Jack Chick
From SkepticWiki
Jack T. Chick is a publisher who runs Chick Publications [1], a publishing company which produces various media expressing fundamentalist Christian views. The website contains apologetic articles for Chick’s radical brand of Christianity.
Chick is most well-known for his comic-book-style tracts [2], intended to be distributed by evangelistic Christians. The tracts are written by Jack Chick himself, and illustrated by him and Fred Carter. Fred Carter was formerly known only as “the good artist” to Chick fans.
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[edit] Philosophy
Assuming that the tracts represent the personal opinions of their author, (and there is no reason to suspect otherwise), we can form a consistent model of his opinions and world-view from the tracts themselves. These conclusions are also supported by the other media from the articles and other media available from the Chick Publications website.
[edit] Religious Doctrine
The comic-book tracts appear to represent a worldview of the Independent Baptist church. In terms of religious doctrine, the tracts represent the following beliefs:
- Pretribulation rapture (Christians will be spared from prophesied wars and famine)
- Futurism (Biblical prophecy describes global events in the future)
- Postmillenialism[3] (Christ will return following an era of peace on Earth)
- The Bible alone as God’s word; (and only the King James Version[4])
- Faith alone as the requirement for salvation[5].
Chick seems to depart from the Protestant doctrine of Sola Gratia by suggesting that sinners can choose salvation. Emphasizing this is a convenient “check box” at the end of many tracts, in which the reader may indicate their answer to “Did you accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour?”
[edit] Other Opinions
In harmony with the typical beliefs of Christian fundamentalism, Chick’s Tracts denounce the Theory of Evolution [6] and homosexuality [7].
More radically, some denounce the celebration of Halloween[8] occult practices[9], the participation in secret societies[10] and role-playing games[11].
[edit] Catholicism
Many tracts contain particular criticism of Catholic dogma and the Catholic priesthood[12]. Going on into paranoid conspiracy theories, many Chick tracts express some kind of belief in a satanic conspiracy [13][14] related to the Catholic Church, and possibly Freemasonry. In a set of tracts presenting the teachings of one Alberto Rivera[15], he makes the bizarre claims that
- The Catholic church commits murder to silence the truth
- The Catholic church infiltrates other churches
- The Catholic church created Islam and Mormonism
[edit] Skeptical Humor
The tracts are often regarded as fine examples of unintentional self-satire. The characters seem almost caricatures, and the situations are often highly dramatized, over-simplified, or unrealistic, which tends to paint the authors as out of touch with societal realities. Particularly unlikely is the typical salvation of the hero, a process which seems to take a minute or so, and which is typically catalyzed by a few biblical platitudes.
In skeptical circles, the Chick tracts may represent a humorous glimpse into the mind of a zealot. It should be stressed that most Christians do not identify with Chick’s philosophy or interpretation of Christianity. Even so, some skeptics may regard Chick’s brand of fundamentalism as the logical extreme of the suppositions of Christianity.
An additional point of humor is found in that the silliness of the tracts ought to make them poor vehicles for their intended persuasive purpose. It is then fascinating to consider the possibility of a person whose heart is changed by a Chick Tract. Yet, undoubtedly, such people exist.[16]
[edit] Tract Formulas
[edit] The Morality Play
The majority of Chick cartoons follow the formula of a traditional “morality play”, in which good and evil forces compete for the soul of the hero.
In typical fashion, the hero hits some amazing levels of depravity before ultimately being redeemed. A good examples of the morality play is “Bad Bob”[17], in which the hero first descends into drug-dealing, incarceration and blasphemy. Often the hero is accompanied by a secondary foil, who is lost forever to wickedness, motivating the hero to repent. “Bad Bob” uses the hero’s evil cousin as such an example.
Two other archetypes are present int the “morality play” formula, representing the forces of good and evil. These characters are never as pathetic or fleshed out as the hero, but rarely, an “evil” character will change sides, following the hero. Evil characters shout, and sneer, and are are depicted with narrow eyes and wild hair. Good characters have a humble demeanor, and are drawn simply and plainly, often with professional-looking clothing and hairstyle. Good characters will express pity for both the hero and the incorrigibly evil characters. In keeping with the physical indications of character used by the “good” and “evil” archetypes, the hero’s physical appearance will often change suddenly at the moment of salvation.
[edit] The Historical Parable
Another common formula is used throughout the “Bible Series”[18] series of tracts, in which a bible story is presented with some parabolic relevance to a modern situation. In this formula, the “current” situation is presented first, and given tension, then another character reads or tells the related bible story. Finally, the current situation is resolved. Examples of this are “Caught” [19], and “The Loser”[20]. A few of the “Bible Series” are simply relations of the biblical story, without any corresponding “current” story.
[edit] The Last Panel
Without exception, Chick Tracts end with a panel directing the reader to accept salvation. The panel contains four “steps” to salvation, a prayer related to the preceding narrative, and four additional “steps” to practicing the faith. There is occasionally a small advertisement for additional Chick Publications materials. Some include a “check box” where, presumably, the reader may indicate whether or not they were saved; the necessity of such a memorandum being unclear.
[edit] Recurring Characters
- God: an anthromorophic humanoid whose size varies between 10 and 1000 times the size of an average human. He is featured sitting in a chair at all times, and most distinctively has no face to speak of (earning him the unfortunately nickname, "Dr. No-face").
- L'il Susy [21]: a pig-tailed, starry-eyed bible thumper. Has the ability to convert young lost heathens to Christians in a matter of seconds.
- Ms. Henn [22]: a frail, sickly looking school teacher whose claim to fame is destroying young Christians' faith in God through Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
Along with several recurring characters, there are also several recurring character types. Frequently, these include portraying protagonists and Christians as beautiful, thin, Ken-dollish, Pat Boone sweater-wearing, astute, Aryan men and women. Antagonists, usually atheists and evolutionists, are portrayed as fat, ugly, Semitic, and very quick to burst into hysterical outrage at the slightest murmur of evangelism.
