Jack Chick “Bible Tracts”

Perhaps you’ve seen one of these mini comic book/Bible tracts at a gas station, phone booth or public restroom and wondered who put it there.  The mysterious “JTC” in the bottom corner stands for Jack T. Chick, a virtual recluse, who is the most widely-published comic book author in the world.  Chick is an author and artist who started distributing his comic booklets in the early 1960’s.  His publications are now printed and distributed worldwide in virtually every language.

While he has published volumes about a myriad of subjects including Islam and Atheism, Chick’s favorite target is the Catholic Church.  In his booklets, he blames the Catholic Church for everything from the start of Islam to the Holocaust during WWII.  For those who are well-catechized and even those educated in secular history, Chicks deeply-flawed attacks on the Church seem almost comical.  But, for those who are not so knowledgeable about their faith or history, these so-called “Bible tracts” have been the cause of much confusion and despair over the years and have been the impetus for leading many out Catholics of the Church.

Chick’s anti-Catholicism is extremely blatant and irreverent - and it shows in the titles of some of his tracts.  Titles such as, “The Death Cookie” (an attack on the Eucharist) and “Why Is Mary Crying?” (attacking Marian Doctrines) shake poorly-catechized Catholics to the core.  The back page usually includes the “Sinner’s Prayer” for those wishing to turn from their evil ways (i.e., the Catholic Church) and embrace his particular brand of Christianity.

Chick’s most famous anti-Catholic series (the “Alberto” series) is based on the supposed testimony of an alleged ex-Jesuit Priest named, Alberto Rivera.  In it, he tells of the “horrors” and “secret practices” of the Church throughout the centuries and how it is the instrument of the Devil. He plays fast and loose with historical “facts” yet is unable to provide any proof for his allegations.  Rivera’s exploits have been debunked many times not only Catholic scholars, but by Protestant theologians and scholars as well as prominent secular historians.

As Catholics, it is difficult to read such rubbish without becoming annoyed and even angry. But, we must remember that our Lord Jesus warned that his Church would be hated and attacked (John 15:18-19), but he also gave us the wonderful promise that the gates of hell wouldn’t prevail against it (Matt 16:18).  As the mystical Body of Christ, we shouldn‘t feel the need to be validated by the world because we have God’s loving guarantee.