Jack Chick

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Jack T. Chick
Born
Jack Thomas Chick

(1924-04-13) April 13, 1924 (age 100)
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles[1]
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Publisher, comic book creator, writer, evangelist
Known forChick tracts
SpouseLynn Chick (d. 1998)[2]
Websitehttp://chick.com

Jack Thomas Chick (born April 13, 1924) is an American publisher, writer, and comic book artist of evangelical fundamentalist Christian tracts and comic books.

Many of Chick's views are controversial, as they accuse Roman Catholics, Freemasons, Muslims, Jews, and many other groups of murder and conspiracies,[3] while Chick maintains his views are simply politically incorrect. His comics have been described by Robert Ito in the Los Angeles magazine as "equal parts hate literature and fire-and-brimstone sermonizing".[4]

Chick's views have been spread worldwide, mostly through the tracts and now online. His company, Chick Publications, says it has sold over 750 million tracts,[5] comics tracts and comic books, videos, books, and posters designed to promote Evangelical Protestantism from a Christian fundamentalist perspective or point of view. They have been translated into more than 100 languages.[6] As evidenced from his writings and publications, Chick is an Independent Baptist who follows a premillennial dispensationalist view of the end times. He is a believer in the King James Only movement, which posits that every English translation of the Bible more recent than 1611 promotes heresy or immorality.[7]

Biography

Chick was born in Boyle Heights, California and later moved with his family to Alhambra, where Chick was active in the high school drama club.[8] According to Chick, he was not religious in high school.[9] After graduation, he continued his drama education at the Pasadena Playhouse School of Theater on a two-year scholarship.[8][9]

In February 1943, Chick was drafted as a private into the U.S. Army.[10] He served for three years in the Pacific theater of World War II, serving in New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, and Japan.[9] Chick credits his time overseas for inspiring him to translate his tracts into many different languages and said he has "a special burden for missions and missionaries".[9]

After the war, he returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and met his wife while working on a production there. Lola Lynn Priddle (1926–1998), a Canadian immigrant, came from a very religious family, and Chick has said she was "instrumental in his salvation".[9][11] Priddle and her parents introduced Chick to the Charles E. Fuller radio show, the Old Fashioned Revival Hour, and Chick says he was converted while listening to an episode of this show.[9] Chick and Priddle married in 1948 and had one child, Carol, who died in 2001.[12] In February 1998, Priddle died, and Chick remarried.[clarification needed][8][9][13]

In a 2005 issue of his company's newsletter, Battle Cry, Chick reported that he had a life-threatening health emergency sometime between 2003 and 2005 and said, "My flu turned into pneumonia, my blood sugar dropped to 20 (I am diabetic)... I was going into a coma. My wife called 911 and while they were on the way, I had a heart attack. A day or so later I had to undergo a triple bypass."[14]

Very little is known about Chick; he has given only one known professional interview since 1975.[15] The lack of available public information about him has created some speculation that he was a pen name for unnamed authors.[8]

Career

From 1953 to 1955, Chick drew a single-panel cartoon (authored by P. S. Clayton) titled "Times Have Changed?" which thematically predates both the B.C. comic strip and The Flintstones animated cartoon.[16] These were syndicated by the Mirror Enterprises Co. in Los Angeles area newspapers.

After converting to Christianity, Chick wanted to evangelize others, but was too shy to talk to people directly about religion.[8] Chick heard from missionary Bob Hammond, who had broadcast in Asia on the Voice of America, that the Communist Party of China had gained significant influence among ordinary Chinese in the 1950s through the distribution of small comic books.[9] Chick also began working with a prison ministry and created a flip chart of illustrations to use with his presentation. He hit upon the idea of creating witnessing tracts, which could be given to people directly or indirectly.[8]

While working for the AstroScience Corporation (a maker of tape recorders and avionics for the U.S. government) in El Monte, California, he self-published his first tract, Why No Revival?, with a loan from his credit union in 1960. He published his second tract, A Demon's Nightmare, in 1962.[17] He decided to create more tracts and began "using his kitchen table as an office and art studio".[9] Christian bookstores were reluctant to accept the tracts, but they were popular among missionaries and churches.[9]

Chick Publications was officially established in 1970 in Rancho Cucamonga, California.[12] Initially, Chick wrote and illustrated all of the comics himself, but in 1972 he hired another artist to illustrate many of the tracts.[8] Fred Carter illustrated tracts anonymously until 1980, when he was identified in an issue of Chick's newsletter Battle Cry.[13] Carter also painted the oil paintings seen in The Light of the World, a film Chick produced that relates the Christian gospel.[18] The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History included several Chick tracts in an exhibit on American pop culture.[better source needed][9]

Chick Publications

Main article: Chick tract
This Was Your Life! is a Chick tract that was translated in over 100 languages and is described by Chick Publications as its most popular title[19]

Chick Publications has released over twenty-three full-color "Chick comics" since its founding. They are full-size comic books and most were first published between 1974 and 1985. The first eleven form the Crusader comics series, which follows the stories of two fundamentalist Christians and addresses topics such as the occult, Bible prophecy, and the theory of evolution.[20] Six comics present the testimony of anti-Catholic activist Alberto Rivera, who said that, as a Jesuit priest, he had become privy to many secrets about the Roman Catholic Church. Among Rivera's statements: He says the Catholic Church created Islam,[21] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[22] as well as the Jehovah's Witnesses.[23] He also says the Catholic Church was responsible for the Holocaust,[24][25][26] the founding of Communism, Nazism, and the Ku Klux Klan; starting the World Wars;[24] masterminding the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Great Depression and the assassinations of U.S. Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy.[24] There are also three independent comics, one telling stories from the King James Version of the Bible (Chick is pro-King James Onlyism), one relaying the statements of Charles Chiniquy regarding Catholicism, and one detailing Chick's opinions on Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[20]

Chick Publications also distributes "Chick tracts", small comic tracts with religious messages. Most can be viewed in their entirety on the company's web site. The most popular Chick tract, "This Was Your Life", has been translated into around 100 languages,[6] and many other tracts are available in widely spoken languages such as Arabic,[27] German,[28] Spanish,[29] and Tagalog.[30] Several of Chick's tracts have been translated into more obscure languages as Blue Hmong,[31] Huichol,[32] Ngiemboon,[33] Tshiluba,[34] and the constructed language of Esperanto.[35]

Chick's tracts cover subjects such as abortion, homosexuality, non-Protestant Christianity, the occult, rock music, left-wing politics, popular culture, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, antisemitism, and the theory of evolution, generally in a very negative and conspiratorial light.[36] Chick believes many of the world's problems are deliberately caused by the Roman Catholic Church.[24]

Chick also says that Satan and demons promote the occult through mystical and New Age beliefs,[37] rock music (including Christian rock),[38] Wicca,[39][40] and fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons[41][42] to deceive people and send them to Hell. Chick is opposed to abortion[43][44] and preaches against pre-marital sex.[44][45] He believes strongly that homosexuality is sinful,[46][47] and makes reference to the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah in tracts pertaining to homosexuality.[48] He also is a Zionist, and says that the Catholic Church is Israel's worst enemy.[49] He also opposes attempts to resolve the Israeli–Arab conflict until Israel gets significantly larger than its current size, and also blames American support of those attempts for natural disasters that have struck America.[50]

Wiccan author Kerr Cuhulain describes Chick and his theories as "anti-feminist" and "anti-pagan", notes that a Chick Publications comic book was the source of a Rapid City, South Dakota, police detective's presentation on the history of Satanism given in 1989, and describes him as "easily the least reputable source of reliable information on religious groups".[51]

Catholic Answers calls Chick "savagely anti-Catholic",[52] describes Chick's statements about the Catholic Church as "bizarre"[53] and "often grotesque in their arguments",[54] and calls for the tracts to be pulled from the market and corrected.[53] In the early 1980s, Chick's stance on Catholicism led some Christian bookstores to stop stocking his tracts, and he withdrew from the Christian Booksellers Association after the association considered expelling him.[55] Christianity Today described Jack Chick as an example of "the world of ordinary, nonlearned evangelicals", for whom "atavistic anti-Catholicism remains as colorful and unmistakable as ever".[56] Michael Ian Borer, a sociology professor of Furman University at the time, showed Chick's strong anti-Catholic themes in a 2007 American Sociological Association presentation[57] and in a peer-reviewed article the next year in Religion and American Culture.[53][58] Chick responds to these accusations by saying he is opposed to the Roman Catholic Church as a sociopolitical organization but not to its individual members. On his "Roman Catholicism FAQ", Chick says he began publishing his theories about the Roman Catholic Church because "he loves Catholics and wants them to be saved through faith in Jesus".[59]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Christian Comics International
  2. ^ http://www.chick.com/information/authors/chick.asp
  3. ^ Raeburn, Daniel (1998). "The Holy Book of Chick" (PDF). The Imp.
  4. ^ Ito, Robert (May 2003). "Fear Factor: Jack Chick is the world's most published author – and one of the strangest". Los Angeles: 56, 58. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Chick publications website header.
  6. ^ a b "Tract Languages". Non English Tract Look Up. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  7. ^ http://www.chick.com/bc/2012/kjv_onlyism.asp
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Ito, Robert (July 6, 2003). "To Hell With You". The Independent on Sunday. [dead link]
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Biography of Jack Chick". Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  10. ^ "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records)". World War II Army Enlistment Records. National Archives and Records Administration. September 30, 2002. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  11. ^ Ancestry.com, Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905–1957 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.
  12. ^ a b Baber, La Rue V. (2003). "Spreading the "Light"". The Daily Bulletin. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Akin, Jimmy (March 2004). "Meet Jack Chick". This Rock. Catholic Answers. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Chick, Jack (September–October 2005). "A Message from Jack Chick". Battle Cry. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  15. ^ Davis, Scoobie (October 31, 2006). "The Jack T. Chick Documentary". Scoobie Davis Online. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  16. ^ McGurk, Caitlin. "Found in the Collection: Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?”, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, Ohio State University
  17. ^ Lund, Martin. "“Who Cares?” Jack T. Chick on 9/11", The Gotham Center for New York City History, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, December 1, 2015
  18. ^ "The Light of the World: A Film by Jack T Chick". Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  19. ^ "English Tract Assortment Pack". Chick Tracts. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Crusader Comics". Comics List. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  21. ^ Chick, Jack (1985). The Storyteller. Chick Publications. p. 8.
  22. ^ Chick, Jack (1984). The Visitors. Chick Publications. p. 17.
  23. ^ Chick, Jack (1985). The Crisis. Chick Publications. pp. 11–12.
  24. ^ a b c d Chick, Jack (1982). The Godfathers. Chick Publications.
  25. ^ Chick, Jack (2003). "Man in Black". Chick Publications, 2003. Retrieved on 2011-11-04 from http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5023/5023_01.asp.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ Chick, Jack (1984). Holocaust. Chick Publications. pp. 5–10.
  27. ^ "Stock Arabic Titles". Non English Tract Look Up. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  28. ^ "Stock German Titles". Non English Tract Look Up. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  29. ^ "Stock Spanish Titles". Non English Tract Look Up. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  30. ^ "Stock Tagalog Titles". Non English Tract Look Up. Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  31. ^ "Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts". Chick.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  32. ^ "Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts". Chick.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  33. ^ "Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts". Chick.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  34. ^ "Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts". Chick.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  35. ^ "Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts". Chick.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  36. ^ "English Tract List". Chick Publications. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  37. ^ Chick, Jack (2000). Bewitched. Chick Publications. pp. 5–7.
  38. ^ Chick, Jack (1989). Angels?. Chick Publications. pp. 5–7.
  39. ^ Chick, Jack (2002). The Nervous Witch. Chick Publications. pp. 9–13.
  40. ^ Chick, Jack (1987). The Poor Little Witch. Chick Publications.
  41. ^ Chick, Jack (1984). Dark Dungeons. Chick Publications.
  42. ^ Chick, Jack (2004). The Devil's Night. Chick Publications. pp. 5–13.
  43. ^ Chick, Jack (2000). Who Murdered Clarice?. Chick Publications.
  44. ^ a b Chick, Jack (1995). Baby Talk. Chick Publications.
  45. ^ Chick, Jack (1992). That Crazy Guy!. Chick Publications.
  46. ^ Chick, Jack (1985). The Gay Blade. Chick Publications.
  47. ^ Chick, Jack (2004). Birds and the Bees. Chick Publications.
  48. ^ Chick, Jack (1991). Doom Town. Chick Publications.
  49. ^ Chick, Jack (1998). Love the Jewish People. Chick Publications.
  50. ^ Chick, Jack (2008). Somebody Angry?. Chick Publications.
  51. ^ Cuhulain, Kerr (August 26, 2002). "Jack Chick: Tracts for Every Occasion". Pagan Protection Center. p. 4.
  52. ^ Newkirk, Terrye. "Who's @fr@id of the Big Bad Web?: A Guide for Catholic Newbies". Catholic Answers. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  53. ^ a b c "The Nightmare World of Jack T. Chick". Catholic Answers. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  54. ^ Keating, Karl. "Burden of History". Up Front. Catholic Answers. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  55. ^ "Booksellers' Group May Expel Chick". Christianity Today. October 23, 1981. p. 62.
  56. ^ Mark, Noll; Carolyn Nystrom (July 1, 2005). "Is the Reformation Over? (Registration and payment required for online access)". Christianity Today.
  57. ^ Borer, Michael (2007). "Drawing Religious Battle Lines: The "Culture Wars Work" of Jack Chick’s Anti-Catholic Cartoons" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York City City, August 11, 2007
  58. ^ Borer, Michael Ian; Murphree, Adam (Winter 2008). "Framing Catholicism: Jack Chick's Anti-Catholic Cartoons and the Flexible Boundaries of the Culture Wars". Religion and American Culture. 18 (1): 95–112. doi:10.1525/rac.2008.18.1.95.
  59. ^ Chick, Jack. "Roman Catholicism FAQ". Chick Publications. Retrieved February 7, 2010.

Sources

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Jack Chick.
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