach Jack Hunt leads the team a your father who Art in heaven a a it s said co Captain and wide receiver Steven Coughlin. A it s Good just to have that feeling god is with said fellow co Captain Roy Alberti. A Tou feel a Little better doing but there Are no such prayers for Falcon football players and their coach at nearby Joel bar Low High school in Easton. In fact All of the schools coaches have been warned not to Lead prayers. Quot i done to think its appropriate. You be got Many religions out there. Some players might be offended. It puts the coaches in a controlling situation Quot said Pam Goodpaster Barlow s athletic director. Out of respect for the coach or fear of his Wrath Young men offended by prayer May feel compelled to participate anyway. Goodpaster said. The emotional debate about prayer s place in school related settings has spread from the classrooms to the playing Fields. Football and god hit the headlines this month when the National collegiate athletic association tried to enforce a twist to its no gloating Rule. The Mcaa said its ban on in your face showboating and other a unsportsmanlike conduct included a player kneeling in prayer on the Field to thank god fora touchdown. Evangelist Jerry Falwell founder of Liberty University in Virginia said his team would not abide by the ban. He launched a Legal Challenge to the Rule which would have allowed a 15-Yard penalty for praying. But before Liberty Scase got a court hearing the Mcaa backed Down and issued a statement assuring that i done to think ifs appropriate. You be got Many religions out there. Some players might be offended. It puts the coaches in a controlling situation. Pam Goodpaster High school athletic director momentary subdued prayers Are acceptable. Though not everyone has noticed the trend some coaches and athletic officials say they have seen a slight increase in recent years of High school players praying after big plays. After All High school kids tend to emulate College and pro players. A if an individual player wants to very momentarily say a prayer that does not delay the game and he does no to draw attention to himself to make a show out of it that a acceptable a said Tony Mosa assistant executive director of the Connecticut interscholastic athletic conference which governs High school sports in the state. As for coach led prayers a we assume kids Are doing this voluntarily a said Mosa. A there May be a feeling in some schools that is coercion but it really depends on each schools policy procedures and Hunt the Ansonia coach sees no problem with Brief prayers by players on the Field. A a in a not going to discourage anybody from thanking god for their god Given Talent Quot he said. A a in a have no problem with it if a player went Down on one knee after a play Quot said Frank Brown coach at Bridgeport a Bassick High. A i think the Mcaa has gone overboard on some of its rulings. They Are trying to control the game too individual shows of Faith a happen All the time Quot said Jeff Bevino coach at the private Milford Academy. Quot a lot of our players Are very religious. I think its Bevino was relieved sept. I when a referee approached him minutes before the Academy a first football game just hours after Liberty filed its court Challenge to the Mcaa Rule and told the coach he would not penalize any players for making the sign of the Cross on the Field. As Long As they did it quickly. . Education Secretary Richard Riley in guidelines issued this month wrote that schools Quot May not endorse religious activity or doctrine or coerce the guidelines also say school officials and staff members cannot encourage discourage or participate with students in no classroom activities with religious Content. Trumbull High school coach Jerry Mcdougall scoffs at the notion he is coercing prayer. Before every game Mcdougall leads the team in an a fall inclusive prayer asking that no player on either team be Hurt a and thanking god we can play for Trumbull High Quot we Tell the kids they Are reflections of us. We done to dance around the end zone taunting or Wear earrings or fight. And yes i do Pray Quot said Hunt. But to others the answers Are not so Clear Cut. Milford Academy a Jeff Bevino has no problems with his players taking a moment to Pray on their own. He just does not want to Lead them. Quot in a not an atheist Quot said Bevino. But coach led prayer Quot is just not something we do. I done to want to impose my beliefs on other people. I done to believe in making kids who done to want to Pray feel like they have a Thomson news service. V = if Aletis Fly away a hot air balloon piloted by Ray Shady of Truckee calif., appears to be Drifting toward the heavens above Reno Nev. Shady took off from Reno but was not part of the great Reno balloon races which were taking place there. A photo biblical archaeology begins to lose american financial support by David Briggs a religion writer they helped invent the game of Modem biblical archaeology and dominated the Field for Many years. Now. Americans Are largely being reduced to spectators in the efforts to unlock the secrets of the Bible lands says a prominent scholar in issuing a Clarion Call for Public support to keep american biblical archaeology on the map. In an article titled a death of a discipline in the september october Issue of the biblical archaeology review. Arizona archaeologist William g. Dever says that years of declining academic and Church related support for biblical archaeology has left the Field in a crisis. He recites a Litany of lost academic positions and substantial cutbacks from groups such As the National endowment for looking for a Good Mechanic Cal Mitch Smith Auto service Best deals around Low prices Quality work by ase certified technicians engines transmissions 640-0237 4834 w. 38th St. Open till 7 pm Tor your convenience amp transmissions apples Paula red Cortland Othersall new crop Hoosier land Marine or. At Tunnel 9o weekdays closed sunday sorry no cider this year the humanities and the National geographic society. There is Only one endowed University chair in the Field and there Are no longer any Seminary professors who Are full time archaeologists. In the Field the three principal american excavations in Israel Are Long running and nearing completion and funding prospects Are dim for major new digs. Quot i was hoping to generate outrage to get Peoples Dever said in a interview. Quot you cannot revive a discipline once ifs died. Its never been the irony is that interest in biblical studies has never been higher say prominent people in the Field. Religious tourism to the holy land continues unabated with hundreds of american volunteers assisting at digs each summer. The dead sea scrolls have been the subject of major exhibitions and to shows. Biblical archaeologists Are in demand As lecturers and the biblical archaeology review has some 225.000 subscribers a tremendous number for a narrowly focused publication. But the academic and financial support has not followed. The sad irony of it All is the support is not there when we need said Erie Meyers a professor at Duke University and president of the american Superior Quality q service selection and Price these Are the reasons Vee Are no. I Fin draperies and blinds the 1803 Meridian St. At. 642-4861 Community Hospital of Anderson amp Madison county welcomes Troy a. Abbott . Family practice or. Abbott appointments May be made by calling 724-4455 # Community Hospital of Anderson amp Madison county schools of Oriental research. Dever and Meyers say the Lack of support for biblical archaeology is part of larger cutbacks for the humanities throughout the nations academic institutions. A if it was actual hostility i think i could fight it better. Its Dever said. Quot archaeology frankly is just seen As a biblical archaeology is particularly vulnerable because it Falls through the cracks of any number of disciplines and it is expensive Meyers said. Quot its Tough to come up with the six figures it takes to put a big dig in the Field Quot Meyers said. Seminaries and Church related groups that once were prominent in the Field now find it difficult to maintain a foothold in the a now secular and professional discipline a and also have largely put their Money elsewhere according to Dever. Devers own situation illustrates the problem. The professor of near Eastern archaeology and anthropology at the University of Arizona has been told that his position will not be replaced when he retires. The Crux of the matter is that Middle Eastern archaeology which so Many of us love and serve is in danger of dying Quot writes Dever. A american Syro palestinian and biblical archaeology Are moribund disciplines and archaeologists like me who have spent a lifetime in the profession. Feel like the last members of an endangered fir Daleville Tov antique 4 Mali. Mali. J located i mile Cawl of Mhz on St. Re. H7free parking open m s 10-8 Sun. 12-8 watch for oct. Red Dot Sale 317-378-4426 Anderson University presents pm evening with Amy Ransom Rouse and Brian Mcsee with tile Anderson symphony orchestra also featuring the 50th anniversary Celebration of the Anderson University chorale 8 pm Friday september 29 Reardon auditorium reserved tickets available at Reardon auditorium Box of lit e 641-4140 noon 5 prices $12.50 main floor Sio 50 Bah one ;