Some will say Jack Chick should have died years ago. The way I see it, his time came when it was meant to come - right when RPGs and Dungeons & Dragons in particular are seeing a resurgence in popularity.
I hope that Jack finds the peace in the afterlife that seems to have escaped him in life.
As a gamer and born-again Christian, I was disheartened by the works of Jack Chick. I understand the Gospel is an uneasy topic but I think Chick wielded it poorly. A legalist cannot allow for God's grace because he/she feels something else is necessary for salvation. So, the message gets lost in attacks on what are creations of imagination -- media that can be used for good or evil, like anything else. RPGs, music, video games, and whatever else one wants to blame for the way the world is misses the point of the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteJust as I loathed my game being picked on growing up, I also loathe my faith being picked on. I, too, hope Chick found peace before his death and was able to lay aside his legalist ways. I do wonder if he knew that the co-creators of D&D both claimed Christianity as their faith: Arneson from before his D&D creation and Gygax later in his life.
Chick was always a strange guy. VERY passionate about spreading the gospel, but not always really understanding what he was sharing. He mellowed a lot in later years, but still had a few rough edges. Just like anyone, he was human and he had opinions.
DeleteSometimes, really really weird opinions. There's a few of his tracts (later ones) that we pass out on occasion (proselytization ho!)and have a pretty accurate take on the gospel and the salvation message, but the bulk should be avoided like the plague.
I do keep a copy of Dark Dungeons in my GM bag though, still waiting for my magic powers to show up.
Hail Satan!
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DeleteMy first introduction to his comics were at a McDonalds in 2005. We were ordering and I got us a table. On there was a comic about evolution. It was so silly and my college buddies and I had a huge laugh from it. Found more of his comics from a local church and we would get a good laugh out of it.
ReplyDeleteI'll miss him. One of the best unintentional comedians of the 20th Century.
ReplyDeleteI'm in!
ReplyDeleteCan't comment right now — I've got to fight the Zombie.
ReplyDelete"Judge not, lest ye be judged." Matthew 7:1
ReplyDeleteJust so there's no misinterpretation here. I'm referring to Jack Chick judging everyone else, not you judging Jack Chick. You can judge Jack Chick all you want. He asked for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm perfectly prepared to be judged — or even Judged — for mocking the words and products of a man who dumped on an innocent hobby and it's practitioners...
DeleteLet's not forget dumping on Masons, pagans, Catholics, scientists, etc. I'm sure the list goes on and on but I can't stomach that stuff enough to make a study of it.
DeleteJack Chick & the Satanic Panic. That brings back memories. I was a quadruple threat back then. I listened to Heavy Metal, loved Star Wars, played D&D and was Catholic. All of which had been declared by one tool or another to be satanic. The whole situation was a hoot here in Tennessee. Every few months some acquaintance would become born again and give away their gaming books and music collections to my friends and me. It was awesome.
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