Chapter II: Who was Jack Chick?

 

            For the majority of his professional life, Jack Thomas Chick (1924-2016) was a recluse.  He gave very few interviews to any publication outside of his own (Chick Publications).  Very few photographs of him were known to have existed during his lifetime, which led to speculation that his name was actually a “pen name” for a number of different authors/cartoonists.[1]  Based on what I have seen from Chick Publications, or the few outside interviews given by Chick, I am going to provide several points—which will be in bold—about what I can access about him and give some commentary:

He was a King James Version-Only [KJV-Only] advocate, despite the King James Version [KJV] of the Bible not being a good modern-day translation.

 

This point is expressed on Chick’s website,[2] and it is a point advocated by many Fundamentalist Evangelical Protestants.  However, there is a problem with the KJV-Only stance.  Let me explain.

While we tend to think of the Bible as a “solid book,” it is actually a “collection of books”—hence its name in Greek.  Of all the books of the Bible, we do not have the “autographs,” or “first editions,” of any of those books, but only copies; and copyists changed things—sometimes by accident (they wrote something down wrong), but sometimes with intent (i.e. “This is horribly written, and I can make it better”).  This can be shown when we examine our earliest manuscripts of the Bible to later manuscripts.  For example, our earliest manuscript of the Gospel of Mark ends with an empty tomb (Mark 16:1-8).[3]  Later manuscripts, however, show the resurrected Jesus with his disciples—what is known as the “Longer Ending of Mark” (Mark 16:9-20).  As historians, our goal is to get back as much as possible to the autographs before changes were made by copyists, and this becomes a problem with the KJV.

            The KJV, produced by the Church of England, is English Protestantism’s most famous translation of the Bible, and when the KJV was first published in 1611, it was a very good, though not perfect,[4] translation of the Bible…But that was in 1611.  Since that time, we have found older Hebrew and Greek manuscripts than what were used when the KJV was put together.[5]  While older texts do not necessarily mean better texts 100% of the time, they do mean better texts at least 97% of the time.  Therefore, it is up to the KJV-Only advocates to show why they fall within the 3% margin of error—and, so far, the arguments I have seen from KJV-Only advocates, including Jack Chick, are either not historic, or fall within the realm of a “conspiracy theory.”

He was an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist.

            Chick was opposed to infant baptism, which would place him as an Anabaptist of some description.[6] However, based on Chick’s rhetoric, I would place him as an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) for two reasons.  The first reason being his KJV-Only advocacy, and the second reason is his controversial tract/comic Lisa.  Let me provide a brief description of IFB Churches and then tie that into his tract/comic Lisa.

            While Baptist Churches are generally autonomous,[7] the two dominate groups in the United States (American Baptist USA [liberal] and Southern Baptist [conservative]) have governing bodies.  Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches, which are more conservative than Southern Baptist Churches, have no governing body, but they essentially function in this manner:

            Within Independent Fundamentalist Baptist families, the husband/father is “head of the household,” and he has “final say” on all issues relating to his family.  The only person above him is the pastor of his church, who has “final say” on all issues relating to the congregation.  This “system of government” within IFB Churches has led to potential abuse, both physical and mental, by husbands/fathers to members of their family, and pastors to members of their congregation.[8]  Now that I have given a brief description of IFB Churches, let me show how they relate to the controversial Chick tract/comic Lisa.

            Lisa was published in 1984, but it became so controversial that Chick stopped distributing it.[9]  In the tract/comic, a man named Henry, along with a neighbor, molests his daughter, who looks to be anywhere from six-years-old to nine-years-old, named Lisa.  Two months later, Lisa is taken to her family physician.  She develops a case of herpes and confesses to the doctor about what has happened.  The family physician confronts Henry, and tells him that he is on the “road to Hell.”  But one thing can save him—Jesus.  The two pray (the specific prayer is not mentioned, but I will assume that it is the “Sinners Prayer”), and Henry becomes what is known in Evangelical Protestant circles as a “born again Christian.”  When Henry returns home, he and his wife also pray, and she becomes a “born again Christian.”  The story ends with Henry telling his daughter that he will “never harm her again.”

            Critics, however, have pointed out that the family physician, who knows that Lisa has been molested, does not at any point inform the authorities.[10]  To quote the author of Jack Chick’s Funnybook Gospel, “Apparently it’s okay to rape and abuse children as long as you ask Jesus into your heart when you’re done.”[11]  Similar situations have taken place within Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches, where “religious arguments” have been used as an excuse to disregard, or ignore, “bad behavior.”[12]

He Did Not Have a Relevant Degree to the Topics His Tracts/Comics Covered

            According to Chick’s biography, he attended the Pasadena Playhouse, after he graduated high school.  At the time, the Pasadena Playhouse awarded BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degrees.  However, I can see no evidence of Chick obtaining either degree.[13]  Yet, even if he had, the curriculum for a BFA or an MFA does not focus on the subject matters that Chick wrote about/drew in his tracts/comics.[14]

He Lacked Critical Thought, Which Made Him a Prime Target for Conspiracy Theorists

            A large portion of Chick’s anti-Catholicism, and conspiracy theories, came from Alberto Rivera (1935-97).  Rivera claimed to have been a Catholic priest of the Jesuit (Society of Jesus) order sent to infiltrate, and destroy, various Protestant institutions.  However, an investigative journalist account by Gary Metz published in Cornerstone Magazine[15] and Christianity Today,[16] both Evangelical Protestant publications, showed Rivera to be nothing more than charlatan and a conman.  But even without Metz’s investigative journalism, Rivera’s story has “charlatan” written all over it.

            In Rivera’s account, which is found in the Alberto comic book, he claims to have entered a Catholic seminary in Spain at the age of seven.[17]  There are two “red flares” already from this account.

            The first is that the seminary is unnamed.  The second is that no credible institution of higher education (be they public, private, religious, or secular) would have emitted a seven-year-old student in 1942.[18]

            Later in Rivera’s account, he claims that he denounced Catholicism in front of 50,000 people in Guatemala.[19]  Once again, this is a “red flare.”  If such an event did occur, every media outlet in the world would have reported it.  No one could denounce the largest Church in the world in front of that many people and have it go unreported.

He was Unable to Admit Being Wrong

            I am not the first person to critique either Jack Chick or Chick Publications.  Earlier, I mentioned Gary Metz’s two articles in Cornerstone and Christianity Today.  But even before Metz’s articles, critics pointed out flaws (more than arguably just the two I made) in Riveria’s account.  Yet, rather than issue a retraction, or question Riveria’s account, Chick “doubled down,” and published a tract/comic titled My Name? …In the Vatican?  In this tract/comic, where Riveria was once again the source, he claimed that the Vatican had a large “supercomputer” with the name of every Protestant in the world.[20]  Once again though, someone with critical thought would be able to see the obvious flaws in Chick’s/Riveria’s story.

            In Riveria’s account from Alberto, he denounced Catholicism in 1965.[21]  I do not know how many Protestants there were at that time worldwide, but it certainly would have been in the multi-millions.  I am not an expert on computers, but if I am reading the information from the Computer History Museum correctly, the most amount of memory a computer could store in 1965 would have been around 232 MB.[22]  Somehow, I doubt that would have been enough storage space for the number of Protestants that would have existed in 1965.  But even if I am wrong, there is still another point to be addressed in Chick’s/Riveria’s account.

            How would the Vatican be able to get this information in the first place?  Who from (insert Protestant church here) would be supplying them the names of the members of their congregation or parish? 

            Why was Chick unable to admit he was wrong?  While I am not a psychologist—and even if I was, I could only speculate, since Chick is not here to formally evaluate—there are three possible answers I have to that question:

1.      Chick suffered from Narcissism

One trait about Narcissistic people is that they have difficulty admitting when they are wrong, even when all the evidence shows that they are wrong.  Chick’s refusal to edit his comics/tracts, despite evidence they were inaccurate—if not outright false—is in harmony with someone who suffers from narcissism.

2.      Chick suffered from Complications of the Divine Command Theory

The Divine Command Theory is an ethical notion that teaches what is right, or what is wrong, comes from a divine, or heavenly being, such as God.  Basically, when God says, “Do this,” the action is always right.  And when God says, “Do not do this,” the action is always wrong.

            When Chick was confronted about discrepancies/challenges in Riveria’s story, he responded that Riveria’s story was true, because he “prayed about it.”[23]  And, the feeling that he got from his prayer, informed him that Riveria’s story was true.  However, Riveria’s story was not true, which was displayed by a massive amount of evidence.  Yet, from Chick’s perspective, for him to accept the evidence, he would also have to conclude that “God lied to him,” due to the feeling that he received in his prayer.  And this was something he was unable to do.

3.      Chick suffered from some form of Cognitive Disability

In Gary Metz’s account for Cornerstone Magazine, he asks this question: “Is Jack [Chick] naive or is he publishing these stories because they are big sellers?”[24]  It is difficult to say for certain, but he may have had a cognitive disability of some description.[25]

            In the Chick tract/comic Charlie’s Ants, the female protagonist mentions how many people rejected Jesus’s message, even though he told the truth; and to emphasize this point, Chick references Galatians 4:16.[26]  The problem, however, with this reference is that Paul is not discussing Jesus; he is discussing himself in response to his “children” in Galatia, who are starting to follow aspects of the Jewish Law/Torah—and reading the full chapter, or the letter itself, would have made that clear.  Chick may have been able to read Galatians, but reading, and comprehending, are two separate issues.

 

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[1]Since Chick’s death, more photographs of him have emerged.  See “Jack Thomas Chick” in Chick Publications, available from https://www.chick.com/authors/jack-chick, accessed on 25 December 2022.

 

[2]“Statement of Faith,” in Chick Publications, accessed from https://www.chick.com/information/statement-of-faith, accessed on 16 July 2024.

 

[3]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture passages will be from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

 

[4]It should be noted, even with modern translations, no version of the Bible is “perfect.”  Some translations are, however, better than others.

 

In the case of the KJV, even though it used Hebrew manuscripts for its Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, it still translated Isaiah 7:14 as “virgin,” even though the Hebrew word, “alma,” is literally translated as “maiden” or “young woman.”  The translators of the KJV did this to keep Isaiah 7:14 in harmony with Matthew 1:23.  Matthew based his translation of Isaiah on the Septuagint (LXX), which is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and uses the word “parthéna,” which translates to “virgin.”

 

[5]The earliest Greek (New Testament) manuscripts of the KJV, the Textus Receptus (or “Received Text”), date from the 12^th Century; while its earliest Hebrew (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) manuscripts, the Masoretic Text (or “Text of Tradition”), date from the 7^th Century.  Beginning near the end of the 18^th century, historians found Greek New Testament manuscripts dating from the 4^th century, and in the 20^th century, historians found Hebrew manuscripts for the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament dating from the 4^th century BCE/BC.

 

[6]Anabaptists (Greek for “re-baptism”) emerged out of the Protestant Reformation, and encompassed a number of different groups.  Essentially, those within the Anabaptist movement reject the idea of infant baptism.

 

[7]There are some Baptist Churches that hold to the traditional Church structure of bishop—presbyter/priest—and deacon, but they are few in number.

[8] “Former IFB member describe experiences with abuse in the church,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqEgwXiEb8w, accessed 25 January 2023.

[9]Due to the advent of the internet, it has been posted.  The blog, Jack Chick’s Funnybook Gospel, provides the tract and commentary on the tract.  See “Chick Tract Review: Lisa” in Jack Chick’s Funnybook Gospel, accessed from https://jackchick.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/chick-tract-review-lisa/, accessed on 30 January 2023.

 

[10]The neighbor, who also molested Lisa, is never referenced again in the story.

 

[11]“Lisa” in Jack Chick’s Funnybook Gospel. https://jackchick.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/chick-tract-review-lisa/.

 

[12]“Former IFB,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqEgwXiEb8w

 

[13]“Biography of Jack Chick,” in Chick Publications, accessed from https://www.chick.com/information/article?id=biography-of-jack-chick, accessed on 20 February 2023.

 

[14]Chick’s tracts/comics focus on issues related to the Liberal Arts (Philosophy, Religious Studies/Theology, History, Anthropology, and Sociology) and the Sciences (Biology, Geology, Astronomy, and Psychology).  Those topics are not focused on, when one earns a BFA or an MFA.

  Ironically, many of the leaders within IFB Churches do not have a degree from a credible institution of higher learning that would be relevant to being a pastor, and some, within the IFB community, frown upon education—particularly higher education.

 

[15]Gary Metz, “Alberto Rivera’s False Anti-Catholic Story,” in Cornerstone Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 53, pages 29-31, 1981. Accessed from https://web.archive.org/web/20051202084221/http://www.cornerstonemag.com/pages/show_page.asp?228. Accessed on 06 March 2023.

 

[16]Gary Metz, “Jack Chick’s Anti-Catholic Alberto Comic Exposed as a Fraud,” in Christianity Today, Vol. 2, Issue 2, pages, 13 March 1981. Accessed from https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1981/march-13/jack-chicks-anti-catholic-alberto-comic-book-is-exposed-as.html. Accessed on 06 March 2023.

 

[17]Jack T. Chick, Alberto, (Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Chick Publications, 1979), 1.  Accessed from https://archive.org/details/albertoseries/Chick%20Publications%20-%20english-Comics%20%28Alberto%20Series%29/Alberto/mode/2up. Accessed on 11 July 2023.

 

[18]In terms of religious institutions, there are “minor seminaries,” which will admit students around the age of 13 or 14.  Sometimes, exceptions are made with parental permission (the future Pope John Paul I is an example of this exception), but it is highly doubtful that any credible minor seminary would admit a seven year old “crying for his mommy,” which is what is presented in the Alberto comic. 

 

[19]Chick, Alberto, 31, https://archive.org/details/albertoseries/Chick%20Publications%20-%20english-Comics%20%28Alberto%20Series%29/Alberto/page/n29/mode/2up

 

[20]Jack T. Chick, My Name?  …In the Vatican? (Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Chick Publications, 1980), 1-2.  Accessed from https://archive.org/details/lost-chick-tracts/048%20-%20Chick%27s%20MY%20NAME%20...IN%20THE%20VATICAN%20%281980%29%20%5BSource%20-%203angels%5D/mode/2up. Accessed on 18 July 2023.

 

[21]Chick, Alberto, 31. https://archive.org/details/albertoseries/Chick%20Publications%20-%20english-Comics%20%28Alberto%20Series%29/Alberto/page/n29/mode/2up.

 

[22]“Timeline of Computer History” in Computer History Museum.  Accessed from https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/memory-storage/. Accessed on 18 July 2023.

[23]Metz, “Alberto Rivera’s False Anti-Catholic Story,” Cornerstone Magazine, Cornerstone Magazine :: Alberto Rivera, Jack Chick, and a False Story (archive.org).

 

[24]Ibid

 

[25]A large portion of the source material for Chick’s tracts/comics, come from individuals or works, which have been discredited—individuals such as John Todd, Alberto Rivera, Rebecca Brown, Kent Hovind, etc.…; and works such as The Two Babylons, Maria Monk, etc.…  Chick also made use of the works Charles Chiniquy—an excommunicated 19^th century Catholic priest, who certainly had an “axe to grind” against his former religion.

 

Likewise, while Chick was a recluse for the majority of his professional life, any encounter with him has often been considered an “interview.”  Catholic apologist, James Akin, encountered Chick in 2004, during a showing of Chick’s film The Light of the World.  In his encounter, Akin mentioned, when he conversed with Chick about the film, Chick stated that he hoped to “get a lot of people sold—uh, saved.”  While Akin wondered if Chick made a “Freudian slip,” he did state that people have wondered for years if Chick, and the outrageous claims he produced for years, was solely to produce a profit.  See Jimmy Akin, “Meet Jack Chick,” in Jimmy Akin, accessed from Meet Jack Chick – Jimmy Akin, accessed on 24 October 2023.

 

[26]Jack T. Chick, Charlie’s Ants (Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Chick Publications, 1997), 15.  Accessed from https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=39. Accessed on 23 October 2023.