Have you ever been at a bus terminal, or a train station, or one of those fast food/gift shop plazas they have along the interstate? If so, perhaps you noticed, tucked in a potted plant, on the floor of the bathroom, or sitting on a bench, a little pamphlet. Maybe you picked it up, looked at the goofy, cartoony picture in the corner, and read the title. Maybe you even leafed though it a little, and found yourself exposed to some poorly drawn comics, all with a religious message. You might take it with you for the comedy it provided, toss it away and laugh, or, perhaps, take it with you for the message it contained. But no matter what you did with it, you probably wondered - what is it?.
The truth behind these kooky comic tracts is that they are made by a rather disturbed little fellow by the name of Jack T. Chick. He is a Christian Evangelist and began making the little tracts about 30 or so years ago. They instantly became pop culture icons, as the content in them, once people got past the religiously intolerant message, was quite shocking for their time. These early tracts soon were replaced with far more benign (in terms of illustration, the messages were still as hateful as ever) versions, the originals are now highly collectable. By many, Chick tracts are loved for their humor value, others, hated for their message:.
First, a look at hate: The tracts are despised by many, and rightly so, for the way they portray people of faiths other than Christianity. They are seen as full of sin, as being wicked, and of course of being demon possessed. By becoming involved with different faiths, these tracts say, you allow demons to enter your soul. The only way to get rid of them is to have some born again conservative Christian witness to you (and in Chick tracts, there are plenty of those around). When the demons are never exorcised, the people of other faiths are shown being killed, and then they are shown burning in hell.
