Yeah, he seems to not be able to keep his story straight. Like in “Love the Jewish People”, who’s message is basically, “You mess with Israel and God will smite your ass.” Then we have “Where’s Rabbi Weinberg?” (or I think that’s what it’s called.)"
Also, I’m surprised in his restraint in this one, e.g, no vampire jokes.
Naw that’s just the mental hoops you have to jump through to keep a literal interpretation of the Bible. The Bible makes no bones about Jews being the chosen people and you can’t fuck with them come judgment day but they’re also screwed for not taking JC into their heart.
It’s the classic love the sinner hate the sin type of thinking.
I’m worried about Satan – he’s starting to look a little heavy and out of shape. As an atheist (hail Satan!), I’d hate for anything to happen to him.
So near and yet so far away.
I laugh at Chick like everyone else, but the fact is, he comes close. He just has the wrong target. He tees off on the Catholic Church. If he teed off on religion in general, he’d hit the bullseye. Instead of saying the RCC is religious show business, he should be saying that religion is show business.
I found a Spanish-language version Chick tract on the Chicago el once. It totally made my day.
In his terms, he does. To Chick, Christianity – true Bible-believing personal-salvation-through-Christ Christianity – != religion. Religion is something else, something more ritualistic. He’s always having his characters say, “Jesus hates religion!”
Any Jewish plot or conspiracy would really turn out to be a Vatican conspiracy, just like everything else, if you drew back the curtain.
For a minute I was trying to figure out what the hell smashing tiny Jesus Flys with castanets had to do with Catholicism. With the “WHAM!” and all.
“I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all other possible gods, you’ll understand why I dismiss yours.” – Steven Roberts
If you ever become video game designer, I’d be totally buying your games.
“The Rocket of Christ compels you!” whooosh… BLAMMM!!!
What I love is how Chick tracts are full of these people who somehow have never been exposed to any religous ideas and are completely open to the first person who tells them their beliefs.
“Jesus? Who’s Jesus? I’ve somehow never heard of one of the most well-known figures in history before now.”
“Well, Jesus was the Son of God. And he’s also God in a confusing sort of way. He loves you but in a manly way. He created Hell where you’ll be tortured for all eternity. But if you believe in him, he’ll change his mind.”
“Wow, that story has holes in it you could drive a truck through. Nonetheless, I believe it completely and will devote the rest of my life to it.”
You can just imagine the Scientologists and the Moonies wishing they had been able to get to this guy first.
There’s a certain subset of the Christian community that just doesn’t believe that anyone can disagree with them, because what they believe is so “obviously” true. So if you don’t agree, either you have never been exposed to the “Truth”, or you know it, know it’s true but oppose it anyway out of evil.
And what gets me most about this subset is that their “proof” is that the Bible says so! Wow, talk about begging the question…
Did anyone else get confused at the “Introducing…Papa!” panel and wonder how the Hell Ernest Hemingway got involved in this? 
I’m always fascinated by where Jack Chick gets the imagery for his characters.
For instance, I figure he’s got to be an Indiana Jones fan. How else do you explain why his Pope character in the current strip so closely resembles Mola Ram from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?
And there’s the mystery of why the intrepid reporter in the rain outside the Vatican is practically a dead ringer for the original Uncle Fester from The Addams Family.
As a Catholic, I’m highly upset he didn’t mention good old Catholic guilt.
On a more serious note, the idea that merely pledging your belief and devotion to Jesus will get one into heaven makes me literally angry with rage:
From Luke 13, “And he went through the cities and towns teaching and making his journey to Jerusalem. And a certain man said to him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But he said to them: Strive to enter by the narrow gate: for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without; and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us. And he answering, shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are. Then you shall begin to say: We have eaten and drunk in thy presence: and thou hast taught in our streets. And he shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”
Then again, the Bible says a lot of things…
I figured the Pope character was meant to be a caricature of the actual Pope. Both of them certainly have aged eyes.
This is not the case of Chick, though. In one of the lasts Chick’s thread, someone linked to an early Chick’s tract, depicting an atheist. And Chick was right on the money. The atheist used perfectly sensible and consistent arguments, so much so that even though he of course ended up in hell, I suspect this tract might have been counter-productive. It wasn’t even remotely similar to his current tracts (except for the “I don’t believe, I die, God sends me to hell” part).
Which made me understand that he isn’t a fool (or at least that he wasn’t at this time). He knows what an atheist actually thinks, and in all likelihood also what a Catholic, Muslim, etc… believes in and why. He knows that his characters are ludicrous caricatures. He’s producing tracts with a laughably over-the-top content on purpose, for the deluded, not because he’s himself deluded.
Except, of course, if he became batshit crazy in the meantime. But I’ve no reason to assume so.
Chick is notoriously secretive about himself. He rarely, if ever, gives interviews. The only interview footage of him that I’m aware of is an ambush interview done by Fox on its shortlived The Reporters. It took Chick about 10 seconds to spot the cameras and then he disappeared. (A quick search of Google and YouTube has failed to turn up any clips, however.)
Merciful Og . . . Jack Chick is J.D. Salinger! :eek:
