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Sunday, November 17, 2024
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After Dark event spreads Christian message to UF students

The band Copeland, UF quarterback Tim Tebow and speaker Joe White drew 2,957 people to the O'Connell Center Thursday to learn about Christianity.

After Dark, sponsored by Christian student organizations, presented the Gospel and aimed to inform students about Jesus Christ and his teachings.

Sophomore Doug Cloud, a member of Campus Crusade for Christ helped spread the word about the event.

He said religious events are needed on campus.

"People need to see how powerful Jesus Christ can be," he said. "If one person or a couple hundred people realize that tonight, it'll be successful."

After Copeland performed, getting the crowd hyped up, Tebow followed with a speech about how Jesus has impacted his life.

He said his life is a success, and it's not because he won a national championship or because he won a Heisman. It's because he has a relationship with Jesus Christ, he said.

When White took the stage, he showed a black-and-white video, which led into his re-enactment of a Roman cross-maker, creating the cross similar to the one on which Jesus was crucified.

As he chopped at a log on stage, White spoke of the young cross-maker's possible thoughts and questions.

Later, in an act of penance and devotion, attendees filled out cards and nailed them to the wooden cross on stage.

"I think it's a relevant way to present the story of Jesus," UF sophomore Carly Coffman said. "He's letting people decide how they see Jesus fitting into their lives."

Others disagreed and were disappointed by the performance, feeling that they were tricked into going by the advertising, which did not make clear the event's religious nature.

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"I think it's ridiculous because they didn't really tell you what it's about," said UF freshman Rachel Sereda, "It seemed really cool because they had balloons and shirts and were really organized, but if you read the fine print, it's all about Jesus Christ."

Alligator Writer Kelsie Hoerchel contributed to this report.

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