The Nightmare World of Jack T. Chick

FrustMom SG

Faith Alone
One would expect Chick to have problems with Catholic teaching on salvation, and he does. The verses he uses most often to attack it are Ephesians 2:89"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of Godnot because of works, lest any man should boast."

Catholics agree with what is being said in these verses. Even if one grants Chicks understanding of "works" in this passage as "good works" rather than "works of the [Mosaic] Law," it remains true. Good works do not contribute to our coming to God and being saved. In fact, Catholic theology holds that it is impossible for a person who is not in a state of justification to do good works, because he lacks the principlecharitythat makes them supernaturally good. It is when one is in a state of justification and has the virtue of charity that good works become possible.

Inquisition/Death to Non-Catholics
Chicks lurid comics are filled with tales (and scenes) of Catholics killing non-Catholics. These images are often linked to one of the various historical inquisitions (though Chick does not seem to be aware that there was more than one of these). He sees the breaking out of a new inquisition as not only an ever-present danger but a certainty.

Regarding the historical inquisition, Chick credits it with killing 68 million victims from 1200 to 1800. This is not accurate. The inquisitions that took place in Europe were localizedin France, Spain, and Italyand there the total population never approached 68 million. Even spread out over six hundred years, that many executions is impossible. Chick is relying on sources using grossly inflated figures.

Chick also is wrong about the identity of the people who were executed. He portrays them as "Bible-believing Christians" (meaning those with Fundamentalist theology), many of whom were hiding the Textus Receptus to keep it safe, and claims that English Bible translator William Tyndale was executed for translating the Bible. These claims are false. Protestantism did not exist during much of the time in question, and there is an utter lack of evidence of anyone being put to death for hiding the Textus Receptus. Indeed, this Greek New Testament manuscript tradition springs from the work of the Catholic scholar Erasmus.

Chick does not seem to understand what a heretic is. Heretics are baptized individuals who obstinately reject an obligatory part of Christian dogma. They do not include Jews, though Chick appears to think they do. Further, the fact that someone may be a heretic does not give anyone the right to kill him. The penalties for heresy specified in the Code of Canon Law include things like not being able to receive the sacraments and not being able to exercise a Church office. Death is not one of these penalties. Yet Chick assures his readers that Trent created the right to "slaughter Jews and non-Catholics alike." It didnt, though Chick thinks it did based on his misunderstanding of anathemas.

He further tells his readers: "Still in effect? Yes! All the popes during the Vatican II council and since have accepted the ratification of the entire council on this decree [of Trent]." This isnt the case, since Trent did not order the death of anyone and the penalty of anathema has since been abolished.

As for the prospect of a looming attempt of the Catholic Church to exterminate non-Catholics, apply the common sense test: Canon law contains no provisions calling for the death of anyone (read the entire Code of Canon Law from front to back; you wont find any). The penalty of anathema (which did not mean death) has been abolished. Rome is very reluctant to see the death penalty used at all.[

Anti-Catholics of Chicks ilk often wish to portray the Catholic Church as bent on bloodshed and their own religious forebears as opposed to religious violence. But this is erroneous. Both sides have things to apologize for. Religious violence tainted every stream within the Protestant Reformation. To cite a few cases: Henry VIII executed St. Thomas More, Elizabeth I executed St. Edmund Campion, John Calvin executed the heretic Michael Servetus, Martin Luther advocated the killing of Anabaptist leaders and the burning of Jewish synagogues, and Anabaptists seized the town of Münster in 1534 and killed many people before their attempt to establish a "New Jerusalem" in the town fell apart the next year. Protestants have the same fallen human nature as Catholics and are just as prone to violence.

Mary
Chick makes a lot of the conventional anti-Marian arguments that are common in Fundamentalism: that Mary is not the Mother of God, that we are not to ask for her intercession, that statues of her should not be venerated, that she was not preserved by Gods grace from sin, etc.

What is distinctive about Chicks approach is his is claim that "the Mother of God that Catholics worship is not the Mary of the Bible. Satan has tricked them into worshiping a counterfeit goddess." The basis for this claim is a story he borrowed from Alexander Hislop, according to which there was a queen in ancient Babylon named Semiramis. She married her son, Nimrod. After his death, she claimed to have had a virgin birth of another son, Tammuz, who was Nimrod reincarnated. This pair of Semiramis and Tammuz was often depicted in artwork as a mother and child. They form the basis of all of the mother-child statues in the different religions of the world, and when Catholics worship Mary and the Baby Jesus, they are actually worshiping Semiramis and Tammuz.

What is one to make of this? Setting aside the fact that Catholics do not worship Mary, it is still complete nonsense. Hislops wild ideas cannot be substantiated historically. We have mother and child images from cultures that predate Babylon. Further, if you want to depict a famous mother, a good way of doing it is by picturing her holding her child. Thus before literacy became widespread Christians often would picture Mary holding the Baby Jesus, and it became an established image in Christian art.

FrustMom SG

Millennium
All Christians recognize the existence of the time period known as the Millennium, which is spoken of in Revelation 20:110. During this period Satan is bound so that he cannot deceive the nations (Rev. 20:3). The question is: When in history does this period refer to? Chick belongs to a school of thought known as pre-millennialism or millenarianism, which holds that the Millennium is a future time period during which Christ will reign on earth as its King. He further holds that the Millennium will be preceded by an event known as the Rapture. These views are common among Evangelical and Fundamentalist Protestants, though the idea of the Millennium being preceded by the Rapture goes back to only about 1830.

The Catholic position is similar to the position of traditional Protestants. In Protestant circles the position is called amillennialism, and it was held by Luther, Calvin, and the majority of traditional Protestants. It holds that the Millennium is a present realitythat the devil is bound now in such a way that he cannot deceive the nations by stopping the proclamation of the gospel. This is why the world is no longer swallowed in pagan darkness the way it was at the time of Christ. The devil has not been able to stop the spread of Christianity, and now a third of all men are Christians, and half are believers in one God. Today, the prophecy is fulfilled that "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9), and Christ reigns from heaven (1 Cor. 15:2526) and through his Church on earth (Rev. 20:4). At the end of the Church age, there will be a period of bitter deception and persecution of the Church as the devil is again freed to deceive the nations (Rev. 20:78 ). Then Christ will return, as the Creed says, "to judge the living and the dead" (Rev. 20:1115).

Nazism
Chick makes the bizarre claim that not only was Pius XII sympathetic to Nazism (as some in the popular press have claimed) but that Hitler and his cohorts were trying to conquer the world in order to bring about the "Millennial Kingdom" under Pius XII. This doesnt pass the common sense test since Catholics view the Millennium as a present rather than a future reality.

Further, Pius XII was not sympathetic to Hitler at all. On April 28, 1935, four years before the war started, Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pius XII) caught the attention of the world press. Speaking to an audience of 250,000 pilgrims in Lourdes, France, Pacelli stated that the Nazis "are in reality only miserable plagiarists who dress up old errors with new tinsel. It does not make any difference whether they flock to the banners of social revolution, whether they are guided by a false concept of the world and of life, or whether they are possessed by the superstition of a race and blood cult."[ It was talks like thisin addition to his private remarks and numerous notes of protest that he sent to Berlin as Vatican secretary of statethat earned Pacelli a reputation as an enemy of the Nazi party.

FrustMom SG

Other Christs
Chick periodically rails against Catholics worshiping multiple Jesuses, as in this picture:

From Man in Black

Let us see if Chicks charge of idolatry holds up:

Images of the Baby Jesus: Catholics do not worship these. They worship Jesus by venerating images of him, just as one might kiss a photo of a departed loved one.

Crucifixes: First, who says that Jesus on the cross is dead? He is depicted being crucified, and there is no reason to suppose that crucifixes depict only the brief time between when he died and when he was taken down from the cross. Second, we worship the real Jesus in heaven by venerating his image on earth. The crucifix is an image of the most important thing he did for us on earth.

The Pope: The pope is not "Jesus on earth," and Catholics dont worship him. He is the vicar (representative) of Christ. What is wrong with treating one of Christs representatives with respect?

Priests: Priests arent worshiped, but they do represent Christ as his ministers. Dont Protestants treat their own ministers with respect (1 Thess. 5:12)?

The Eucharist: The Eucharist is worshiped, but since it is Jesus himself it does not amount to worshiping "another" Jesus. Many other Christians, including Lutherans, believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (although they do not in fact have the Real Presence in their churches) and recognize that Jesus is to be worshiped wherever he is.

From Last Rites

The "Angry Jesus" in Heaven: Literal anger is not compatible with being in the beatitude of heaven. In keeping with the language of Scripture one can speak of God being "angry" with our sins (Eph. 5:6), but Catholics recognize this as a metaphor for divine justice. It is far less clear that Chick understands the concept of divine wrath as a metaphor, and his Jesus sometimes seems very angry. In any event, the Jesus ruling in heaven is still the real Jesus, not another one.

NeonTetra SG

Originally posted by FrustMom:

Rattling about this guy is because too many Protestants fall into his trap. They end up doing stuff like spending money buying his tracts and putting into people's doorstep. But they all do it every discreetly. Why? It is illegal in the first place to hand out such stuff. If you don't believe, try handing one of this tract to me and let me report to the police. You will see if any action be taken. Why is it illegal? think about.

And his accusation against the Roman Catholic Church is all bull.

[b]Scripture and Tradition
As for the biblical part, please look at this http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=127310

"I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2).

"Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us" (2 Tim. 1:13-14).

"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thess. 2:15)

"You, then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:1-2).

"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of ones own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

"Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete" (2 John 12).

All these above were conveniently ignored by the Protestants. Why so? Because the Protestants do not have tradition. Why not? Because they branched out from the apostolic church and bible was the only thing that they brought along with them when they left.

Everything about why Protestants believe in this or are against that, is every straight forward. Some of the points, I don't even need to refer to the bible and quote the phrases.

As for jealousy? Why not? While so many Protestant Church (esp the newly founded ones) forced and brainwashed their members to donate 20% of their monthly salary to the church, the Catholic church collects a few thousand times more by simply passing the bag around during Mass. No brainwashing required. The recent death of the late Pope John Paul II draws attention from leaders all over the world. We will never see a Protestant leader having this kind of privilege. [/b]

Chick dun represent the whole Protestant Church. Neither do I endorse his way of speculations. But some of the things he quote can be further research because i personally dun take a man's word for all its worth, not even pastors.

My basis of whether a church, denomination has erred is not based on personally prejudice (myself being a ex-RC) and criticising things, people or systems that i do not belong to is not the way.

The Bible has revealed to us, bible-believing Christians the revelation about God and His only Son Jesus Christ. The plan of redemption, the sin reality of men and their helplessness. The perfect remission of sins through the atoning blood of Christ and i'm sure the RC teaches that as well. However, adding on to something that has already been perfected shows that the former is not perfect at all. And adding something not mentioned in the Scriptures makes it worse.

Popularity and public acceptance is not a criteria nor a litmus test to whether or not something is genuine and right. The Bible in all of its books has shown us a pattern of human race persistently rejecting and denying the truths about God and coming to embrace His rulership. Man's defiance and rebelliousness is coherent to all. And regarding the Pope John Paul II death drawing attention from world leaders and whether or not such a thing will happen if it were a Protestant leader.....that is something we as Christians r not supposed to be particular about...we fear God and not men, similarly we desire God's approval and not men's.

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." -Matthew 10:22

Because of the name and the gospel of Jesus Christ, Christians will have to face tremendous oppositions and hatred. Simply because the truths found within the gospel is offensive to sinful men and the amount of commitment and changes required is something unpopular. The possible reasons why the Roman Pontiff has enjoyed public and even worldwide acceptance comes mainly because he embrace the other faiths as if they are ultimate truths as well. Religious harmony and tolerance is something people like and encourage because that means they can continue to live in their lies and deceptions without some 'holy than thou' evangelical christians come along and tell them they are wrong and the Bible is right. That is something people hate and dislike and to refrain from doing so will mean gaining acceptance. On the contrary, the Jesus of the Bible, the Messiah tells us to preach the good news of His kingdom, to disciple and to rebuke with the Word those who have erred and strayed away from the true God......with love and gentleness though, helping them to come back and leave the lifestyle of iniquity. I would agree that biblie-believing Christians at times focus more on the error but forget about the love and grace of God. which does not mean that everything can be tolerated and showing compromise...there needs to be a line drawn and that line must come from understanding and accepting the Bible as authoritative in all it has to say.

Concerning the monetary income, Christians dont give 20%...rather as mentioned in the Bible it is a tenth of the harvest. In our context that amounts up to 10%. And biblical giving must be willing and sacrificial and not having idea that we can outgive God and bride Him. The comparison between incomes gaining from donations and tithes is again something the Kingdom of God is not concerned with. In wealth or in poverty of this world, the Kingdom still rules and reign in all power and majesty.

The bottomline is: I personally do not endorsed all that the Chick tracts have to offer and further research needs to be done. The basis of a mature and bible-believing Christian discernment whether or not a church has erred or something is biblically wrong must comes from the Bible whom we regard as God-inspired and God-breathed. Fully authoritative and has the final say in all the issues concerned. Not a human leader, not a supreme pontiff.

FrustMom SG

Paganism/Idolatry

One of the major themes of Chick tracts is the attempt to portray Catholicism as a form of paganism. According to Chicks mythology, ancient Babylonian paganism spread all over the world, with deities taking new names in different cultures but remaining fundamentally the same. He holds Catholicism to be one of its expressions and devotes many pages to showing that the Catholic Mary is actually the ancient Babylonian queen Semiramis and that the Eucharist is based on the worship of ancient sun gods.

Unfortunately, Chick gets his mythology all wrong. For example, he claims that "in ancient Babylon, they worshiped the sun god, Baal. Then this religion moved into Egypt using different names."[72] In reality, ancient Babylonians worshiped the sun god Shamash. Baal was neither a Babylonian deity nor the sun god. In fact, he was the Canaanite storm god. Chick could not have had his ideas more muddled.

The source Chick depends on for his mythological ideas is The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, an eccentric nineteenth-century Anglican clergyman. Chick essentially recycles Hislops central thesis of Catholicism being a revival of Babylonian paganism. This allows him to identify the Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon.

Yet the book lacks credibility. Hislop was writing when anthropology and archaeology were in their infancy, and the idea that all world religions spring from a common source (especially one in Babylon) has been completely disproven. We have knowledge of multiple mythologies from all over the world that are unrelated to Babylonian paganism. Fundamental differences between them are easy to illustrate. For example, Indo-European paganism (to which Babylonian mythology is related) typically has the sky deity being male and the earth deity as female. But in Egyptian mythology this is reversed: The sky deity is female and the earth deity is male.

The most thorough refutation of The Two Babylons was written by one of its chief twentieth-century popularizers. As a young man, Ralph Woodrow wrote a book called Babylon Mystery Religion, which introduced many to Hislops ideas. It was very popular in Fundamentalist circles. Yet with time Woodrow realized that Hislops claims and logic were deeply flawed, and he wrote a new bookThe Babylon Connection?to refute them.

Pope

Chicks problems with the pope seem to be as follows: (1) The line of popes is a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy of there being many antichrists, and the final pope will be the Antichrist. (2) The popes have been engaged in a global conspiracy spanning centuries, with tendrils in almost every major world event. (3) There is no biblical basis for the office of the pope.

It is very clear in Scripture that Jesus told Peter, whose name means "rock," that "you are Peter [rock], and on this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:1 Cool . To undermine this, Chick makes the familiar claim that two different words are used here in Greekpetros and petraand that the first means a small stone or pebble while the latter means a huge rock or boulder.[73]

This simply is not true. The difference in meaning can be found only in Attic Greek, but the New Testament was written in Koine Greeka different dialect. In Koine, both petros and petra simply meant "rock." The argument shows a faulty knowledge of Greek.[74] Further, Jesus native language was Aramaic, not Greek, and in the Aramaic underlying this passage, the same wordkephawould have been used in both instances.

Purgatory

Chick claims: "Purgatory is NOT in the Bible! It was created by the Vatican as one of the greatest sources for money ever invented. Billions have made the Whore rich from poor Roman Catholic survivors who paid to get their loved ones out of purgatory."[75]

What Chick is referring to (as he makes clear in context) is the paying of Mass stipends when a priest says Mass for a departed loved one. This does not make the Vatican rich. A typical Mass stipend is five dollars, and if a priest gets an occasional five dollars for saying Mass for someones loved one, it doesnt make him or the Church rich. The priest himself keeps the stipend, and the practice is closely regulated to prevent abuse.[76] As a moneymaking scheme, purgatory leaves a lot to be desired.

But then that isnt what it is. It has been part of the Judeo-Christian tradition since before the time of Christ. Judah Maccabee and his men prayed for and took up a collection for an offering (the Old Testament equivalent of a Mass) for men who, although they "fell asleep in godliness" (2 Macc. 12:45), nevertheless needed to be purified from the consequences of their sins. Similarly, Paul tells us: "The fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any mans work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:1315). Even common sense tells one that, since we will be totally pure in heaven, we must be purified if we are still impure at our deaths. Purgatory is the name the Church gives to this purification.

FrustMom SG

Rapture

[
From The Only Hope

"The Rapture" is the name given in Evangelical circles to an event where living and dead Christians are caught up in the air to be with Christ. When this term is used, it usually is assumed that the event will occur shortly before the Millennium, conceived of as a period in which Christ reigns in person on earth, before the end of the world. This idea dates back to around 1830, when it was popularized by John Nelson Darby and by a school of thought called "Dispensationalism," which stems from his work. Chick is a big believer in the Rapture, and it appears in his tracts.

Though it does not use the term Rapture, the Catholic Church acknowledges that Christians will be gathered to Christ (likely not with exploding graves), but at a different time. The Churchs view is like that of traditional Protestants: The dead in Christ will be raised and caught up together with him and living Christians at the Second Coming, at the end of the world. Thus Paul speaks of the event happening in the time of those who "who are left until the coming of the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:15, cf. 4:1617).

Repulsive Catholics

From Fat Cats

A typical tactic in Chick tracts is to portray Catholics as being unpleasant or revolting in various ways. They drink. They smoke. They cuss. They are mean-tempered. They may even be willing to kill non-Catholics. Some are eager to do so. Frequently, Catholics are drawn to be physically ugly as well. The only good Catholics in Chick tracts are ex-Catholicsthose who have left the Church to become Fundamentalists. (Apparently becoming a Fundamentalist helps your appearance, too, because the ex-Catholics are better looking than their former co-religionists.)

When you see this in Chick tracts, recognize it for what it is: an attempt to avoid calm and rational discussion by substituting emotional manipulation, making Catholics "look bad"literally and figurativelyso that you wont like them and will transfer this dislike to their beliefs. This is a prejudicial way of presenting Catholics, and it illustrates the prejudice Chick harbors against Catholics.

From Last Rites........................... From Man in Black.........................From Murph

FrustMom SG

Tradition

Chick makes the typical charges against tradition, for example, quoting Matthew 15:3"Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" What Chick fails to note is that the Bible does not condemn all tradition, only traditions of men that are contrary to the Word of God. Traditions of men that are not contrary to the word of God (e.g., having carpeting in churches) are not a problem.

Then there is a whole other class of tradition: apostolic ones, traditions coming from the apostles. These not only are not problematic, but the keeping of them is praised and commanded by Scripture. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians, "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2). He commands the Thessalonians: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15).

Vatican Riches

Like many, Chick faults the Catholic Church for having too much money.[79] It is true that the Church does have a lot of money invested in churches. You need a lot of churches for a billion Catholics to worship in. It also is true that many of these churches are beautiful and ornate, but it is the natural impulse of Christians to honor God by making the places where he is worshiped beautiful and ornate. This same impulse is reflected in the Old Testament, where God actually ordered his house to be made of costly materials, down to gold clasps for its curtains (Ex. 26:6).

In terms of its liquid assets, the Vatican has a remarkably small budget and regularly runs deficits. For example, in 2002 it spent $260 million but only took in $245 million, with a deficit of $15 million. This budgetmuch of which is devoted to human relief effortsis quite modest on the scale of world affairs. Many individual dioceses have budgets this size, and it is dwarfed by numerous companies and by every state in the U.S.

Whore of Babylon

Chick identifies the Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon described in Revelation. He frequently cites Revelation 18:4 as a biblical imperative to leave the Church"Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues." This would be a good proof textif the Catholic Church were the Whore of Babylon. But it isnt.

When the Whore falls we read, "Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her! . . . And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth" (Rev. 18:20, 24). This shows that the Whore persecuted not just Christians but apostles and prophets. Apostles existed only in the first century, since one of the requirements for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1). Prophets existed as a group only in the Old Testament and the first century (Acts 11:2728, 13:1, 15:32, 21:10).

Since the Whore persecuted apostles and prophets, the Whore must have existed in the first century. This demolishes the claim that Christian Rome or Vatican City is the Whore. Rome was not a Christian city at that time, and Vatican City did not even exist, so neither of them could be the Whore. Furthermore, Chick (wrongly) claims that Catholicism itself did not exist in the first century but was created by the emperor Constantine. This means that on his very own argument Catholicism could not be the Whore.

Who is the Whore? Most likely first-century Jerusalem, which was renowned for persecuting both apostles and prophets. The fall of the Whore is likely a depiction of the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70.

LeftBallBigger SG

cool thread

really

Wink Wink

FrustMom SG

Chick Tracts
Their Origin and Refutation
Conclusion

Special Report

1. The Nightmare World of Jack T. Chick
2. Who Is Jack T. Chick?
3. Who Was Alberto Rivera?
4. Jack T. Chicks Gallery of Anti-Catholic Tracts
5. Answering Chick Tracts
6. Conclusion

Whole Report (Parts 1-6) (Caution: 1.1 Mbytes)

You have completed your journey through the nightmare world of Jack T. Chick. It is time to take a break, breathe a sigh of relief, and settle back into the real world, glad at last to see the light of day.

But you must not forget what you have learned.

Chick has still sold over half a billion tracts in the forty-year life of his company, and he is still selling tens of thousands of copies per day. Chick and his tracts are deceiving countless individualsboth Protestants and Catholics. Thats why he can continue to print and sell so many tracts. Someone is paying the printing and distribution costs for all these tracts. People really do respond to them.

If you care about the cause of truthand Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6)then you must do what you can to fight the errors found in these tracts.

If you are an ordinary church memberProtestant or Catholicyou can get more general information on Jack Chick from Catholicism and Fundamentalism and The Usual Suspects by Karl Keating. For added help, check out www.catholic.com.

If you are a Catholic, you now know answers to many of the anti-Catholic slurs Chick makes in his tractsand you have seen the principles to use in answering them.

If you are a Protestant, you have seen something of the magnitude of Chicks misrepresentation of the Catholic faith. Even though you may disagree with parts of the Catholic faith, you know enough now to recognize that Chick tracts fundamentally misrepresent it and are not good witnessing tools.

If you are an Evangelical bookstore owner, you have seen the gross distortions of Catholic teaching and the paranoid conspiracy theories that he weaves around the Catholic Church. You know thatregardless of your differences with the Catholic Churchdistributing Chick tracts to your patrons will do a disservice to the body of Christ by spreading error, fear, and prejudice among your customers.

And if you are an employee of Chick Publicationsor even Jack Chick himselfyou have seen a more thorough answer to the material in your tracts than you may have seen before. Numerous errors and misrepresentations have been documented. You now know why, if you are to be a faithful servant of Christ, these tracts must be pulled from the market and the presentation of Catholics in your publications must be changed.

In the love of Jesus Christ,

Catholic Answers

Agent_78 SG

I believed that there is a basis of truth within...chick's comics.........it seems that roman catholics actually prayed to mary?......how can u treat mary like God? You even see statues of mary and saints around.....how can man become saints? its makes no sense at all....aren't this all idols Neutral

Even now the media development authority banned the site.... Mad so much for telling us though....

Honeybunz SG

There are several Marys in the Bible, but by far the most important is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is known by many titles, including the Blessed Virgin Mary (sometimes abbreviated BVM), Queen of Heaven, Theotokos (Mother of God) and Our Lady (Notre-Dame in French; Madonna in Italian).

Because of her humility, piety and role as the mother of the Savior of humanity, Mary has been accorded great respect in all branches of Christianity and is a favorite subject in art, music and literature. In Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Mary is the pre-eminent saint and the focus of much popular devotion.

This article explores historical and modern Christian beliefs about Mary (known as "Mariology" ), which includes such doctrines as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, Mary as "Theotokos," and Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix.

Visions, shrines, feast days, the "Hail Mary" and other devotional practices related to Mary, which are important aspects of Mariology, will be treated in the forthcoming Christian Practices section.

Honeybunz SG

Mary in the Reformation and Protestantism
Despite the Reformer's rejection of the veneration of Mary and other saints, most Protestants have shown a great deal of honor and respect for Mary. Martin Luther said Mary is "the highest woman," that "we can never honour her enough," that "the veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart" and that we should "wish that everyone know and respect her." John Calvin said, "It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor." Zwingli said, "I esteem immensely the Mother of God," and, "The more the honor and love of Christ increases among men, so much the esteem and honor given to Mary should grow."

Most Reformers rejected the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption of Mary, but some affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary and all accepted the Virgin Birth.

Since the Reformation, Protestants have tended to pay little attention to Mary, primarily in reaction against the excessive level of adoration they believe is relegated to her in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. But this may be beginning to change. In the summer of 2004, Christian History & Biography magazine (affiliated with the Protestant Christianity Today) dedicated an entire issue to Mary. Included were articles suggesting the value of making a larger place for her in Protestantism. In December 2004, the Southern Baptist dean of an evangelical school in Alabama said:

I would like Protestants today, evangelicals today, to go back to the reformers. I don't think we have to become Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodox believers to recover a truly Protestant, reformational, scriptural understanding of Mary.
Professor Beverley Roberts Gaventa of Princeton Theological Seminary, whose writings have called for more Protestant emphasis of Mary agrees, pointing out:

What happens in the story is that Mary is chosen entirely by God's own initiative. This is a primary example of what Protestants emphasize as God's divine grace, God's initiative.

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