Jack Chick's View on Catholicism

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Having a mixture of Pentecostal and Puritan theology, I had my doubts about the Catholic Church for years. I think I was influenced 17th Century Puritan writers mainly, and the Catholic Church was in a different place at that time, and Puritan writers were opposing what they saw were anti-Scriptural practices going on.

I married a wife who had a Catholic background, and I gained a lot of understanding of the Catholic Church from an ordinary person's point of view which softened my approach, especially that she has a cousin who is a Catholic priest. It is interesting that the Catholic nuns that I have met over the years have always been gracious Christ-loving women who have clearly devoted their lives to serving the Lord.

Last year, I did a MDiv paper on Catholic theology which gave me an in-depth understanding of the Church's views on salvation. sanctification, the rituals and ceremonies. and other theology specific to Catholicism. I found that there was nothing to stop a person receiving Christ as Saviour. I asked my wife how a person received Christ in the Catholic Church. She told me the process, in Catholic terminology. When I translated the terminology and compared it with my Pentecostal trained terminology, I found that the process was exactly the same!

What has largely happened in the Catholic Church is that the reality of the actual presence of the Holy Spirit has been replaced by ritual and ceremony which is symbolic of the way we all worship God. It is just that it is all written down in a liturgy with different ceremonies that have evolved over the centuries. If a person approaches these from the heart, then that worship is just as meaningful and genuine as any worship in any Protestant church, including Pentecostal.

In actual fact, most of the traditional Protestant churches have their own rituals and ceremonies to aid their worship of God. Even the Pentecostal movement has gone the same way. Where once people worshiped spontaneously with little structure, 60 years later, we have "professional" music leaders and singers telling us when, where and how we should worship, and their order of service is programmed so that you could almost set your watch at each stage of it.

So, I believe that whether a person is Catholic, Protestant, or Pentecostal. if they worship God from their hearts, then who's to judge whether they are worshiping in ways that please God or not?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Oh? What did Constantine bring into the Church?

He became converted to Christ, and made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. He closed the pagan temples and then opened them up for Christian services. This effectively ended the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. But started a trend for having Christian services in custom-built religious buildings instead of in different homes and rented meeting rooms.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Having a mixture of Pentecostal and Puritan theology, I had my doubts about the Catholic Church for years. I think I was influenced 17th Century Puritan writers mainly, and the Catholic Church was in a different place at that time, and Puritan writers were opposing what they saw were anti-Scriptural practices going on.

I married a wife who had a Catholic background, and I gained a lot of understanding of the Catholic Church from an ordinary person's point of view which softened my approach, especially that she has a cousin who is a Catholic priest. It is interesting that the Catholic nuns that I have met over the years have always been gracious Christ-loving women who have clearly devoted their lives to serving the Lord.

Last year, I did a MDiv paper on Catholic theology which gave me an in-depth understanding of the Church's views on salvation. sanctification, the rituals and ceremonies. and other theology specific to Catholicism. I found that there was nothing to stop a person receiving Christ as Saviour. I asked my wife how a person received Christ in the Catholic Church. She told me the process, in Catholic terminology. When I translated the terminology and compared it with my Pentecostal trained terminology, I found that the process was exactly the same!

What has largely happened in the Catholic Church is that the reality of the actual presence of the Holy Spirit has been replaced by ritual and ceremony which is symbolic of the way we all worship God. It is just that it is all written down in a liturgy with different ceremonies that have evolved over the centuries. If a person approaches these from the heart, then that worship is just as meaningful and genuine as any worship in any Protestant church, including Pentecostal.

In actual fact, most of the traditional Protestant churches have their own rituals and ceremonies to aid their worship of God. Even the Pentecostal movement has gone the same way. Where once people worshiped spontaneously with little structure, 60 years later, we have "professional" music leaders and singers telling us when, where and how we should worship, and their order of service is programmed so that you could almost set your watch at each stage of it.

So, I believe that whether a person is Catholic, Protestant, or Pentecostal. if they worship God from their hearts, then who's to judge whether they are worshiping in ways that please God or not?

Of course no one can judge who is pleasing God and who is not.

Many who know nothing about terminology are in the process of being sanctified while others knowing the meaning are content with knowing but not doing.

What would matter in how one is being taught is the outcome. When rituals are understood, ie: letter of the law being understood, then puritanically speaking, it should be matured by going outside of the camp to where Jesus is. Where's that? Where He is often absent in feelings and understanding, in the wilderness, before the promise land, fighting giants after entering in. Rather than being content with rituals.

 

[prodromos]

He became converted to Christ, and made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

No he didn't. All he did was allow Christians to practice their faith without fear of persecution and restore properties which had been confiscated from Christians under the persecutions.

He closed the pagan temples and then opened them up for Christian services.

Nope. Definitely not Constantine. You need to brush up on your history

This effectively ended the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. But started a trend for having Christian services in custom-built religious buildings instead of in different homes and rented meeting rooms.

The church ruins discovered at Megiddo in Israel are believed to date from before Constantine which shows Christians were already constructing purpose built churches during lulls in the persecution.

I hope Jack Chick is not the source of your knowledge of Constantine.

 

[JESUS=G.O.A.T]

If he's deceased, his views must surely have gone to the grave with him?

Tbh I wish Constantines views did as well

 

[Original Happy Camper]

Tbh I wish Constantines views did as well

Same for Alberto Ribera, wished his views had gone to the grave with him instead of being picked up by Darby and Scofield and many preachers today.

I think Jack Chick was trying to point out that there is pagan rituals in the RCC form of worship brought in by Constantine.

 

[Jack Isaacks]

I will say that I believe Constantine brought much into the church that shouldn't have been in there,

What do YOU think Constantine brought into the Church? Be specific, please. To find out what he really did, please read THE APOSTASY THAT WASN'T.

When I read his ALBERTO comics, it was obvious that Alberto was not and never had been a Roman Catholic, much less a Jesuit priest.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

 

[Thursday]

What do you think of his views he had on the Roman Catholic Church? Not only what you think, but WHY?

I will say that I believe Constantine brought much into the church that shouldn't have been in there, but I think Roman Catholics can still be saved as long as they accept Jesus as the Savior of their sin.

For those of you who don't know who Jack Chick was and his views, here's some links:

Are Roman Catholics Christians?
Last Rites
Papa
Why Is Mary Crying?

Jack Chick is a well known bigot who knows very little Christian history.

His tracts are often flat out lies or distortions.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Tbh I wish Constantines views did as well

Constantine ended the persecution of the Christian faith. Before he did so Christianity was illegal. Christians died. He didn't make Christianity the state religion, as so many detractors think he did. He made Christianity as legal as Paganism.

He did try to meddle in the faith, true. When Christian bishops were arguing over the teaching of Arius, Constantine summoned all of the bishops to meet in Nicea to hammer it out. But Constantine wanted a compromise position, semi-Arianism. The council rejected what Constantine wanted, totally rejecting Arianism and semi-Arianism. So Constantine's meddling wasn't even effective.

The mythology about Constantine is way thicker than the truth about him.

 

[J-Man70]

Oh? What did Constantine bring into the Church?

Paganism had patron gods. When Christianity was legalized, Constantine and his officials began merging their paganism into the church. The statue of the god Jupiter was given the name St. Peter and various other gods were given the names of apostles and other people from the Bible.

These apostles and saints then started to be prayed to. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to pray to dead people. In fact, the Bible refers to saints as people who are alive, not dead. The only place I've found in the Bible where somebody prayed to a dead guy was in the old testament when King Saul "contacted" the dead prophet Samuel. When he did, Samuel did NOT appreciate it.

 

[Gideon]

What do you think of his views he had on the Roman Catholic Church? Not only what you think, but WHY

In the protestant reformation there was a tendency among reformers to try to out-do each other in their complaints about the Roman church. As the centuries ticked by these 'protests' became exaggerated, and Jack Chick was an example of this process of exaggeration.

The Prod/Cath divide is nowhere nearly as great as some wind it up to be. I think we should accept that the middle ages church needed a shake up, and they got it. Now we can move on as mature Christians, accepting each other without trying to crank up new hostilities, as Jack Chick tried to do.

 

[Monk Brendan]

What do you think of his views he had on the Roman Catholic Church? Not only what you think, but WHY?

I will say that I believe Constantine brought much into the church that shouldn't have been in there, but I think Roman Catholics can still be saved as long as they accept Jesus as the Savior of their sin.

For those of you who don't know who Jack Chick was and his views, here's some links:

I want to express my complete disgust for Jack Chick and his anti-Catholic tracts. I've seen a few beyond the ones that are listed in the OP, and they are always defining the RCC as evil, satanic, etc.

From my point of view, the OP is just trying to get in a thread of anti-Catholicism by posting a question about the author of this dreck, and by pointing to several Chick Tracts that are incredibly anti-Catholic, they break all of the rules about flaming and goading, and they WILL be reported, as the OP, through the tracts, has questioned the validity of the salvation of any Catholic on these fora.

 

[Monk Brendan]

Paganism had patron gods. When Christianity was legalized, Constantine and his officials began merging their paganism into the church. The statue of the god Jupiter was given the name St. Peter and various other gods were given the names of apostles and other people from the Bible.

WRONG!!! This is simply untrue, and lying about Catholics, (or other Christians) is simply NOT DONE on these fora. Please read the rules about flaming and goading (Below)

● Please treat all members with respect and courtesy through civil dialogue.
● Do not personally attack other members or groups of members on CF. Address only the content of the post and not the poster.
● Do not maliciously ridicule members or non-members, or groups of members or non-members. Constructive criticism is allowed, but abusive or inflammatory criticism is not allowed.
● NO Goading. This includes images, cartoons, or smileys clearly meant to goad. Quoting and then editing another members post to change the original meaning, commonly referred to as "fixed it for you" (FIFY), is considered goading.
● Stating or implying that another Christian member, or group of members, are not Christian is not allowed.
● If you are flamed, do not respond in-kind. Alert staff to the situation by utilizing the report button.

 

[FireDragon76]

Oh? What did Constantine bring into the Church?

Green jello?

 

[Vicomte13]

What do you think of his views he had on the Roman Catholic Church? Not only what you think, but WHY?

I think Jack Chick's cartoons are a hoot. They're so obnoxious they make me laugh. I've met people who obviously think just like he did, and they make me laugh too.

His theology is like a Monty Python sketch, and what makes it funnier is that he apparently really BELIEVED the crap that he so earnestly wrote about.

Cartoons are meant as entertainment, and Jack Chick's cartoons entertain me because of their sheer buffoonery and fever-swamp craziness.

WHY do I think that?
Well, first of all, I have a sense of humor.
Secondly, I don't take ignorance seriously.
And thirdly, when an idiot obviously really DOES take himself completely seriously, as Chick did, and goes over the top and publishes things meant to be SERIOUS, as Chick did, and other ignorant people take it completely seriously, then I find the whole comic clown posse display to be really very funny.

Jack Chick is a hoot.

 

[Vicomte13]

Green jello?

Aspic!

(Maybe even - shudder - ludefisk!)

 

[MarysSon]

What do you think of his views he had on the Roman Catholic Church? Not only what you think, but WHY?

I will say that I believe Constantine brought much into the church that shouldn't have been in there, but I think Roman Catholics can still be saved as long as they accept Jesus as the Savior of their sin.

For those of you who don't know who Jack Chick was and his views, here's some links:

Are Roman Catholics Christians?
Last Rites
Papa
Why Is Mary Crying?

Simply put - Jack Chick was a rabid anti-Catholic, a lir and an extremely delusional man.

An anti-Catholic is not a person who disagrees with the Church's teachings. It is a person who lies and perpetuates lies in order to push his agenda. Every online tract you listed can be easily refuted and exposed.

There is so much unmitigated garbage in his publications that it is difficult to know exactly where to begin. Here are a few "gems" . . .

- Catholics worship Mary
- Constantine started the Catholic Church
- The Church is run by a person in the shadows called the "Black Pope"
- The Catholic Church assassinated Lincoln
- The Catholic Church caused the Russia Revolution and backed the Bolsheviks led by Lenin.
- St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Order of Jesus (Jesuits), was a Satanist who levitated off the ground in his Satanic trances

Chick's "Alberto" series is filled to the brim with so many lies and filth that it is almost impossible NOT to describe him as an agent of Satan.

This "Alberto" claimed to be an ex-Jesuit priest who "blew the whistle" on all of the Church's "dark" secrets. Unfortunately for Chick, Alberto has been exposed as a con man from Spain who fled the country when he was being investigated for a series of cons, including check fraud, among other things. Both he and Chick are both gone now and have stood before their Creator and Judge and have had to account for why they did.

ANYBODY who takes Jack Chick seriously needs to do his homework . . .

 

[MarysSon]

I think Jack Chick's cartoons are a hoot. They're so obnoxious they make me laugh. I've met people who obviously think just like he did, and they make me laugh too.

His theology is like a Monty Python sketch, and what makes it funnier is that he apparently really BELIEVED the crap that he so earnestly wrote about.

Cartoons are meant as entertainment, and Jack Chick's cartoons entertain me because of their sheer buffoonery and fever-swamp craziness.

WHY do I think that?
Well, first of all, I have a sense of humor.
Secondly, I don't take ignorance seriously.
And thirdly, when an idiot obviously really DOES take himself completely seriously, as Chick did, and goes over the top and publishes things meant to be SERIOUS, as Chick did, and other ignorant people take it completely seriously, then I find the whole comic clown posse display to be really very funny.

Jack Chick is a hoot.

No - he was evil.

I personally know at least 10 people who were seduced out of the Church because of Chick's lies. There is nothing funny about that.

If YOU can resist Chick's "buffoonery" - then more power to you.
Unfortunately, there are millions of people who supported his lies because of their ignorance.

Again - there's nothing humorous about that.

 

[J-Man70]

WRONG!!! This is simply untrue, and lying about Catholics, (or other Christians) is simply NOT DONE on these fora. Please read the rules about flaming and goading (Below)

● Please treat all members with respect and courtesy through civil dialogue.

I did NOT disrespect any members.

● Do not personally attack other members or groups of members on CF. Address only the content of the post and not the poster.

I didn't attack anybody. I simply stated some historical facts.

● Do not maliciously ridicule members or non-members, or groups of members or non-members. Constructive criticism is allowed, but abusive or inflammatory criticism is not allowed.

I did NOT ridicule anybody.

● NO Goading. This includes images, cartoons, or smileys clearly meant to goad. Quoting and then editing another members post to change the original meaning, commonly referred to as "fixed it for you" (FIFY), is considered goading.

I did NOT make any images or cartoons. I did NOT quote anybody out of context. I did NOT goad anybody.

● Stating or implying that another Christian member, or group of members, are not Christian is not allowed.

I never said that anybody was not allowed.

● If you are flamed, do not respond in-kind. Alert staff to the situation by utilizing the report button.

I didn't flame anybody either. The only one doing any goading is you.

 

[FireDragon76]

Even if Chick believed he wasn't lying, then what we are left with is a man without the intellectually curiosity to investigate things for himself... and a lot of twisted suspicion of millions of ordinary countrymen.

I was influenced by this stuff somewhat when I was a young teenager. I didn't encounter alot of Chick's stuff, but it did influence me. Anti-Catholicism was alive and well in many Protestant circles back then, moreso than today (and it's still around). Catholics worship Mary, etc. etc. Until I read the Didache, I Clement, etc., and realized American pop evangelicalism bears no resemblance to early Christianity (the biggest shock was that the Lord's Supper wasn't just a token). Then I spent over a decade disillusioned with religion, not sure what to think, because I had been deceived so much by so many people, or so I felt.