Weird Tract Number 112: "The Christian Cross, Not the anti-Christ 'broken cross'" by the Tract Evangelistic Crusade

Troy Davis writes:

The defunct Tract Evangelistic Crusade was once a powerhouse when it came to churning out religious material. Whenever I receive a lot of old-timey tracts from an eBay auction, it's not unusual to have a few of their tracts in the bunch.

This two-sided leaflet came out during the Vietnam War period and played upon the trope, common in Bircher and fundie circles, that the peace symbol was a "broken cross" of Nero.The museum has plenty of tracts with this theme and this page has a more detailed explanation of the phenomenon along with some examples of Chick Publications' spreading of this misinformation. Other featured tracts with the broken cross motif are here, here, and here.

Here is the other side of the leaflet:

I use the peace symbol of an example of a satanic symbol in my various Chick tract parodies (read them here).

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 111: "What's Wrong With Petting[?]" by Anonymous

Troy Davis writes:

I'm no fan of Lyndon Johnson but I was amused with his quip about how the invention of pantyhose ruined a certain type of petting. This anonymous six page pamphlet gives the lowdown on how unmarried couples feeling each other up is unbiblical. The highlight of the tract is when the author uses Galatians 5: 19, 21 to lump horny teens with some real lowlifes:

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That kind of reminds me of the list of "Doorways to Demonic Possession" I created for my Chick tract parodies (more about it here). 

The only redeeming part of this tract is that it's more succinct than a similarly-theme tract by John R. Rice in the museum's collection: "Courtship and the Dangers of Petting" (read about it here).

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 110: "The Bible Versus The Evil in Freemasonry" by Evangelist Robert Lee Hampton

Troy Davis writes:

Opposition to Freemasonry has been deeply ingrained in various American political and religious subcultures.  Most people I know view the Freemasons as a fuddy-duddy fraternal organization that's been in steep membership decline over the past half century. However, in the first half of the 19th century, they were a salient political and cultural phenomenon. For awhile in the 1800s, there was an Anti-Masonic Party that had some limited electoral success. 

Protestant traditionalists have railed against the Freemasons. One big reason was a hoax put forth by 19th century anti-clerical prankster Léo Taxil (1854-1907) who wrote a series of books claiming Freemasonry was satanic. Jack Chick's long out-of-print tract "The Curse of Baphomet" is based on the Taxil hoax (The tract is not even available on Chick Publications' website but you can read it here). Although the tract is no longer available from Chick Publications, the museum has many copies in its collection. The currently in-print Chick tract that addresses Freemasonry using elements of the Taxil Hoax is "That's Baphomet?" which can be read here. I used Taxil's rendition of Baphomet as the basis of the cover art for the Chick tract parody titled "Donald Trump Is The Antichrist: Prepare for The Rapture!" (read it and other Chick tract parodies here).

Hampton's 4-page pamphlet is not based on the Taxil Hoax. Thompson, a former 32 degree Mason, bases his opposition to Freemasonry based on practices such as Masonic oaths (which he views as unbiblical) as well as supposed pagan rituals used in the organization. His critique is similar to those of another former Mason who appeared on John Ankerberg's TV show. This is a very boring tract full of Bible verses.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 109: Oral Roberts Anointing Oil Card

Troy Davis writes:

The museum has several tracts and books by prosperity gospel preacher and university founder Oral Roberts (1918-2009). Many Americans evangelists are notable for either selling anointing oil or sending a small vial of oil and then hitting up the "parishioner" for a hefty donation; a good example of the former is Dr. Rebecca Brown who went into business for herself after falling out of favor with Jack Chick; her anointing oil is $46 an ounce. 

Roberts sent his oil free but then asked the sick for donations. Roberts sent his viewers in need of healing vials attached to this card (in the rectangle on the other side of the card; see below). That side also includes a printed and initialed cursive message from Roberts in which he cites James 5:14: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:. There's also a warning not to use the oil internally. The other side of the card has a pic of Oral's Googie-designed prayer tower where Roberts sought refuge during his '80s fundraising drive in which he feared God was going to call him "home" if he failed.

A variation of anointing oil racket is the prayer cloth scheme used by grifters like Benny Hinn.

A couple other Oral Roberts items featured on this website are  here and here.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

 

Weird Tract Number 108: "Survival Instructions" by Leon Bates

Troy Davis writes:

Many fundies who focus on The Rapture and the Great Tribulation have created tracts as well as videotapes, DVDs, and flash-drives giving instructions to those poor souls who were "left behind." This 1983 four-page pamphlet by the inimitable Leon Bates is one of the many examples in the museum's collection.

Leon Bates is one of my favorites. As I pointed out previously, it was Bates' radio show that first gave me an appreciation for fringe religions when I was a kid. Bates' incorporation of UFOs in his theology intrigued me. I always enjoyed the outsider art in his Tribulation Map and his book Projection for Survival.

Here's what Bates advises the hapless unsaved people facing The Great Tributlation: 1) Prepare for global war and famine; 2) Leave the cities; 3) Avoid mountains and islands because those geographic features will be destroyed; 4) Avoid the oceans; 5) Make provisions for seven years; 6) Establish security from hungry people and animals; 7) Create a secure earthquake-proof dwelling; 8) Beware of demon-controlled people; 9) Don't take the number of The Beast; 10) Avoid public exposure; 11) Warn others of the coming events.

In case you missed it, when I featured Bates' Tribulation Map, I included a link for a merciless and priceless lampoon of Bates' Projection for Survival by cartoonist Daniel Clowes.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 107: "The Wages of Sin" Funny Money (distributed by Pilgrim Tract Society)

Troy Davis writes:

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts has an extensive collection of tracts that resemble paper money. These tracts have long been the bane of servers who have received them by well-meaning fundies who believe that saving a wait-person's soul is more valuable than temporal things like moola. In previous decades, there were cases in which the Secret Service cracked down on the printing of this religious funny money, even though earlier religious money specimens were obviously not real currency. In the past decade, some publishers have created religious counterfeit money that resembles real currency. This example is probably from the '50s. The other side of the currency along with a pic of some of the museum's other funny money are below.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

"Jack T. Chick Hanged Santa Original Art": Cultural Artifact from The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts

Troy Davis writes:

This is original art by Jack T. Chick that appeared in the January/February issue of Battle Cry. It portrays a feckless public official who hanged Santa and chopped down a Christmas tree to appease militant Muslims. For the story behind this acquisition by the museum, go to this Twitter thread.

NOTES ON JACK CHICK: In my introductory post, I listed just a few of the many rare and valuable objects from The Museum's extensive Chick-related collection . . . The role of Ralph Rushtoi in the publishing careers of both Jack Chick and another comics-based tract writer Vic Lockman. . . I discuss the role of Bill Bright's prolific tract The Four Spiritual Laws in leading to a format change in Chick tracts that was a key reason why they have become much more popular since the late 1960s . . . My thoughts on Jack Chick's spreading of the peace symbol/broken cross mythology . . .  Jack Chick's retro-futuristic car in the scarce 48-page version of "The Beast" . . . Chick tract parody "Constitutional Rites" . . .Jack Chick's cold war tract "Ivan The Terrible" . . . Article on Chick by fellow Catholic-baiting Bob Jones University magazine . . .Catholic-bashing tract by Chick's protege Alberto Rivera . . . Knock-off of a Chick tract by James Lloyd:"Left Behind" . . . Chick tract parody "Donald Trump Is The Antichrist; Prepare for the Rapture!" . . .The 1972 Chick tract "The Last Generation." . . . The extremely rare 1970 Chick tract "Operation Somebody Cares" . . .The rare Chick Publications comic book "Jonah" by Chick and Fred Carter . . . Artifacts from the museum's collections:all of Jack Chick's high school yearbooks (which include the first published cartoon by Chick) . . . "Closet Witches" by Jack T. Chick (audio-cassette interview with Dr. Rebecca Brown and "Elaine"). . . .

An appreciation of the deranged nature of the original 1972 version of the Chick tract "The Last Generation" . . .

The museum has a rare copy of the oversized 1964 Version of "This Was Your Life" by Jack Chick (Distributed by Rushtoi Publications) 

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.
 

Weird Tract Number 106: "666 and Counting" by David F Webber (Tract Evangelistic Crusade)

Troy Davis writes:

I previous wrote about David Webber (1933-2004) and the Southwest Radio Church when I featured the demented booklet "The Computers Are Coming!" that Webber co-authored with Noah Hutchings. This tract, "666 and Counting," is a one-page, double-sided sheet from 1973 that Webber wrote for the Tract Evangelistic Crusade (I've previously written about this defunct outfit here and here).

 In this tract, Webber mentions many of the typical end-times tropes of the time: The Federal Reserve Board, computer monitoring, numbers to identify people, the IMF, and the World Bank, and credit cards. Mildly amusing stuff.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 105: "Jonah" by Jack Chick and Fred Carter.

Troy Davis writes:

It took a long time to obtain this scarce and long-out-of-print 1994 Chick Publications comic book. The few times I've seen it on eBay, it went for a considerable amount. I recently won a comic book lot auction in which it was one of ten books (I got the lot for a steal at about $30).

When I spoke to Jack Chick in 2004 (yeah, I met Chick a couple times) about his Jesus film The Light of the World (watch it here), he mentioned that he originally intended the Jonah story to be the basis for his film. That project was aborted and Chick used the paintings by Fred Carter in a comic book (the Chick Museum of Fine Art has more details).

The book starts with a supposed real-life event in which an early 20th century sailor was swallowed whole by a shark and lived. Then Chick and Carter tell the story of the prophet Jonah and segue into the crucifixion of Jeebus and a give the reader a stern warning not to end up in The Lake of Fire. The art by Carter is superb.

NOTES ON JACK CHICK: In my introductory post, I listed just a few of the many rare and valuable objects from The Museum's extensive Chick-related collection . . . The role of Ralph Rushtoi in the publishing careers of both Jack Chick and another comics-based tract writer Vic Lockman. . . I discuss the role of Bill Bright's prolific tract The Four Spiritual Laws in leading to a format change in Chick tracts that was a key reason why they have become much more popular since the late 1960s . . . My thoughts on Jack Chick's spreading of the peace symbol/broken cross mythology . . .  Jack Chick's retro-futuristic car in the scarce 48-page version of "The Beast" . . . Chick tract parody "Constitutional Rites" . . . Chick tract parody "Donald Trump Is The Antichrist; Prepare for the Rapture!" . . .The 1972 Chick tract "The Last Generation." . . . The extremely rare 1970 Chick tract "Operation Somebody Cares" . .. . . The museum's prized cultural artifact, original art by Jack Chick . . . Artifacts from the museum's collections:all of Jack Chick's high school yearbooks (which include the first published cartoon by Chick) . . . "Closet Witches" by Jack T. Chick (audio-cassette interview with Dr. Rebecca Brown and "Elaine").

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 104: "WARNING: Citizens of Earth" by Anonymous

Troy Davis writes:

I think found this two-sided handbill when I lived in Los Angeles. It has a standard fire-and-brimstone warning but it does it with some verve. I've included the other side below for your reading enjoyment.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 103: "The Secret Terrorists" by Bill Hughes of Truth Triumphant Ministries

Troy Davis writes:

Bill Hughes of Truth Triumphant Ministries of Eustis, Florida is a Seventh Day Adventist preacher and notorious Jesuit-baiter.  His 151-page book The Secret Terrorists (2002) was part a huge package I recently received in the mail. The book reflects Hughes' conspiratorial approach to American history in which he argues that since the 1820s, the Jesuit Order has targeted the United States with an unrelenting terror campaign as part of its effort to destroy Protestantism. Hughes cites a slew of Catholic-bashing authors published by Chick Publications: Charles Chiniquy, Edmond Paris, Avro Manhattan, and Alberto Rivera.

Hughes would have us believe the following:

• Jesuits were behind the poisonings of U.S. presidents William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and James Buchanan.
• Jesuits were behind the Confederacy.
• Jesuits were responsible for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
• Jesuits sank the Titanic.
• Jesuits were behind both world wars.
• Jesuits were in favor of The Vietnam War and bumped off JFK.
• Bill Clinton is a Jesuit who intentionally massacred the Branch Davidians at Waco.
• Clinton and the Jesuits were also behind the Oklahoma City bombing 
• Jesuits were behind the 9/11 attacks.
  
  
  

  The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

  
  

  For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts
  
  The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

  
  Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.