When I was twelve my father accepted a position as principal of a Christian school. Full of firm purpose and zeal for his new vocation, and perhaps an awareness of the politics of the school, he wanted to send his son to a Christian school, too. Alas, I was going into eighth grade, and his school only went through sixth. So my father, who was a rather traditional Calvinist, enrolled me at Riverdale Baptist School, which turned out to be run by a rather different sort of Christian altogether. It was there I was first introduced to Chick Publications tracts.
At Riverdale, we had chapel once a week, and bible classes every day. At chapel we heard horrible tales of people who had fallen away from the true faith, sermons on the likelihood of the rapture occuring before Sadat and Begin signed their historic treaty-- the treaty was signed, the rapture didn't happen--, and, on one occasion, why Jimmy Carter might very well be the Anti-christ. The importance of witnessing this gospel to others was stressed. To aid us, we were given little comic book tracts, preaching the end times and the dire threat of hell. These were designed by a man named Jack Chick.
I handed one of these out under pressure from some kids on my bus. Scared to talk to any stranger about anything, I ended up waiting until the bus roared off, out of sight of me and my victim. The kids on the bus never believed me. Hopefully the lady didn't take the little tract any too seriously.
Time passed and my Dad pulled me from the school, enrolling me in a public high school that was just a few blocks from my home. I had mostly forgotten about Jack Chick and his little pamphlets, until I found him on the internet.
Chick's pamphlets are little comic books, with titles like Holy Joe, This Was Your Life, and Big Daddy. They start off innocently, with a little humor sometimes. Soon, however, it is revealed that all the ordinary things in this world are actually inspired by Satan. Rock music, Evolution, the Catholic Church, you name it. Bible quotes come fast and furious, proving whatever it is Jack Chick wants to prove. Someone usually dies and goes to hell because he didn't repent. Someone usually repents, and dies, to show contrast. Death is usually violent and vividly drawn.
Part of the problem with Chick pamphlets is that they are hateful, bringing out the worst aspects of Fundamentalism. The only displays of love in most of them are people preaching the gospel-- real Christians, apparently, don't have time to help little old ladies cross the street.
Another part of the problem is that they warp the Bible. Bible passages are quoted to prove all sorts of things, often by equating a prophecy from Revelation or Ezekiel with some current person, place, or event. Chick's interpretations of the Bible are based on the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909.
The reason Chick is included here, however, is that his tracts are full of conspiracy theories. Satan is behind everything, in Chick tracts. Especially the Catholic Church, which started Communism, Naziism, etc. Your school teacher is probably an agent of Satan. Maybe even your parents! Watch out, they're all around you.
One of the curious things about Jack Chick is that he claims to have gotten his inspiration for using comic books as a media from Chairman Mao. If anyone else made such a claim, he'd use it as proof that that person was in league with the commies, who are run by the Catholics, who are run by Satan.
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