Again, I’m only putting this in the Pit because of tradition.
Chick Publications presents one of their most insane tracts yet with It’s Not Your Fault- and when you’re talking about Chick Publications, something being the “most insane” is saying something. This tract appears to depict Jesus as a sort of benevolent mafioso- if someone’s causing you trouble, just believe in Him and he’ll do the rest. If you pray for your enemies, He knows what you’re really saying. Mean old judge won’t shut down a foster home run by pedophiles? Pray for that mean old judge and Jesus will shut him down- permanently! Also, Jesus would have apparently stopped the Rwandan genocide in the same way.
Is it me, or is this just totally incoherent? It’s like suicide -> group home closing -> pedophilia -> Rwandan genocide? I can’t even finish it, the whole thing makes no fucking sense.
OTOH, I’ve been doing a lot of research into UN peacekeeping interventions for my international human rights class, and I’d say that’s actually a pretty accurate representation of what the UN did in Rwanda.
Just when you thought Chick tracts couldn’t get any screwier…that’s a whole new brand of crazy they’ve brought us. They must have found a new Crazy Lode.
I think he thought he was writing an episode of Law & Order or something.
When I got about halfway through something snapped in my brain, like I’m sure would happen if gravity reversed. I had to double back and make sure I was still reading the same strip and that I hadn’t just lost time, X-Files style.
BUT, it’s a great demonstration of a certain mindset, and a certain way of understanding the concept of ‘forgiveness’ - attain heaven yourself by forgiving those who’ve done you wrong, on the understanding that the ones you’re ‘forgiving’ will be tortured for eternity by the loving god you’ve taken into your heart.
Anyway, how high is the ceiling in that place? A seven year-old (maybe 4 feet tall) is hanging, with his feet at the shoulder-level of an adult man (at least five feet)…a ten-foot ceiling? Must be an old building.
Did Chick fire all the good artists or something? Some of the older Chick tracts used to be really well-drawn, with very detailed anatomy and shading and everything; clearly they had a talented artist working for them, or several, since there were a few different styles. Now all of the recent Chick tracts seem to be in the signature shitty Chick style (I think it’s Chick himself.) What gives?
Doesn’t Chick normally put a little dog in all his strips? That’s not there either.
The U.N. thrown in is a bit weird. I think most editors would have left them on the cutting room floor as being superfluous to the story. It reminds me a bit of the Left Behind book/tv series, where they’re the bad guys too. Anyone know where that’s coming from?
It’s a good thing Jesus was “with her through it all” after the marauders butchered the entire town, including cutting her husband to pieces before her very eyes, raping her and beating her to a pulp before leaving her for dead or who knows what terrible things might have happened.