The Death Cookie

The Death Cookie is an anti-Catholic tract by Jack Chick, written in comic book format.

Synopsis

At the dawn of the Dark Ages, a peasant asks Satan how he could win power without an army. Satan tells him that the secret is to make people believe that he has control of their immortal souls. The peasant asks Satan how to do this. Satan replies that "man is religious by nature", so he must "appear to be very holy", and that he will need helpers who appear to have magical powers so that they will be feared. The people must believe that no one else knows God. "They must become your children... and you must become their Papa." But, to do this, they need a God for the people to worship. And this God will be "a cookie!" The peasant is skeptical that anyone would believe this, but Satan assures him that "they did it in ancient Egypt and it WORKED!" Satan describes the holy rituals of ancient Egypt. The peasant is convinced now that it will work. "My friend", the devil reassures him, "if we pull this off, our cookie will become a death cookie for anyone who opposes our Holy Work."

The peasant, now wearing an elaborate costume and titled "Holy Papa", tells the masses that he and his "Holy Helpers" are there to pray for their souls. He has the Holy Helpers perform the transubstantiation, and even though there is no visible change in the cookie, the people still believe out of fear.

By threatening to prevent anyone opposing him from partaking of the "cookie-God", the Holy Papa and his Holy Helpers now have absolute power over the people. Soon, the Holy Work is renamed as "Mama Church", and even kings are subordinate to Holy Papa. However, a problem arises when the original sacred scriptures are discovered. Dissent spreads when Mama Church's practices are seen to be opposed to what is taught in the scriptures. Satan tells the Holy Papa to "convince people that the sacred writings are dangerous" and that "if the people ever read the scriptures... they would go crazy!" Anyone who opposed Mama Church was tortured and murdered. "Satan was in complete control of the Roman Catholic Church."

After this point, the tract breaks the fourth wall and moves to straight proselytization, stating that the Catholic Church is un-Christian idol worship and that Canon law mandating the death penalty for dissent against Catholic teachings is still officially in force. As is typical with Chick tracts, the final page urges readers to accept Jesus as their lord and savior.

Criticism
Several Catholic organizations have criticized The Death Cookie, characterizing it as a misrepresentation of their faith . That charge has also been echoed by non-Christian organizations [http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?acabc&cwhs&id=4640]. According to Austin Cline at About.com, "Most Catholics are probably unaware of the deep hatred which many fundamentalist denominations hold for their religion, but the Chick tracts reveal that hatred in all its glory." Many Internet commentators find Chick tracts to be a source of humor .

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