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Chick Publications is a publishing company run by Jack Chick which produces and markets religious pamphlets, DVDs, videos, books, posters and (most famously) tracts in many languages. The publications promote and seek to win converts to a Christian fundamentalist view. The comics mostly address certain practices, such as Occult, Freemasonry [1] (http://www.chick.com/information/religions/masonry), Catholicism [2] (http://www.chick.com/information/religions/catholicism) , Islam [3] (http://www.chick.com/information/religions/islam), abortion, and homosexuality that most fundamentalist Christians believe are sinful—together with more mundane activities as role-playing games and popular music. Proponents of the comics assert all his comics carry the same message—that of salvation through Jesus.
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. Their superficially unsophisticated graphic style and dogmatic messages also makes them popular with some non-Christian-fundamentalists who find them humorous.
Chick Publications also publishes conventional non-graphic 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.
The incongruity of using a comic-book format to present a religious message, along with the deliberately shocking approach of Chick's tracts, has caused some who first encounter Chick via his website to take it for deliberate satire similar to that of the Landover Baptist Church. However, Chick's tracts long antedate the World Wide Web; while many readers consider the views expressed in his tracts extreme, they are held by many fundamentalist Christians and are mild compared to those expressed by, for example, Fred Phelps. Its role in selling books by other fundamentalist Christian authors is ample evidence that Chick Publications is serious about promoting its version of Christianity.
While Chick's tracts are handed out directly (for instance, he encourages Christians to give out anti-Halloween tracts along with Halloween candy[4] (http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/default.asp?FROM=Tracttips)), they are often distributed by leaving them in places where they will be found and read, such as bathrooms and waiting areas. 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.
The company's web site [5] (http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp) lists 156 tracts; all of them can be viewed online.
The site states that several hundred million tracts have been distributed world wide, with some of them translated into almost 100 languages.
Copies of Chick's tracts are displayed in the Smithsonian Institute as a part of American culture.
Criticisms of Chick Publications
Some people consider the claims made by Chick's publications - and especially the cartoon tracts - to be offensive and even absurd. All of these claims are found in other Christian publications, but the tracts' blunt language and wide distribution make them particularly prominent as targets for criticism..
The following is a list of claims made in the tracts.
- Other religions
- Islam was a movement founded by the Catholic Church [6] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0062/0062_01.asp)
- Muslims worship a pagan moon god that is in fact a demon [7] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp)
- Mormons are polytheists [8] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0061/0061_01.asp)
- Hindu deities are actually demons [9] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0070/0070_01.asp)
- Buddhism is a lie [10] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0016/0016_01.asp)
- Reincarnation cannot happen [11] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0075/0075_01.asp)
- Jehovah's Witnesses use a corrupted Bible [12] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0026/0026_01.asp)
- Non-Christian Jews will be sent to Hell[13] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0014/0014_01.asp)
- Freemasons worship Baphomet, a demon [14] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0093/0093_01.asp)
- Druids sacrificed humans [15] (http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/halloweenhistory.asp)
- Only believers [16] (http://www.chick.com/information/general/statementoffaith.asp) will be resurrected to eternal glory, and the resurrection of the unbelievers will be to eternal punishment
- The King James Version of the Bible is the only recorded word of God and all other editions are corrupt [17] (http://www.chick.com/information/bibleversions)
- Catholicism
- UN and World government
- The United Nations is a tool of Satan and of the Pope [26] (http://www.chick.com/bc/2004/pope&un.asp)
- True Believers will be persecuted in the future by the World Government[27] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0094/0094_01.asp)
- Sex
- God hates homosexuality [28] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1052/1052_01.asp),
- People are not born homosexual but rather are driven to homosexuality through parental and demonic influence [29] (http://www.monsterwax.com/chickreviews.html#wounded)
- Abortion facilitators will be sent to hell because they are murderers [30] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1009/1009_01.asp)
- Adultery is wrong [31] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5013/5013_01.asp)
- Modern culture
- Miscellaneous
- Noah's flood actually happened [35] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5002/5002_01.asp)
- Israel belongs to the Jews [36] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1019/1019_01.asp)
His critics also accuse Chick of misrepresentation - for instance, Chick's tract Big Daddy (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0055/0055_01.asp) 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.
Some critics have observed that in form, Chick's comics present Jesus as a superhero in an alternate universe in which sins are punished in Biblical style
Chick's claims about Catholic/Masonic/Satanic conspiracies et al 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, yet many Christian supporters acknowledge these claims as legitimate. Further discussion of these controversies may be found in the pages for Alberto Rivera, William Schnoebelen, and John Todd.
Defense of Chick Publications
Many Christians, both past [37] (http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/gesu.htm) and present, hold Chick Publications's views [38] (http://www.chick.com/information/general/statementoffaith.asp). Whilst current mainstream western thinking may believe Chick Publication's claims ridiculous, there is a sizeable minority that agree with them [39] (http://www.religioustolerance.org/pro_tren.htm). Those looking for anti-cult material may view Chick's website as a valuable resource in 'the fight' [40] (http://www.missionresources.com/cult.html). Chick Publications are used by apologetics ministries[41] (http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/) and for witnessing. Jack Chick claims that cartoons are a more effective medium for witnessing than conventional text based tracts.
Some people reject Chick Publications' Roman Catholic conspiracy theories but accept the 'turn or burn' assertion and so support Chick Publications regardless. There seems to be an interest in reading Chick Publications's cartoon tracts among those who would never hold his views, making them an effective medium for transmitting the Gospel. Indeed some tracts might be accepted by popular Christianity due to the lack of controversial claims[42] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0039/0039_01.asp). Some Christians see Jack Chick as persecuted and claim that persecution is a sign of legitimacy.
Some claim that Chick's controversial books and publications have never been debunked or proven false. Many of Chick's claims are accompanied by supporting references to other books, the Bible and historical facts, although critics claim these sources are misrepresented or are themselves unreliable. Chick claims that many threats have been made on his life because of the revealing nature of his writings; if true, this may support his position. 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.
Specific defences to the above include assertions that
- The Roman Catholic history may be interpreted to match that of Book of Revelation as Luther said "nothing else than the kingdom of Babylon and of very AntiChrist" [43] (http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/gesu.htm)
- Mohammed was uneducated and so required an educated person to write the Koran; that is, a Catholic that was close to his family
- The Catholic Church helped several Nazi war criminals like Ante Pavelic to escape to Spain, Syria and Argentina
- The Roman Catholic institution carried out crimes against humanity[44] (http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/anti6.htm)
- Roman Catholics do bow down to statues of Mary, although this is claimed to be veneration rather than worship
- The Roman Catholic institution itself believes in salvation for some and eternal damnation for others
- Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do believe that at least some of them will become God-like
- Some Hindu deities look like classic Christian images of Satan [45] (http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses.htm) and since Abrahamic religions believe there is only one God, some believe these to be demons
- Whilst claiming not to worship deities, Buddhists bow down to statues of Buddha
- Some Jews reject Jesus as their saviour, and that consequently, like anyone who does this, some Christians regard them as damned
- The version of the Bible used by Jehovah's Witnesses is different from the King James Version used by many Christians [46] (http://www.carm.org/jw/nwt_proskuneo.htm)
- Julius Caesar claimed that British druids sacrificed humans
- There is a list of associations of Dungeons and Dragons with murders and suicides [47] (http://www.chick.com/articles/dnd.asp#return4),
- Some people do feel that all rock music sounds the same; that is, a monotonic entrancing thud[48] (http://www.av1611.org/crock/crock1.html)
- Leviticus 18:22 (KJV) reads: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." [49] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3205727.stm)
- Many homosexuals have been turned heterosexual (see Exodus International (http://exodus.to/default2.asp))
- Chick Publication's website does acknowledge the use of radio-dating methods [50] (http://www.chick.com/bc/1987/evolution.asp)
- Alberto Rivera provided documents that attempt to demonstrate his legitimacy [51] (http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0112/indefense.asp)
- Jack Chick claims that archaeological evidence [52] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp) shows Allah to be a pagan deity
Notable tracts
One of Chick's most famous and most-satirized tracts is "Dark Dungeons" [53] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp), which depicts a group of teenagers playing Dungeons & Dragons. When one player's character dies, the other player tells her: "Marcie, get out of here! YOU'RE DEAD! You don't exist anymore." The game master then tells the surviving player that she will teach her how to cast real spells; meanwhile, Marcie commits suicide. The game master tells Debbie that the game and her character are more important than real life, and then an evangelical confronts Debbie and tells her that Jesus is more important than everything else. She eagerly converts and burns her books.
Another famous tract is "This Was Your Life" [54] (http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0001/0001_01.asp), a tract about a man who dies and is judged by God. The man had lived a good life, but claimed that he didn't need Christ. On Judgment Day, the man watches his life being revealed before Jesus Christ. The man is shown scenes of himself leering at women, telling dirty jokes, not listening to the pastor's message and committing other sins. God then sends the man to Hell.
The King of Kings tells major Bible stories in comic form while The Big Betrayal is the biography of another ex-Catholic priest named Charles Chiniquy who claimed that the Vatican was behind the American Civil War and Lincoln's assassination. The Big Betrayal is the comic version of Charles Chiniquy's autobiography 50 Years In The Church of Rome.
Jonah is currently the only Chick Comic out of print.
External links
Official
Critical
Pro-Chick
Parody sites
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