IS JACK CHICK RIGHT?

I have always been fascinated by JACK CHICK tracts. You know, those little ultra fundamentalist gospel tract comic books. I became really interested after a local country buffet
which is run by some ultra fundamentalist evangelicals put a rack full of CHICK TRACTS in their restaurant. Now every time I go there, I get a CHICK TRACT to read to find out why I'm going to hell while I eat my fried chicken and collard greens.

Soon I began collecting CHICK TRACTS. If you want CHICK TRACTS, all you have to do is let BROTHER JACK CHICK know that you want them and they'll send them to you. So I have gotten myself on BROTHER JACK's mailing list. Now BROTHER JACK is against a lot of stuff and tends to lump groups together on his enemies list, these enemies include Homosexuals, Wiccans, Atheists, Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Muslims, and Liberal Protestants of all stripes.

Now usually, when BROTHER JACK's newsletter arrives in the mail with a new tract, I get a good laugh from the ranting and raving. But this month for over half the letter, I wasn't laughing and actually found myself agreeing with BROTHER JACK. It was a frightening experience.

BROTHER JACK CHICK WRITES: There is a dangerous change going on in our nation right now. Muslim terrorists no longer conduct 'terrorism.' Now it is called 'man-caused disaster.' And the terrorists are now only 'insurgents.' So who are the 'terrorists' now? Would you believe - us?

Recently an official document was leaked from the Department of Homeland Security to prepare law enforcement for the newest form of 'potential terrorists.' This includes ex-military (oops - I was in WWII for three years!), those who oppose illegal immigration or gun control, people who stand against abortion - in short, anyone who opposes our government and its agenda! Already the movement to criminalize Christians is farther along than anyone dreams.

Get the picture?

Our job as believers is to pray for 'all that are in authority' (1 Timothy 2:1-2), that God will guide and direct them, whether they want Him or not.

But '. . . judgment must begin at the house of God . . .' (1 Peter 4:17). And it's coming Beloved. If the Lord Jesus tarries, I believe we'll see an Inquisition rise in our future. But what about the unsaved? Does our nation deserve God's judgment? Oh yes, there's lots of blood on our hands, with millions of babies slaughtered. Do you think God will ignore this? I think not!

Frighteningly, I found myself nodding my head agreeing with BROTHER JACK! It was not until over 2/3 of the way through the letter that I thought that BROTHER JACK got crazy:

The precious old King James 1611 Authorized Version Bible, which has caused sweeping revivals for over 300 years, is now held in reproach. And it has been replaced by Roman Catholic Bibles . . .

(Whaaaa? What's Brother Jack talking about, or does Brother Jack know what he's talking about? Well, anyway . . .)

Why do I say that I don't think that BROTHER JACK'S talk about orthodox Christianity being made illegal and those who maintain traditional faith being persecuted is paranoid and delusional. Because one look in the newspaper shows that BROTHER JACK might not be so crazy on this. Take these examples:

1. In Great Britain, Catholic adoption agencies in England and Wales will be forced to close because authorities there have ruled that Catholic adoption agencies cannot restrict adoption to heterosexual couples on religious grounds. The government ruled that the Catholic charities must either violate their religious principles or be stripped of charitable status (which practically speaking means that they will be forced to close).

2. The National Catholic Register reports that conscience is in jeopardy in the United States for Catholic Health Care Workers and Catholic Hospitals who may soon be forced by law to provide birth control and abortion. Doctors and pharmacists may soon be forced by licensing requirements in many states to provide abortion and birth control services as a condition of keeping their licenses. If they refuse, they could lose their licenses or, in some states, be criminally prosecuted.

3. In Great Britain, British churches may soon be forced by law to accept practicing homosexuals and transsexuals in positions as youth workers under "Equality Legislation" which may soon be passed by Parliament. Clauses in the law which would protect churches and religious groups from being forced to hire persons whose lifestyles are considered sinful were rejected.

4. An article in Christianity Today expresses concerns that Churches could be forced by anti-discrimination laws to perform same sex marriages in States which have legalized the practice. Jim Campbell, litigation counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund is quoted by the article as saying: "The reality is that churches, organizations, and people who do not recognize same-sex marriages hold beliefs that are now contrary to and viewed as discriminatory under the governing law. In a very real sense, churches will be organizations that hold officially discriminatory views. The ramifications of this will ripple throughout countless facets of the law. "

5. Christianity Today also reports that because of a new British law meant to keep radical Muslims who might be potential terrorists out of the country, that Christian recording artist DON FRANCISCO was detained by British immigration authorities at London's Heathrow Airport and deported from the country. Why was DON FRANCISCO considered to be an enemy of Great Britain? Because he listed his occupation as "Gospel Singer" and failed to obtain a special visa needed of "religious workers" which he had never needed before. MR. FRANCISO's planned Easter concert at Poole, England had to be cancelled when the star of the show was denied entry into the country because of being a potential terrorist.

Although a lot of what I have related above happened in England and not in the United States, how far behind Western Europe can we be in official government disapproval of people of faith? Maybe BROTHER JACK CHICK isn't totally crazy after all . . . Or maybe he is . . .