Chick Publications

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Chick Publications is an American publishing company run by Jack Chick which produces and markets Protestant fundamentalist pamphlets, DVDs, VCDs, videos, books, a poster, and (most famously) comic tracts in many languages. The publications promote and seek to win converts to a Christian Fundamentalist view. While some express views that are generally accepted within Christian theology, e.g. the Incarnation of Christ[1], Chick is most famous for his publications on issues that are highly controversial even within Christianity, such as Occultism, Freemasonry [2], Catholicism [3], Islam [4], abortion, and homosexuality, which many fundamentalist Protestant Christians believe are sinful — together with more mundane activities such as Halloween and Thanksgiving [5], role-playing games and popular music. Defenders of the comics assert all his comics carry the same message — that of salvation through Jesus.

[edit] Overview

The most popular tract from Chick Publications is just one of hundreds of Christian tracts they have published

The graphics in Chick's tracts are often simple, but striking. Some Christians consider them to be valuable witnessing tools, due to the striking nature of the cartoons and their clear-cut messages. Indeed, many cartoon tracts appear to be designed to appeal mainly to children. Tracts typically follow the themes of punishment or redemption in the afterlife, or set up a confrontation between a Christian and non-Christian in order to tell a Bible story. The endings are mixed between those who accept Jesus and those who reject Jesus; it is not uncommon for a story to feature two people with mixed reactions. All tracts end with a sinner's prayer and an offer to order a Bible and fundamentalist publications.

Chick Publications also publishes conventional non-graphical books on these same topics, by authors other than Chick. Many of these are also used as sources for Chick's tracts; notable sources include Alberto Rivera, Rebecca Brown, Jeff Godwin, Kent Hovind, Charles Chiniquy, William Schnoebelen, John Todd, Avro Manhattan, and Alexander Hislop.

While Chick's tracts are meant to be handed out directly (for instance, he encourages Christians to give out anti-Halloween tracts along with Halloween candy[6]), they are often distributed by leaving them in places where they will be found and read, an appealing witnessing tool for shy Christians[7]. This strategy is intended to reach those who are hostile to evangelists and unlikely to accept an offered tract, by appealing instead to their curiosity [8]. Chick Publication's website claims that many people have been converted by encountering Chick Publication's comic tracts[9].

Like many other religious publishing organizations, Chick Publications does not distribute his tracts for free; they are normally purchased in bulk by the people handing them out.

The company's web site [10] lists more than 150 comic tracts; all of them can be viewed online, but other materials can generally only be sampled. The site states that several hundred million tracts have been distributed world wide, with some of them translated into almost 100 languages. However, for the majority of languages, only one Tract is available: "This Was Your Life". This tract is unique in that, apart from the large number of languages it is published in, it also appears in six different artwork versions, depicting the major racial groups.

Copies of Chick's tracts are displayed in the Smithsonian Institution among other examples of American religious culture.

[edit] Claims by Chick Publications

Chick's tracts and other publications make many controversial claims. Some are typical of conservative Protestant beliefs — for instance, Chick claims that evolution is a fraud (Big Daddy? [11]), homosexuality is sinful (Sin City [12]), and abortion is murder (Who Murdered Clarice? [13] and Baby Talk [14]).

Others are controversial even within conservative Protestantism. In particular, Chick's tracts make frequent reference to a vast Satanic conspiracy controlling many of the world's organisations and institutions. Religions other than fundamentalist Protestantism are generally presented as instruments of Satan (especially the Roman Catholic Church); Chick claims that the King James Version of the Bible is the only recorded word of God, and all other editions are corrupt [15]. Christian ecumenism is rejected as a ploy to corrupt true Christianity by encouraging acceptance of corrupted beliefs.

Most Chick tracts end with a suggested prayer for the reader to pray to accept Christ. In most of these tracts it is a standard evangelical Christian prayer for salvation. However, in the tracts dealing with Catholicism or Islam, the prayer begins "Dear God, thank You for showing me what You think of Catholicism (or Islam). I also reject it!"

[edit] Catholicism

A recurring theme in Chick's tracts is the role of the Roman Catholic Church, which he presents as one of the most powerful and insidious branches of this conspiracy. According to Chick, the Catholic Church is the "Great Whore" referred to in the Book of Revelation, and will bring about a Satanic New World Order [16][17] before it is destroyed by Jesus Christ.

Drawing on the controversial claims of Alberto Rivera, Chick claims that the Catholic Church helped to mold Islam as a tool to lure people away from Christianity [18], that it infiltrates and attempts to destroy or corrupt all other religions and churches [19], and that it uses various means including seduction, framing, and murder to silence its critics [20]. He accuses Catholicism of supporting such (contradictory) ideologies as Nazism and Communism, and using the Holocaust to persecute opponents of the Catholic Church. [21][22].

[edit] Occultism

Various forms of occultism are also presented as part of a Satanic conspiracy. Most forms of fantasy and presentations of magic — including Harry Potter [23], Dungeons & Dragons [24], and Halloween celebrations [25] — are portrayed as an attempt to draw children into Witchcraft, represented as a tool of Satan.

[edit] Criticisms of Chick Publications

Some people consider the statements and imperative directives made in Chick's publications – and especially the cartoon tracts – to be offensive and even absurd. Most of these claims are found in other Christian publications, but the tracts' blunt - many would say threatening and inflammatory - language and wide distribution make them particularly prominent as targets for criticism.

His critics also accuse Chick of misrepresentation — for instance, Chick's tract Big Daddy? accuses evolutionary scientists of circular reasoning in dating geological strata by the fossils they contain, with nothing in the tract to inform its readers that the usual technique is in fact radiometric dating. (This technique is mentioned elsewhere on Chick's site[26], but not in that tract.) The tracts display those who do not share the same fundamentalist Christian view as Chick as being immoral. Gays, Catholics, Masons, Pagans, Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts, Evolutionists, rock musicians -- all are portrayed morally flawed.

Chick has changed the claims made in Big Daddy? in response to more recent scientific findings supporting evolution. He has also changed the content of other tracts such as The Last Generation and his book The Next Step to reflect his increasing anti-Catholic beliefs, and the content of That Crazy Guy! was changed after the rise of the AIDS crisis (the tract was originally about herpes). Also, the ending to The Poor Little Witch (in which a little girl is murdered by Satanists after forsaking Occultism and converting to Fundamentalist Christianity) was changed because the urban myth, which states that "every year in the U.S. at least 40,000 people... are murdered in witchcraft ceremonies" (about three times the entire reported homicide rate for all of North America), turned out to be false and was removed from the tract[27] (the girl is no longer murdered, which also gives it a more optimistic ending).

Chick's claims about Catholic, Masonic, Satanic, etc., conspiracies are based in large part on the testimony of people who claim to have been members of these groups before converting to Evangelical Christianity, most prominently Rivera and Schnoebelen. Many of Chick's critics consider these sources to be frauds or fantasists.^{[citation needed]} Nevertheless, many Chick supporters believe their claims to be legitimate.^{[citation needed]} Further discussion of these controversies may be found in the articles on Alberto Rivera, William Schnoebelen, and John Todd.

One rather unusual claim that used to pop up frequently in Chick's publications was that the Soviet Union would invade Israel under orders of the Pope, with East Germany aiding it. Tracts that used to contain this claim (like "Escape") had it removed in later revisions. It can still be seen on Page 33 of "The Godfathers."

Many Christians, including many mainstream Protestants and evangelicals, consider many of Chick Publications' views to be misrepresentations or distortions of general Christian or evangelical views, and as such find them offensive and embarrassing.^{[citation needed]} Among other issues, many Protestants reject Chick's King James Only stance and hence do not support those of Chick's assertions that rely on the King James Version being the only 'true Bible'.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Response to criticisms of Chick Publications

Many fundamentalist Protestants, both past [28] and present, agree with at least some of Chick Publications's more controversial claims [29]. Some reject Chick's Roman Catholic conspiracy theories but accept other claims promoted in his tracts (e.g. 'turn or burn'), and so offer qualified agreement with Chick's beliefs. Some anti-cult organizations view Chick's website and publications as a valuable source of material on groups they see as cults[30].

Jack Chick claims that cartoons are a more effective medium for witnessing than conventional text based tracts. Some of the characteristics often seen as failings of his tracts - for instance, their simplistic messages - can also be viewed as strengths, making them more appealing to readers who are unsympathetic to more conventional forms of evangelism. Some tracts go further and even do not include words or only words aimed at children. Recently people in cartoons have been coloured in to appeal more to "blacks" [31]. There seems to be an interest in reading Chick Publication's cartoon tracts among those who would never hold his views, making them an effective medium for transmitting the Gospel. Chick Publications are used by apologetics ministries [32] and for witnessing.

Chick's more controversial claims are usually accompanied by supporting references to the Bible, other books (often also published by Chick), and historical facts; debate commonly focuses on the reliability of these sources and of Chick's representation of them.

Some Christians have suggested that several of his theories have been substantiated by United Nations world policies and current political and social climates in this new millennium. This is motivated by their religious right views and adherence to dispensationalism, leading them to view the UN as part of a conspiracy leading to one-world government under an anti-Christ, based on a literal interpretation of Revelation 13.

Some Christians see Jack Chick as persecuted, and claim (drawing on Biblical passages) that persecution is a sign of legitimacy. Chick claims that many threats have been made on his life because of the revealing nature of his writings.

Chick (verb) has been used on the popular website Fark.com to describe a declaration or statement so outrageous that the speaker unintentionally gives his audience the false impression that he is engaged in a comedic parody of an extreme or reactionary belief. For example: "When he told me Satan appeared to Adam and Eve as a dinosaur I was sure he was pulling my leg. But he really believed it, so I guess he was actually chicking".

[edit] Notable tracts

Main article: Chick Publications tracts

A number of Chick Publications are well-known. Dark Dungeons, which claims that Dungeons & Dragons is a lure for Satanism, is famous for inspiring many parodies. This Was Your Life is about a man who is judged by God and is sent to Hell. That Crazy Guy! responds to safe sex teachings. The tracts Somebody Loves Me and Trust Me are mainly visual, with few words. The King of Kings tells major Bible stories in comic form. Titanic features artwork by former EC artist Graham Ingels. The Death Cookie portrays the Roman Catholic Mass as a trick by Satan to lure religious people.

Chick tracts also often repeat certain stylistic characteristics. Some include:

• HAWHAWHAW - Evil characters frequently laugh in this capitalized manner, which has become a catch phrase among Chick's fans
• Faceless God - God is invariably portrayed as an enormous, glowing, white robed figure, sitting on a throne, with no hair or facial features shown
• The sinner being cast into Hell following judgement by God. The person is often depicted screaming "Yaaahhh!!!"
• The crucifixion of Christ portrayed in a particularly gruesome manner, often described in graphic terms.
• A character in one Chick tract being led to accept Christ by reading another Chick tract
• Small drawings of cats, dogs, birds, and other animals fighting. These are scattered throughout some of his tracts and are seemingly unrelated to the subject matter.

[edit] See also

• King-James-Only Movement

[edit] External links

• The official website of Chick Publications

[edit] Positive

• Jack Chick a testimony from someone who claims to be saved by Jack Chick's cartoon tracts
• Jack T. Chick Museum of Fine Art

[edit] Negative

• Catholic Answers - A response to the claims of Chick Publications against Roman Catholics
• Muslim response to Jack Chick
• Anti-Masonic Examples: Chick Publications - A rebuttal to Chick Publications' claims about Masonry
• Meeting Jack Chick an interview with Jack Chick

[edit] Parody

• Various Chick Tract Parodies
• Galactus Is Coming Chick Tract Parody
• Meeting Jack Chick an interview with Jack Chick