Author and Reviewer of Erotica Analyzes Chick Tracts

Good afternoon everyone,

I am SolomonG, but you can call me “Solo.” I write erotica featuring size themes, giants and tiny people getting frisky. I also interview creators and review media with amazing transformations and mature scenarios here on my blog There She Grows. Typically, blog readers request reviews of erotic works such as adult comics from Muscle Fan, fantastical growth stories, Japanese giantess films, etc. However, awhile back someone sent links to several Chick tracts.

Chick tracts are clearly different than the media regularly featured here. They are more horrific than anything previously discussed! Of course, the sender’s intent was not to request my opinions and thoughts on the material. They did not want a Chick tract review. Instead, they wanted to turn me into an evangelical Christian. (A ha, they were too late! Solo accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior when he regularly attended a Southern Baptist church in his Alaskan hometown. Although, they may find that his beliefs have evolved since then.) Even though they did not ask for a review, they opened the door. So, given that they sent an unsolicited message, I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity, walk through that open door, and argue that Chick tracts are bad!

Please note that I strongly recommend discretion if you’re sensitive about religious and spiritual discussions. There’s a rule in etiquette that people should not discuss politics or religion in polite company. So, this may be considered impolite. People often come to their religious beliefs not through logic, but by traditions passed down by respected elders and cherished family members. Accordingly, it’s important to note that this post will include concepts and questions that readers may find challenging and difficult to process. There’s no shame if you want to skip this and come back at a later time for the normal content.

To make my own position clear, I have no problem with people choosing to believe in a particular faith. The intent is not to de-convert anyone or to advocate that they support only one specific religion. Furthermore, I would fight to protect their freedom of religion. However, I would also fight any effort by religious groups, including Christians, to impose their beliefs on others. That’s in keeping with the common axiom that the right to swing your arm ends where another person’s nose begins.

In early February 2023, I received an e-mail from an individual named Mike. I won’t reveal the sender’s identity more than mentioning their first name. They also sent an e-mail to Interweb Comics. So, their full name and e-mail address are already known to other people. Still, I don’t want to expose their e-mail address and potentially subject them to harassment. So, I will include the following snapshot with the address censored:

Mike’s message linked to the following short comics “A Love Story,” “Creator or Liar?”, “How To Get Rich (and keep it),” “Limited Time Offer,” “The Wall,” and “This Was Your Life!” (Only six comics? Aren’t I worth more than that? 😉 )

These comics are in black and white with dabs of color only on the covers. In hardcopy format, the physical dimensions for these tracts are slight, 5 inches (127mm) in width and 2.75 inches (69.85mm) in height. They consist of 24 pages and promote a strict evangelical version of Christianity.

To give some background, Chick tracts are named after their creator American cartoonist and publisher Jack T. Chick. Chick was born on April 13th, 1924, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in California and spent most of his life there. After high school, he pursued education at the Pasadena Playhouse on a two-year paid scholarship. However, this schooling was interrupted by a draft notice from the U.S. Army. He was conscripted during World War II and served in the Pacific theater, but never saw combat. After his return, he re-enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse and married another student, Lola Lynn Priddle, in March 1948. While on honeymoon and visiting Lola’s parents in Canada, Chick listened to Charles E. Fuller’s Old Fashioned Revival Hour radio program. One night, after the broadcast, Chick went “… into the kitchen and cried out to God to save him.” (Ref. #3 and #9)

After his conversion, Chick never wavered. He kept a consistently dogmatic and zealous approach to religion his entire life. As a zealot, he hated anyone that wasn’t like him, anyone who wasn’t a heterosexual teetotaling evangelical (Ref. #38). In particular, he disliked Catholics. He wouldn’t have publicly admitted to hating anyone. In fact, he told Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin “I love Catholics” (Ref. #13). Apparently, his alleged love included disseminating many wild conspiracies. One of the least egregious was a claim that the Vatican kept a list of every Protestant in the world (Ref. #14 and #15)! That eagerness to believe the worst about other people sounds more like anger than love. Based on the many stereotypes in his comics, Chick was not skeptical whenever outrageous claims were made against fellow human beings who were different than him.

Jack Chick drew a single-panel cartoon set in the prehistoric age titled “Times Have Changed?” from 1953 until 1955. He printed his first religious comic “Why No Revival?” in the early 1960s. He heard from missionary Bob Hammond that the Chinese Communist Party had successfully spread the ideals of communism using small pocket-sized comics. This inspired Chick to shrink his work from a 10-inches wide large format to a smaller format (Ref. #3 and #16).

While best known for the tracts, Chick also produced full-sized comics in “The Crusader” series, and a slideshow video called “The Light of the World” (Ref. #3). His company, Chick Publications, has produced nearly a billion tracts in a wide assortment of languages. Nowadays, the Chick Publications 2023 catalog sells art prints, Bibles, books, Crusader comics, DVDs, tracts, and various tract accessories such as racks and wallets. His most famous products, the Chick tracts, have earned a reputation as the “… most popular and recognized of all Christian religious tracts …” (Ref. #22)

Chick initially drew and wrote his comics. However, artist Fred Carter joined the staff in 1972. Chick died in 2016 and Fred Carter passed in 2022. However, David W. Daniels (an employee of Chick Publications since August 2000) has kept the business going (Ref. #3 and #24).

The tracts promote Christianity by telling scary stories of people who are “unsaved” and references passages from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. (NOTE: Jack Chick advocated that Christians should only use the KJV according to Ref. #1 and #21.)

There are two important details missing in these comics. The first missing detail is reliable evidence that the Christian God exists. The second is reliable evidence that the Bible accurately relayed that God’s teachings. Believers have faith and therefore do no need evidence or proof. Faith in this instance meaning a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” The intent of Chick tracts is to convert people into believers. Therefore, by definition, the people targeted by these comics are unbelievers who do not have faith. If they already had faith then they would be believers. Thus, it is important to convince them that God exists and that the Bible conveys his teachings. Instead, Jack Chick (and the other creators he worked with) wrongly assumed that those details were already accepted.

Regarding the nature of any evidence, it should be proportional to the claim. Mundane claims require little or no evidence. That’s self-evident in everyday life. For example, if I was to report that my family owned a cat and a dog then that would be unremarkable. Millions of families across the world have such pets. Therefore, people do not require evidence beyond a simple assertion. Such a claim is mundane or ordinary.

However, if I was to claim that my family owned a bear then that would require evidence. Such a feat is not impossible, but it is unusual. Bears are dangerous animals and can pose a serious threat not only to their owners but also to other people who live nearby! Thus, it would be unsurprising if folks required evidence that we kept one as a pet.

Now consider if I claimed that we had a flying bear. Not just a bear, but a bear that raises itself high above the trees and zooms around the sky! Like DC Comic’s Superman, Marvel Comic’s Captain Marvel, and My Hero Academia’s Hawks, this furry flying acrobat can do barrel rolls and figure eights in the air. Such a momentous assertion, a flying bear, would require substantial proof! That would be an extraordinary claim and to paraphrase the Sagan standard “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

Continuing this line of reasoning, what type of claim would the existence of a being like the God in Chick tracts be? According to the Statement of Faith posted online by Chick Publications, this is how Chick envisioned God:

“God is one, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, infinite in glory, wisdom, holiness, justice, power and love.” (Ref. #21)

An all-powerful and all-knowing God fits the image portrayed in the tracts. That’s also the God envisioned in large American Protestant churches such as the Southern Baptist Church (Ref. #2). Although, it’s important to note that Jack Chick did not attend a church for a significant portion (many decades) of his life (Ref. #3). He left his church after publishing “Why No Revival?” when choir members recognized themselves in that comic. (Ref. #23)

The existence of an all-powerful and all-knowing God is an extraordinary claim! As such, if Jack Chick wants non-believers to accept such an extraordinary claim then he should provide extraordinary evidence. Yet, he offers no facts or information to support that proposition. That’s a problem. If readers do not accept the existence of a God then why would they care about it’s desires?

Put another way, if I told you that the flying bear wanted you to do something and that if you did not do as the flying bear commanded then you will suffer disastrous consequences, would you worry? Maybe you would want evidence that the flying bear existed before you worried? However, in the “The Hairy Bible” within the Book of Roarmans Chapter 1 Verses 18 through 22 it clearly states that the flying bear’s attributes have been perceived since the creation of the world and only the unrighteous suppress the truth.

Furthermore, if readers do accept that Chick’s God exists why should they believe that the Bible represents His word? Other religions (Islam and Judaism to give just two examples) also assert that such a God exists. However, they claim that their sacred texts (the Koran and the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh) contain God’s word and they do not accept the New Testament used by Christians. How does a person determine which text actually represents God’s word? Chick tracts should address this concern, but they do not.

In order to determine how someone could verify if Chick’s view on the Bible is correct, let’s first try to determine Chick’s opinion on the nature of the Bible. The Chick Publications Statement of Faith reads:

“We hold that the Bible, the Holy words of a Holy God, was not only free from error in the originals (which have been lost for centuries) but also we believe God in His singular providential care has KEPT HIS WORD all through the ages, right down to the present day as found in the King James Version. We consider this Book the scriptures, our final and absolute authority, above and beyond all other authorities on earth.” (Ref. #21)

Additionally, one source claimed that Chick was reportedly an Independent Baptist (Ref. #10). Presumably, that claim was based on his promotion of the King James Bible. The Independent Baptist Church (Ref. #4) makes the following claim regarding the Bible:

“We believe that the Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed. This Bible is preserved for the English speaking world without error in the King James Version. We believe the King James Bible to be inerrant. The Bible is our sole and final authority for faith and practice.“

It’s clear that Chick believed that Scripture was inerrant. Accordingly, if Scripture was found to contain errors then that would invalidate Chick’s belief. Therefore, it would be difficult to maintain Chick’s perspective if the Bible contradicted itself. So, are there contradictions in the King James Bible? Yes, there are indeed. We’ll go over just two examples. For one, there are conflicting accounts as to whether God created humans before animals or animals before humans. In Genesis Chapter 1 (Ref. #5), animals were made before humans:

However, in Genesis Chapter 2 (Ref. #5) Adam was made before animals:

Another contradiction is the genealogy of Jesus. Two genealogies were given in the New Testament, one in Luke Chapter 3 Verses 23 through 38 and the other in Matthew Chapter 1 Verses 1 through 17 (Ref. #5). Problems first arise in the name of Jesus’ paternal grandfather, Luke calls him “Heli” and Matthew calls him “Jacob.”

There are other problems with those two genealogies with not only additional differing names, but also a totally different number of generations! There are many more contradictions, but only a single one would be an error and thus would make the Bible less than perfect. It is nonsensical to claim that the Bible is inerrant when paradoxes such as the aforementioned contradictions are present. One would have to engage in cognitive dissonance to read those passages and not realize that they make opposing claims.

Obviously, inerrancy is a high standard to meet. Yet, if God exists and is all-powerful than He would by definition be able to meet any standard, no matter how high, and could certainly oversee the creation of an inerrant book. For another perspective arguing against inerrancy, I also want to point to a 2009 paper entitled “Did God Command Genocide? A Challenge to the Biblical Inerrantist” written by Dr. Wesley Morriston, a retired professor (and Christian) who previously taught at the University of Colorado-Boulder (Ref. #7).

Furthermore, recent polls from the American Bible Society and Gallup demonstrate that only a minority of Americans (between a high of 26% and a low of 20%) believe that the Bible should be taken literally. Charts of their survey data can be seen below:

Views on Biblical inerrancy differ from person to person and from country to country. The data above only reflects one country, the U.S.A., and thus only conveys American opinions. However, it is sufficient to demonstrate that at least in the United States, tracts need to convince a majority of Americans that the Bible is inerrant because most Americans do not agree. Personally, I’m inclined to think that the majority of citizens in other nations also do not agree with Chick. Accordingly, those people who disseminate his tracts should provide evidence supporting Chick’s claim of Biblical inerrancy.

Since Biblical references are the basis for Chick tracts, it is also useful to consider how the Bible came together. There are several questions concerning the authorship of the books which make up the Bible. Traditionally, it’s thought that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch or Torah. Several verses are written in the first person like “… the Lord Commanded me …” (taken from Deuteronomy Chapter 4 Verse 14). Experienced Bible scholars may already know the most immediate problem with the tradition that Moses wrote those first five books. That problem is that Deuteronomy Chapter 34 states that Moses died in the land of Moab. Typically, books written by a person do not include reports of that same person’s death. To phrase that differently, it’s difficult to write about your own death. You can write about your imminent demise, such as forecasting your own end due to a known disease or injury. However, it’s difficult to die and then write about your death.

As could be expected, there are attempts to resolve this problem, such as “Did Moses write all of the Pentateuch? (Even his own obituary?)” by Richard McDonald (Ref. #11). However, to the very best of my knowledge, all of these are merely speculation. Maybe Moses wrote everything except Deuteronomy Chapter 34 and one of his acquaintances wrote the final chapter of the Pentateuch. Perhaps God granted Moses insight into the future? Alternatively, many historians believe that several people wrote the Pentateuch. The multiple authors theory is explained in the video “Who Wrote the Bible Episode 1: The Torah” by Dr. Matt Baker (Ref. #12).

Now that we examined two apparent contradictions in the Bible, both of which challenge Chick’s claim of an error-free Bible, let’s now determine if the Bible supports his claim that God is all-knowing. That property is put into doubt when God asks questions. Why would a being need to ask questions if they were all-knowing? Isn’t the reason for asking a question to learn something that you do not know?

However, in Genesis Chapter 3, God asked where was Adam. Shouldn’t God have known Adam’s location since God is all-knowing?

There are many other examples in which God seeks answers, such as when God asks Satan where he was in the Book of Job.

There are other reasons, beyond seeking knowledge, for why a being might ask someone else a question. For example, to help memorize something, to demonstrate that they’re paying attention, to encourage intimacy, etc. However, in the above examples the purpose seems to be solely to gain knowledge. What do you the reader think? Would an all-knowing God need to ask questions?

There are also issues with the Bible’s depiction of the world. If the Bible was indeed inerrant than any descriptions of the world, as given by the Bible, should be in complete concordance with reality. However, in the following passages Jesus makes a metaphor and in that He claims that the mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds.

That is not true, other seeds, such as the orchid’s, are much smaller (Ref. #25). It could be countered that the Bible was not intended to be a “… scientific guide to seed size.” That was a defense used in the “Wee seed tinier than mustard’s” article by Stephen G. Saupe (Ref. #25) It is obviously true that the Bible is not a scientific guide, but that defense still sidesteps the issue that Jesus either made a mistake or the recording of what he said was mistaken. Perhaps Jesus said orchid seed, but his words were corrupted during oral transmission which resulted in a scribe writing mustard seed instead. Bottom line, Jesus claiming that mustard seeds were the smallest argues against a literal interpretation of the Bible.

More significantly, they are major events depicted in the Bible for which there is no supporting evidence. For example, the Bible claims, in Genesis Chapters 6 through 9, that God flooded the entire world. A global deluge which lasted for roughly a year would have killed every animal, insect, human being, plant, and saltwater fish on Earth. Such a cataclysmic event would have left signs, to put that mildly. Yet, there is no evidence supporting the Biblical flood. (NOTE: To learn why science does not support the flood narrative, review references #27 through #30.)

The Bible contradicts itself, does not accurately depict reality, and depicts God as less than all-knowing. Therefore, it is not reasonable to accept Chick’s claims about the Bible. Of course, people can still glean helpful advice and counsel from the Bible, but it’s illogical to see it as perfect and inerrant.

Why Do People Spread Chick Tracts?

“Among the many questions raised by Chick tracts, perhaps the most interesting one that remains to be answered is who they influence most – does the uncompromising and often clumsy rhetoric save the lost in significant numbers, or is their primary purpose to ‘preach to the converted,’ to bolster the self-identity of the saved in the face of a world that often shows, quite clearly, that it does not share their views?” – Martin Lund (Ref. #19)

It’s illuminating to try to determine why someone would handout Chick tracts. Ostensibly, they are disseminated around the world in order to convert people into a strict version of evangelical Christianity. However, in some instances they appeared to have backfired such as when one person converted to Catholicism after reading the anti-Catholic “The Death Cookie” (Ref. #20).

Furthermore, other Christians objected to his most famous tract “This Was Your Life!” To quote from Chick’s authorized biography: “Some Christian bookstores actually said it was ‘sacrilegious.’ But Jack just kept on making them.” (Ref. #3) Jack Chick appeared to revel in being an outsider, isolated even from other Christians.

Maybe if he had changed his approach he could have improved his results. Please note, I am not in support of Chick’s efforts. What I am doing is trying to determine his and his supporters objective. If their motive was to save people then why did they ignore feedback? Chick relied upon straw man arguments to attack his opponents. For example, he repeated Alberto Rivera’s crazy statements against the Catholic Church.

Alberto Rivera claimed that had he been a Catholic priest and a Jesuit (Ref. #15). However, there is no credible documentation to support that he had ever been a priest or a Jesuit. Christianity Today published an article debunking Alberto on March 13th, 1981 (Ref. #49) Furthermore, Chick made no effort to find verifiable evidence to back-up allegations, such as the earlier cited claim that a Vatican computer tracked all Protestants. Alberto also alleged that Roman Catholicism was responsible for creating Communism, Islam, and Nazism:

However, if Chick had honestly wanted to convert Catholics then he could have referenced actual crimes committed by the Catholic Church, as opposed to wild conjecture. Why was there no tract about the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston as reported by The Boston Globe (Ref. #32) in 2002? That scandal broke 14 years before Chick’s death. More importantly, that event actually happened as opposed to the lies spread by Alberto Rivera. (SIDE NOTE: I do not want to want to imply that only the Catholic Church has a problem with its leaders sexually abusing their followers. See the reporting from the Guardian on U.S. Southern Baptist churches to learn how America’s largest Protestant church has a similar issue, Ref. #34.)

It’s possible that Chick was incompetent and thus incapable of improving his outreach efforts. However, his tracts were more about making himself feel superior by asserting that he he knew the truth, and anyone who thought differently would suffer forever.

“It’s hard to imagine that any of these bizarre fables actually changed anyone’s mind; they were mostly a way for evangelicals to convince themselves they were preaching God’s word while taking on all the impersonal efficiency demanded by Mammon.” – Sam Kriss (Ref. #17)

As mentioned previously, Chick had studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. After his marriage and before he started making tracts, he approached 20th Century Fox in 1948 looking for work in the movies for both himself and his wife Lola Lynn. However, according to his biography, Chick overhead a producer talking to a director about a young lady looking for work. The producer allegedly told the director to bring the lady to him after she sleeps with the director (Ref. #3).

I have some doubts about this story. It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility that what Chick said was true. Hollywood producers such as Harvey Weinstein pressured young actresses and committed rape (Ref. #33). So, it’s not unprecedented to hear about sexual abuse cases in the movie industry. However, it is perhaps strange that such a frank conversation between the producer and the director would have been held in front of Jack Chick, a complete stranger. Furthermore, if this event did happen then why didn’t Chick identify the movie executives? Chick knew enough about them to recognize what their jobs were, one was a director and the other was a producer. It seems likely that he knew the name of the producer who he was scheduled to meet. So, why not name them in the biography printed in 2017 which was well over 60-odd years after the event occurred? Chick did not hesitate to lob the craziest accusations against the Catholic Church, the largest Christian church with well over one billion members across the globe and massive financial resources. So, why would Chick hesitate to tell his biographer, David Daniels, the names of two scummy dudes in Hollywood? Did fear of retribution force Chick and Daniel to ensure those Hollywood executives stayed unnamed? I have my doubts. It’s not like Chick was the type of person to refrain from rocking the boat.

The producer told Chick that he didn’t have any work for him at the moment. However, Chick decided that he did not want his wife to get mixed up in a “seedy and immoral” Hollywood. Thus, they never pursued acting again (Ref. #3).

Chick then worked for a few years at his father’s sign painting company. Jack tried to make a living drawing comics with his art appearing on the back cover of the July 1949 issue of The American Cartoonist. Reflecting his own mental state, that back cover depicted a poor artist with a wall full of rejection notices. The artist goes to mail his latest work, but is fatally injured by a speeding mail truck. Then an editor receives the artist’s last submission and sends back an acceptance letter. The artist, now a ghost, is seen happily holding the acceptance letter (Ref. #3). One might assume, based on that comic, that Chick was feeling a bit dejected.

Chick found regular employment working as a graphic designer for Aerojet-General Corporation, an aerospace company in Azusa, not far from Los Angeles. Eventually, while still working at Aerojet, Chick did find a bit of mainstream comic-making success when he drew the prehistoric-themed “Times Have Changed?” for Mirror Enterprises Syndicate. However, that strip only lasted from 1953 until 1955. Chick’s biography blames Bill Clayton, the strip’s writer and a Roman Catholic, for the failure of Times Have Changed. Clayton stopped doing his writing for the strip and then Chick had to draw and write the comic. The pressure of maintaining a full-time job at Aerojet plus doing his and Clayton’s jobs on the strip forced Chick to break his contract with Mirror. Mirror told Chick that he would never get a syndicated comic again. Accordingly, Chick blamed Mirror for his lack of success as an independent cartoonist. Chick then published a few opinion pictures in newspapers. He also tried a variation of Times Have Changed called “Even Then” which was set in the Viking age. None of those worked (Ref. #3).

I have reason to question Chick’s claim that Mirror was responsible for his failure as an independent cartoonist. I would not be surprised if Mirror was indeed upset that Chick broke his contract to produce Times Have Changed. That noted, it seems unlikely that Mirror would expend much effort ensuring that Chick would never get a syndicated comic again. I can understand if they gave him a bad recommendation. Yet, are we supposed to believe that the Mirror tasked their employees for years (if not decades) to ensure that Chick would never succeed as an independent cartoonist? How exactly would that profit them?

Several rejection notices from newspaper syndicates were included in his biography (Ref. #3). Of note, none of those rejections cited Mirror’s involvement and thus did not prove that Mirror ruined Chick’s career as a mainstream cartoonist. Nonetheless, Chick assigned blame to Mirror and never once considered that he could have improved his cartooning work. There was no mention in his biography that he could have done anything to improve his art and try harder to make his cartoons funny.

Chick failed as an actor and as a mainstream cartoonist before he started printing religious tracts. Perhaps the frustration caused by those failures led to a certain glee when condemning those who rejected him or in his opinion caused him to fall short.

“These tracts, in other words, don’t seem to be distributed in the hope that others will read them and ‘get saved,’ but with the idea that they will make it impossible for the doomed and damned to claim they were never told. They weren’t an attempt to nudge others toward Heaven, but to amplify the case that they deserved Hell.” – Fred Clark (Ref. #18)

What’s the Harm?

If we accept that the tracts are largely unsuccessful in changing anyone’s opinions one might then ask, “What’s the harm?” My concern is for those few instances when the tracts do convert someone to Chick’s beliefs. Indeed, there are several testimonials listed at Chick.com, the Chick Publications Facebook and YouTube pages, and in the Chick Publications Catalog.

Chick tracts teach that other Christian denominations such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, and Roman Catholicism, as well as other religions such as Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism lead people to Hell (Ref. #44). That’s worrying because promoting the idea that certain groups of people are condemned can lead to real-world violence. That was a concern raised by Jeffrey Salkin in his article “Jack Chick dressed hatred in theology.“

It is unsurprising that the Southern Poverty Law Center lists Chick Publications as a hate group (Ref. #48).

Furthermore, numerous people have suffered in the United States since Roe v. Wade was repealed in June 2022. A 10-year old girl in Ohio was raped and was not allowed to have an abortion. The State of Ohio intended to force this young girl to give birth to her rapist’s child. Thankfully, she was able to receive an abortion in neighboring Indiana (Ref. #42). It is abhorrent that lawmakers in Ohio thought a pre-teen should raise the child of her rapist. Yet, such a belief is in keeping with Chick tracts such as “Who Murdered Clarice?” (Ref. #43).

In other examples from Texas women there have also suffered due to anti-abortion laws. One of those affected, Kylie Beaton, is being forced to carry a baby to term which will not live long after birth. The baby has a rare condition preventing the proper development of its brain. Furthermore, this inviable pregnancy poses a significant health risk. Beaton said “To have a woman go through so much torture along the way that’s going to stay with them forever. Whatever the case may be, you have to look at things from a different perspective.” (Ref. #6).

Something that was not recognized by Chick is that God, according to the King James Bible, gave instructions for abortions. In Numbers Chapter 5 God gives Moses instructions for conducting abortions when a woman commits infidelity:

Furthermore, it’s important to recognize that not everyone considers a fetus to be a person. Even the Bible treats fetuses as something different than a person. In Exodus Chapter 21 if a man strikes a woman and causes her to lose an unborn child then he will only suffer a financial penalty determined by the wife’s husband. However, if any further damage or “mischief” occurs such as the woman losing an eye or tooth or even her life then the man will also lose his eye or tooth or his life. Accordingly, the life of the unborn child was not given the same weight as the life of the mother. Killing an unborn child resulted in a fine. Killing the mother resulted in a death sentence.

Before moving on from the topic of abortion, let it also be noted that in Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus said until Heaven and Earth pass not “… one jot or one tittle …” will pass from the law. That passage reaffirms the importance of the Old Testament, including the above passages on abortion.

Moving on from abortion, Chick criticized the well-established scientific theory of evolution in “Big Daddy?” (Ref. #45). Evolution, as defined by Oxford Languages, is “the process by which different kinds of living organism are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth.” As organisms reproduce their offspring experience random mutations and then natural selection promotes the best-adapted mutations. For instance, if mice live in a snowy environment then a random mutation causing white fur could be beneficial. A white mice running across snow is harder for predators to spot than a brown mice. The white mice survives and has offspring while the brown mice is killed by a carnivore. Since the brown mice did not reproduce, but the white mice did, over time more and more mice will become white and the population of mice will evolve.

Scientists have proven evolution through various experiments and observations. To learn more, I recommend a series of videos on YouTube created by biologist and educator Forrest Valkai which are entitled “Light of Evolution” (Ref. #37)

In “Big Daddy?” (Ref. #45) Chick relies upon several false claims. For example, page 12 of that booklet incorrectly describes several hominins. Problems include baseless statements such as “Nearly all experts agree Lucy was just a 3 foot tall chimpanzee” which was patently false. Experts do not agree with that. Anatomical features such as a bowl-like pelvis indicate that “Lucy,” a single specimen of the species Australopithecus, had bipedal features which chimpanzees lack. Of note, the original Big Daddy cited Dr. Kent Hovind as a source, but Dr. Hovind got his PhD from a diploma mill and has no training in biology (Ref. #47).

PhineasBg@aol.com created a parody called “Who’s Your Daddy?” which addressed Chick’s inaccuracies, one of its pages is shown below. The original host is now off-line, but an archived copy can be found at the Wayback Machine (Ref. #46). Additionally, check out “How to lie about radiometric dating, evolution, and even nuclear physics” by Dr. Paul Braterman for his debunking of Big Daddy. (Ref. #40)

The problem with tracts like Big Daddy is that impressionable readers may be led astray and become unable to correctly comprehend the world around them. As a society, we should want people to believe true things, not the baseless rants of people who have no training in the subjects they so stringently discuss.

Solo’s Personal Experience

As mentioned previously, in my youth I became an evangelical Christian. My conversion was not caused by Chick tracts, but rather because my mother felt we should attend a church. The version of Christianity that we adopted, Southern Baptist, was similar to what Chick promoted with the only difference being that we could use other Bibles than just the KJV. At the age of 13, I was publicly baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Before then, my view on damnation was in keeping with the rest of non-church-going yet nominally Christian Americans. As a boy I believed only bad people went to Hell. I was a normal kid, not a Hitler nor a horrible evil-doer deserving of eternal punishment, and thus was not worried that I would go to Hell.

However, my first few Sundays at church introduced a terrifying concept, one that was perfectly in keeping with Chick’s philosophy. The concept that no amount of good deeds nor lack of committing evil deeds could guarantee salvation. Instead, salvation was possible only through faith. Accordingly, you might think that after formally declaring my faith that I would be home free, no more worries! That wasn’t true.

I lost sleep wondering if I had done it right. I had done exactly as the Pastor directed. Still, there were stories of Christians who had gone through the same steps to salvation yet still did vile things. They were classified as “not real Christians.” There must have been some invisible act, crucial thought, or deep emotion that made the difference between true Christians and pretenders.

There was always more that could be done. I used to get a five dollar allowance and spend it on comic books. This was when superhero comics were still sold in non-specialty shops like drugstores and supermarkets. Comics in the 1980s cost $0.75. So, a person could buy seven with only five dollars. As a boy, that felt like an embarrassment of riches. Seven comics was a lot! However, my conversion gave me concerns. Shouldn’t I gave my five dollars to the poor instead of selfishly spending them on secular stories? If I was hit by the school bus one morning and meet Jesus that day would he frown and break the news to me that my love of comics was an indication that I didn’t “really” believe in the Savior?

I tried to be a good person, to help my parents and support my church. Yet, the fear of damnation remained. Multiple times did I silently pray for salvation. My parents told me not to worry. I learned to live with the angst, but it never disappeared.

It wasn’t just me that thought this way. Christian theologian and philosopher Aurelius Augustinus (a.k.a. Saint Augustine), Bishop of Hippo Regius in northern Africa, referring to the promise of salvation as a “gift” wrote “… it is uncertain whether anyone has received this gift so long as he is still alive.” (Ref. #26)

One might also question whether salvation, if Jack did honestly pray for it only he would know, brought Jack Chick any peace. There should have been a great comfort believing, as Jack allegedly did, that he was going to receive an endless reward. Why then were his works so full of malice?

Of note, some people believe that salvation cannot be lost. That viewpoint can be expressed as “Once saved, always safe!” It’s the idea that a person’s name cannot be erased from the Book of Life. Ran into just such an individual during my first assignment in the U.S. military when I was in my early 20s. The individual actually asserted that, since he had in his words already been “saved,” he could commit any crime imaginable, murder, rape, torture, etc., and still keep a spot in Heaven. Needless to say, that perspective has issues. One can imagine the horror of a serial killer going on a rampage safe and secure in the belief that when they are eventually killed they will spend eternity in bliss, no matter how grievous their crimes on Earth.

Lastly, it’s funny that I had no similar worries about being condemned to other Hells, such as those in Buddhism or Islam. Since no verifiable evidence was given to support Christianity it would logically follow that it is possible I put my faith in the wrong religion. Could have given everything, surrendered every penny of my allowance and dedicated my entire life as a missionary, then died and learn that I made the wrong choice and would be punished for all time.

(SIDE NOTE: Of course, it’s not just a choice between Christianity and Islam, or between Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. There are thousands of possibilities. Maybe Solo should follow Soar-ursa-tism, the teachings of the flying bear.)

Conclusion

It is important to reiterate that this article is not intended to de-convert anyone. That may feel disingenuous. Many of the points discussed in this post challenge deeply held beliefs. Regardless, if readers get something out of Christianity and if their faith enriches their lives then I have no desire to take that away. However, I will ask readers to not support Chick tracts, please do not buy or spread them.

There is a strong push to spread the faith. However, might I suggest a different approach? Try living such a loving and tolerant life that other people are intensely curious how you achieved such enlightenment. Do all you can for disadvantaged people, “the least of these,” as Jesus taught.

One might reasonably ask, “Who are the least of these?” Are the “least” real-estate moguls who beg middle and lower-class supporters to send money to pay their legal fees? I don’t think so. Are the least of us refugees fleeing from impoverished and war-torn countries? I think so.

Speaking of the rich, have you read this passage from Matthew Chapter 19? It states that it is nigh impossible for rich people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

In order to be saved, according to Matthew Chapter 19 Verse 21, rich individuals should sell what they have and give to the poor. By the way, there’s no evidence that Jesus was discussing a gate in Jerusalem, purportedly called the “Eye of the Needle,” as some people have alleged. To learn why most Biblical scholars do not accept that theory, see “The Origin of the ‘Needle’s Eye Gate’ Myth: Theophylact or Anselm?” by Agnieszka Zieminska (Ref. #41). Accordingly, instead of harming disadvantaged people (such as minors who have been raped but are denied abortions), what about convincing rich people to give to the poor as Jesus said? That would be a difficult goal, to be sure, but it would also be a goal worth accomplishing.

That’s it for today folks. The next post should be a regular review. Thank you for reading this. It was lengthy, but I wanted to ensure that the claim that Chick tracts were bad was backed-up with documentation. As always, please email me or comment below if you notice an error. Lord knows Solo is far from perfect.

Until next time, keep growing. If you can’t grow in size, no problem! You can always grow in knowledge.

References

#1) “What’s Right with KJV-Onlyism?” https://www.chick.com/battle-cry/article?id=Whats-Right-with-KJV-Onlyism

Retrieved on March 12th, 2023

#2) “Baptist Faith & Message 2000.” https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/

Retrieved on March 12th, 2023

#3) “You Don’t Know Jack: The Authorized Biography of Christian Cartoonist Jack T. Chick” by David W. Daniels [2017]

#4) “Doctrinal Statement.” https://independentbaptist.church/doctrinal-statement

Retrieved on March 12th, 2023

#5) King James Bible. It can be read at many places, but here is one useful site: https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org

#6) ” ‘Torture’: Texas abortion law means woman has to continue pregnancy despite fatal anomaly” by Nadine El-Bawab. https://abc7news.com/texas-abortion-bans-laws-kylie-beaton-woman-forced-to-carry-nonviable-pregnancy-term/12981915/

Retrieved on March 21st, 2023

#7) “Did God Command Genocide? A Challenge to the Biblical Inerrantist” by Dr. Wesley Morriston. Philosophia Christi Vol. 11 No. 1 [2009] https://www.pdcnet.org/pc/content/pc_2009_0011_0001_0007_0026

Retrieved on March 16th, 2023

#8) “Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God.” Frank Newport. July 6th, 2022 https://news.gallup.com/poll/394262/fewer-bible-literal-word-god.aspx

Retrieved on March 15th, 2023

#9) “Who Was Jack Chick?” Chick Publications. https://chick.com/authors/jack-chick

Retrieved on March 16th, 2023

#10) “Satan, the pope, and Dungeons & Dragons: how Jack Chick’s cartoons informed American fundamentalism” by Alissa Wilkinson. Vox News. November 8th, 2016.

#11) “Did Moses write all of the Pentateuch? (Even his own obituary?)” by Richard McDonald. June 26th, 2020 https://equip.sbts.edu/article/moses-write-pentateuch-even-obituary/

Retrieved on March 16th, 2023

#12) “Who Wrote the Bible? Episode 1: The Torah” by Dr. Matt Baker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY-l0X7yGY0

Watched on March 16th, 2023

#13) “Meet Jack Chick” by Jimmy Akin. October 24th, 2016 http://jimmyakin.com/2016/10/meet-jack-chick.html

Retrieved on March 16th, 2023

#14) “MY Name?… In The Vatican?” Discontinued Chick Tract. A copy can be found at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/chick-tracts/chick%20tracts/Anti%20Catholic/MY%20name%20in%20the%20Vatican/

Retrieved on March 22nd, 2023

#15) “The Crusaders: Alberto” Volume #12 by Jack T. Chick [1979]

#16) Found in the Collection: Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?” by Caitlin McGurk. May 16th, 2013. https://library.osu.edu/site/cartoons/2013/05/16/found-in-the-collection-jack-t-chicks-times-have-changed/

Retrieved on March 16th, 2023

#17) “Jack Chick Is Dead but His Horrible, Ridiculous Cartoons Will Never Die” by Sam Kriss. October 28th, 2016.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/avakej/obituary-for-jack-chick-evangelical-cartoonist

Retrieved on March 18th, 2023

#18) “Haw haw haw” by Fred Clark. October 24th, 2016. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2016/10/24/haw-haw-haw/

Retrieved on March 18th, 2023

#19) “Turn the Other Chick – Religious Stereotyping in Fundamentalist Propaganda Comics Tracts” by Martin Lund. 2011

#20) “How Jack Chick (Ironically) Brought Me To Catholicism” by Cari Donaldson. Catholic Exchange. October 26th, 2016. https://catholicexchange.com/jack-chick-ironically-brought-catholicism/

Retrieved on March 20th, 2023

#21) “Statement of Faith” https://chick.com/information/statement-of-faith

Retrieved on March 19th, 2023

#22) “From Doom Town to Sin City: Chick Tracts and Anti-gay Political Rhetoric” by Cynthia Burack. New Political Science, Volume 28, Number 2, June 2006.

#23) “Interview with Jack Chick How Chick Ministry Began” First Published in BattleCry July/August 1984 Issue. Now online at https://www.chick.com/battle-cry/article?id=Interview-with-Jack-Chick-How-Chick-Ministry-Began

Retrieved on March 19th, 2023

#24) “About Us” Chick Publications. https://chick.com/information/about-us

Retrieved on March 19th, 2023

#25) “Wee seed tinier than mustard’s” by Stephen G. Saupe. May 10th, 2014. https://www.sctimes.com/story/life/outdoors/2014/05/11/wee-seed-tinier-mustards/8896541/

Retrieved on March 19th, 2023

#26) “The Works of Aurelius Augustine: Volume 15” by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. Translated by Peter Holmes, D.D., F.R.A.S., and Rev. Robert Ernest Wallis, Ph.D.

#27) “How Archaeology Disproves Noah’s Flood” by AronRa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24WbQkRx2_8

Watched on March 20th, 2023

#28) “How Mythology Disproves Noahs Flood” by AronRa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrDTaHjg2IQ

Watched on March 20th, 2023

#29) “Is the Flood of Genesis Historical?” with Dr. Joshua Bowen “Digital Hammurabi,” an Assyriologist, and Erika “Gutsick Gibbon,” a PhD candidate in biological anthropology, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqBge0prBgg

Watched on March 20th, 2023

#30) “The Fatal Flaws of Flood Geology” by Christopher Gregory Weber. Creation/Evolution Journal Volume 1 No 1 Summer 1980. National Center for Science Education https://ncse.ngo/fatal-flaws-flood-geology

Retrieved on March 20th, 2023

#31) “The Awful Truth” Chick Tract. https://chick.com/products/tract?stk=1071

Retrieved on March 20th, 2023

#32) “Abuse in the Catholic Church.” The Boston Globe Spotlight Investigation.

Archived link: https://web.archive.org/web/20020904003324/http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/about.htm

Retrieved on March 20th, 2023

#33) “Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 additional years for LA rape conviction” by Lois Beckett. February 24th, 2023. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/23/harvey-weinstein-los-angeles-rape-conviction-sentencing

Retrieved on March 20th, 2023

#34) “US Southern Baptist churches facing ‘apocalypse’ over sexual abuse scandal.” by Edward Helmore. June 12th, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/12/southern-baptist-church-sexual-abuse-scandal

Retrieved on March 22nd, 2023

#35) “Jack Chick Goes to Heaven.” by The Nib. October 27th, 2016. https://thenib.com/jack-chick-goes-to-heaven/

Retrieved on March 18th, 2023

#36) “The Holloway Pages: Alley Oop Page” by Clark J. Holloway. [2000] Archived link here: https://archive.md/Thdp

Retrieved on March 23rd, 2023

#37) “Light of Evolution” series of 4 videos by Forrest Valkai, a biologist and educator. [2022] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GMBXc4ocss&list=PLoGrBZC-lKFBo1xcLwz5e234–YXFsoU6&index=2

Watched on March 23rd, 2023

#38) To learn Chick’s perspectives on homosexuality, see the “Home Alone?” tract https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=1039 For his view on alcohol, see “Just One More” https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=1094

#39) “Jack Chick dressed hatred in theology” by Jeffrey Salkin. October 25th, 2016. Religion News Service. https://religionnews.com/2016/10/25/jack-chick/

Retrieved on March 24th, 2023

#40) “How to lie about radiometric dating, evolution, and even nuclear physics” by Dr. Paul Braterman. https://paulbraterman.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/homage-to-jack-chick-april-13-1924-october-23-2016-repost-of-how-to-lie-about-radiometric-dating-evolution-and-even-nuclear-physics/

Retrieved on March 18th, 2023

#41) “The Origin of the ‘Needle’s Eye Gate’ Myth: Theophylact or Anselm?” by Agnieszka Ziemińska. June 9th, 2022. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/origin-of-the-needles-eye-gate-myth-theophylact-or-anselm/51F6B1FD504C36C42D6201F6D87F83C3

Retrieved on March 24th, 2023

#42) “How a 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Who Traveled for an Abortion Became Part of a Political Firestorm” by Solcyre Burga. July 15th, 2022. https://time.com/6198062/rape-victim-10-abortion-indiana-ohio/

Retrieved on March 21st, 2023

#43) “Who Murdered Clarice?” Chick Publications. https://chick.com/products/tract?stk=1009

Retrieved on March 24th, 2023

#44) For tracts against Catholicism, see “Are Roman Catholics Christians?”, “The Awful Truth,” “Is There Another Christ?”, “Last Rites,” and “Why Is Mary Crying?” at Chick.com. For a tract against Jehovah’s Witnesses, see “War Games!” The anti-Mormon tract is “The Visitors.” Anti-Islamic tracts are “Allah Had No Son,” “Camel’s In The Tent,” Unforgiven?” and “Your Best Life,” a modified version of “This Was Your Life.” The anti-Hindu tract is “The Traitor” and the anti-Jewish tract is “Where’s Rabbi Waxman?”

All tracts were online and read on March 25th, 2023. Of course, those aforementioned comics may change over time. For instance, the anti-evolution tract “Big Daddy?” previously referenced Dr. Kent Hovind, but now Dr. Hovind’s name has been expunged.

#45) “Big Daddy?” Chick Publications. https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=55

Retrieved on March 25th, 2023

#46) “Who’s Your Daddy?” by PhineasBg@aol.com http://web.archive.org/web/20100125004841/http://www.facts4u.com/OffSite_Stored_Pages/wyd_files/wyd.htm

Retrieved on March 25th, 2023

#47) “Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters.” Second Edition. by Donald R. Prothero. Columbia University Press. [2017]

#48) “General Hate.” Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/general-hate

Retrieved on March 25th, 2023

#49) “Jack Chick’s Anti-Catholic Alberto Comic Book Is Exposed as a Fraud.” by Gary Metz. Christianity Today. March 13th, 1981

This article was written by SolomonG and is protected under copyright law.

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