Does your average evangelical read Chick Tracts or believe what they say?

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I was an avid reader of Chick comics growing up, but I never believed them. They are rather unbelievable unless one is already prone to wearing a hat made from aluminum foil. Still, I thought them enjoyable.
 
Years ago, I came out of Midnight Mass at Christmastime and discovered that someone had left a copy of the “Death Cookie” tract (which says some utterly insane stuff about the Eucharist) stuck in the windshield wipers of most of the cars in the parking lot. :rolleyes:
 
Jack_726 said:
I met my first rabid Chicksians when I was a guest speaker at a convention of that great con job, “Campus Crusade for Christ”, at their home base in Arrowhead Springs, CA.

Jack Thomas Chick is an exceptionally intelligent, talented, and shrewd businessman who has become a multi-millionaire telling Catholic haters what they want to hear, just as Rush Limbaugh has become rich telling right-wng nuts what they want to hear about left-wing nuts.

Anti-Catholicism is big business because the Catholic Church is a big target. Visit any LDS “Deseret Book Store” and see multi-volumes of anti-Catholic trash for sale.

Another interesting group I recall from my CCforC days, using religion as a guise to make big bucks, is “Jews for Jesus”. Protestants love to give money to “converted Jews” in preference to their Christian-born brethren. “Converted Catholics” also draw an enthusiastic crowd. A few years ago in Oklahoma City an “ex priest” was touted and publicized to make a speech “exposing the Vatican”. His promoters collected thousands of dollars up front and packed a large auditorium. Some of those folks might still be there waiting for him to show up.
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Okay, Jack, I’ll try to be more clear…but I’m also going to ask for some clarification from you.

You’ve accused two evangelical organizations (the first one very large, and the second fairly small) of being con artists just out for money----no small accusation. If you know both these groups well enough to make such claims, then you also know they are long time voluntary members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. And you probably know how ECFA works. You should make a complaint to them if you’re sure both of these groups are con artists.

Have you done that?

If not, then what is your purpose in making these statements here on a Catholic website? What do you hope to accomplish by injecting accusatory statements about two organizations that are not the subject matter of this thread? I’m asking you, not in a way meant to be challenging, but because I’d really like to know your thinking on why you felt the need to say this. What good do you hope to bring about by your words?

For the record, I don’t support—financially or otherwise—Cru or JfJ. I’m neither for nor against them. But, calling them con artists is a big, big, deal, and since you’ve done so on a public forum, I’m requesting that you explain why you’ve written this here—on a thread about another subject—rather than going to the ECFA.
 
AbideWithMe said:
Okay, Jack, I’ll try to be more clear…but I’m also going to ask for some clarification from you.

You’ve accused two evangelical organizations (the first one very large, and the second fairly small) of being con artists just out for money----no small accusation. If you know both these groups well enough to make such claims, then you also know they are long time voluntary members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. And you probably know how ECFA works. You should make a complaint to them if you’re sure both of these groups are con artists.

Have you done that?

If not, then what is your purpose in making these statements here on a Catholic website? What do you hope to accomplish by injecting accusatory statements about two organizations that are not the subject matter of this thread? I’m asking you, not in a way meant to be challenging, but because I’d really like to know your thinking on why you felt the need to say this. What good do you hope to bring about by your words?

For the record, I don’t support—financially or otherwise—Cru or JfJ. I’m neither for nor against them. But, calling them con artists is a big, big, deal, and since you’ve done so on a public forum, I’m requesting that you explain why you’ve written this here—on a thread about another subject—rather than going to the ECFA.
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"Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rose from the plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire. ‘Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirity or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall to begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood off the face of the earth is a service God will bless.’ "

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:15-6
 
Until I came across this thread I had never heard of Jack Chick or Chick tracts.

Is it only me or does anyone else find them hilarious?

But it does make we wonder. Can his idea be adapted for other puposes. Can we have “Obama tracts” or “Romney tracts” or “climate tracts” or “anti-budget deficit tracts” or, for that matter, “quantum field theory tracts”?
 
JakeG said:
Until I came across this thread I had never heard of Jack Chick or Chick tracts.

Is it only me or does anyone else find them hilarious?

But it does make we wonder. Can his idea be adapted for other puposes. Can we have “Obama tracts” or “Romney tracts” or “climate tracts” or “anti-budget deficit tracts” or, for that matter, “quantum field theory tracts”?
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Such a maven.
 
JakeG said:
Until I came across this thread I had never heard of Jack Chick or Chick tracts.

Is it only me or does anyone else find them hilarious?

But it does make we wonder. Can his idea be adapted for other puposes. Can we have “Obama tracts” or “Romney tracts” or “climate tracts” or “anti-budget deficit tracts” or, for that matter, “quantum field theory tracts”?
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I hope you aren’t laughing sarcastically at Mr. Chick and his “comic book tracts.”

Before the expose’ demonstrated to Protestants that Mr. Chick’s anti-Catholic “facts” are untruths, the JTC tracts were incredibly popular, and they are still more popular than many other tracts. He wouldn’t be in business if the tracts didn’t sell.

Like it or not, they’re fun to read and many people who would never read through any other kind of tract will actually open a JTC tract and read it. I have a complete collection of his tracts, and as I said in an earlier post, I think that several of them are very inspiring, especially “Somebody Loves Me.”

IMO–and I am very serious about this–Catholic tracts designed like JTC tracts would be a huge hit. I think that they would make their author/artist a little richer (money-wise), and I think that they could be very helpful to help catechize Catholics.

I can see the title of the first tract now: “Hello, It’s Really Me!” This tract (in comic book form with very detailed, “lurid”-style illustrations like the Chick tracts) would be all about Jesus Truly Present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist, and would summarize all of the Biblical and historical apologetics for this great truth of the Church, which many Catholics don’t understand or don’t believe.

I wish I could draw, because I would do this, because as his slogan says, “Chick tracts get read.” I have yet to see any book by any Catholic apologist become a best-seller (sorry, Scott Hahn and Tim Staples). But I’m guessing that little comic book tracts written in story-book style and illustrated in the same style as the JTC tracts would fly off the shelves, especially if they had the imprimatur.

I know there have been satirical versions of the JTC tracts, and I believe some Catholics have done this. Well, why not try REAL ones that aren’t meant to laugh at Mr. Chick, but instead, actually try to teach people?
 
JakeG said:
Until I came across this thread I had never heard of Jack Chick or Chick tracts.

Is it only me or does anyone else find them hilarious?

But it does make we wonder. Can his idea be adapted for other puposes. Can we have “Obama tracts” or “Romney tracts” or “climate tracts” or “anti-budget deficit tracts” or, for that matter, “quantum field theory tracts”?
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I would say it depends on what you mean by tracts like his. Comic strip format could be used for most anything. But Chick tracts are much more than comics. They use propaganda techniques that would have made Goebels proud. In fact, I would bet that the idea for the way the “bad guys” are displayed came from Nazi representation of the Jews. If you look back at some of the period posters and then some of the popes and priests of Chickdom, you will find many similarities (dark, sweaty, unshaven), as opposed to the imaculately drawn fundamentalist preacher.

So, if one is talking about the propaganda techniques employed, I can not think of any moral use for them. Truth does not need tricks and exaggeration.
 
Most of my friends in the protestant church, don’t like the tracts that chick put’s out. I’m not sure if it’s because Lutherans don’t follow this kind of thing.
I do know that they also have books, that speak of KJV only. They believe that the only true bible version is the KJV bible. All the others are corrupted by the Catholic church. It all comes down to the hated toward the Catholic church. The best thing we can do is pray for them. Wouldn’t be nice to see them come home to the Catholic church. I’m sure some of us that were not raised Catholic had heard and believed some of this before knowing the truth,
Matthew
 
There were some efforts at this in the 1970’s through the middle 1980’s, mostly by mainstream Evangelicals–the Four Spiritual Laws, f’rinstance. Even an effort by Catholics at depicting the lives of the Saints. (I saw it featured in the Catholic press, but never saw the actual comic, which featured St. Francis). The biggest error I think is that other efforts aimed almost exclusively at very young children. Chick’s genius is that his audience are older teens and even young adults. When these are the target, almost everyone will read the booklets. The military used illustrated handout brochures (comic style), from the late 1960’s thruough the late 1970’s for safety training. I worked for an employer who, after a lapse of several years, brought out the company training quarterly with the training done in comics. Everyone mocked the wooden dialogue–BUT THE MATERIALS GOT READ! The message got communicated.
 
Cat said:
IMO–and I am very serious about this–Catholic tracts designed like JTC tracts would be a huge hit. I think that they would make their author/artist a little richer (money-wise), and I think that they could be very helpful to help catechize Catholics…
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I’ve thought of doing exactly this, but my life circumstances don’t allow me the time or resources.

Of course, I think one would have to have a very obvious disclaimer right from the start that a particular comic tract is NOT in anyway associated w/ JTC–but you cant copyright a particular style of art or format :rolleyes:
 
Lion_of_Narnia said:
I’ve thought of doing exactly this, but my life circumstances don’t allow me the time or resources.

Of course, I think one would have to have a very obvious disclaimer right from the start that a particular comic tract is NOT in anyway associated w/ JTC–but you cant copyright a particular style of art or format :rolleyes:
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4 SPIRITUAL LAWS usually come printed in pamplets similar to those Chick uses. Artwork much different. No disclaimer required, imho, just because it should be obvious to anyone that the publisher would be different, artwork different, probably the look and feel of the paper, etcetera.
 
themattman said:
Most of my friends in the protestant church, don’t like the tracts that chick put’s out. I’m not sure if it’s because Lutherans don’t follow this kind of thing.
I do know that they also have books, that speak of KJV only.
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I would think Chick wouldn’t like Lutherans due to their beliefs on Communion. They too eat the “death cookie”
 
Oldtimer, you asked if the tracts were in the backs of all the pews. We’d arrived at the funeral early and were sitting at the back of the church, as we were co-workers of the widow and didn’t want to take up space closer to the front, leaving that for long-time friends and family. Yes, I was horribly crushed to see that the tracts had apparently been placed in the rack of every seat back. Other co-workers told me that it was common in our area to find such “reading material” in Baptist churches, as well as in those of a few other denominations. I have personally seen them in three other Baptist churches.

When the Ku Klux Klan rode astride horses waving torches, intending to burn the barn of your grandparents because your mother was marrying a “damned Catholic,” you tend to clutch when you read a Chick tract for the first time!
 
Cat said:
I hope you aren’t laughing sarcastically at Mr. Chick and his “comic book tracts.”

Before the expose’ demonstrated to Protestants that Mr. Chick’s anti-Catholic “facts” are untruths, the JTC tracts were incredibly popular, and they are still more popular than many other tracts. He wouldn’t be in business if the tracts didn’t sell.

Like it or not, they’re fun to read and many people who would never read through any other kind of tract will actually open a JTC tract and read it. I have a complete collection of his tracts, and as I said in an earlier post, I think that several of them are very inspiring, especially “Somebody Loves Me.”

IMO–and I am very serious about this–Catholic tracts designed like JTC tracts would be a huge hit. I think that they would make their author/artist a little richer (money-wise), and I think that they could be very helpful to help catechize Catholics.

I can see the title of the first tract now: “Hello, It’s Really Me!” This tract (in comic book form with very detailed, “lurid”-style illustrations like the Chick tracts) would be all about Jesus Truly Present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist, and would summarize all of the Biblical and historical apologetics for this great truth of the Church, which many Catholics don’t understand or don’t believe.

I wish I could draw, because I would do this, because as his slogan says, “Chick tracts get read.” I have yet to see any book by any Catholic apologist become a best-seller (sorry, Scott Hahn and Tim Staples). But I’m guessing that little comic book tracts written in story-book style and illustrated in the same style as the JTC tracts would fly off the shelves, especially if they had the imprimatur.

I know there have been satirical versions of the JTC tracts, and I believe some Catholics have done this. Well, why not try REAL ones that aren’t meant to laugh at Mr. Chick, but instead, actually try to teach people?
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Cat - There actually WAS a Catholic comic book published for a number of years called “Treasure Chest”. We received them every month while I was in Catholic grade School in the 1960’s. Unfortunately they stopped publishing in 1972…😦 But I have seen old copies for sale on e-bay.
I know that this is not exactly what you have in mind…But just thought you’d like to know that the idea of Catholic “comics” has been used in the past and I’ve no doubt that it could be used again…

Peace
James
 
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