773:, 1993, page 421, "Before the devastation of the first world war was unleashed, an extensive witness had been given worldwide. Brother Russell had made speaking trips to hundreds of cities in the United States and Canada, had undertaken repeated trips to Europe, had spoken in Panama, Jamaica, and Cuba, as well as in principal cities of the Orient. Tens of thousands of persons had personally heard his stirring Bible discourses and had observed as he publicly answered from the Scriptures questions raised by both friends and foes. Much interest was thus aroused, and thousands of newspapers in America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia regularly published Brother Russell’s sermons. Millions of books, as well as hundreds of millions of tracts and other pieces of literature in 35 languages, had been distributed by the Bible Students."
528:, the direction the Christians faced when they prayed, and the Jews, who faced Jerusalem, Christians customarily faced east to pray. This distinctive, Christian behavior came up for discussion in virtually every apologetic tract in Syriac or Arabic written by a Christian in the early Islamic period. In their answers to the queries of the Muslims on the subject, Christian writers never failed to mention that the reason they prayed facing east was due to the fact that the Garden of Eden was planted in the east (Genesis 2:8) and that at the end of time, at the second coming, the Messiah would approach Jerusalem from the east. Consequently, they insisted all Christians face this direction when they pray.
434:
758:, 1 May 1994, page 15, "4 From the 1870’s down to 1914, the Bible Students were relatively few in number. By 1914, only some 5,100 were actively sharing in giving a public witness. But what an extraordinary witness it was! In 1881, just two years after the Watch Tower was first published, they undertook distribution of the 162-page publication Food for Thinking Christians. Within a few months, they put out 1,200,000 copies. In a few years, tens of millions of tracts were being distributed annually in many languages."
27:
101:
788:, January 1991, page 8, "1 Are you using tracts and handbills in your ministry? Many are. In Brooklyn alone, over 122 million Peaceful New World tracts have been printed, as well as about 250 million copies of three other tracts, Why You Can Trust the Bible, What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe? and What Hope for Dead Loved Ones? Over 12 million handbills are also mailed to congregations in the United States each year."
326:", which caused a legal controversy in June 2006. Most Christian tract ministries operate as non-profit "faith" organizations, some to the degree that they do not require a fee for their tracts. One of the most productive among these is Fellowship Tract League, which has printed over 4 billion Gospel tracts since 1978, available in over 70 different languages, and have been distributed into more than 200 countries.
211:
803:, 1 November 2007, page 18, "For decades the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been among the most widely translated in the world. Tracts, brochures, magazines, and books have been translated into 437 languages. Translation, of course, like the other activities involved in preaching the good news, requires considerable resources. Just what does the translation process entail?"
202:
wrote many tracts, and in addition to these evangelical writings, his "Penny
Sermons" were printed weekly and distributed widely by the millions and used in a similar way, and they still are today. In America, the American Tract Society distributed vast quantities of tracts in multitudes of languages
243:
were distributing tens of millions of tracts each year; by the start of World War I, they had distributed hundreds of millions of tracts in dozens of languages worldwide. The Watch Tower
Society continues to publish hundreds of millions of religious tracts in more than 400 languages, which are
714:
Evangelicals paid close attention to developments across the
Atlantic. They saw in the efforts of their British cousins the potential the press offered for spreading the gospel through large-scale and inexpensive printing of tracts and
369:, advocating political positions have also been used throughout history as well. They were used throughout Europe in the 17th century. In the 18th century, they featured prominently in the political unrest leading up to the
53:
used for religious and political purposes. Tracts are often either left for someone to find or handed out. However, there have been times in history when the term implied tome-like works. A
398:
during the 1930s and 1940s. According to Jack Chick, his impetus to design cartoon-based religious tracts was brought on by hearing of a similar promotional tool used by
Communists in
77:
in the 14th century. As a political tool, they proliferated throughout Europe during the 17th century. They have been printed as persuasive religious material since the invention of
322:
prints tracts such as "The
Atheist Test" or "Are You Good Enough to Go to Heaven?", as well as tracts which feature attention-getting illusions or gags. These include the "
222:
The publishing of tracts for religious purposes has continued unabated, with many
Christian tract ministries, in particular, existing today. In the United States, the
73:, with the term being applied by scholars to religious and political works at least as early as the 7th century. They were used to disseminate the teachings of
239:
651:
559:
303:
728:
348:
184:. They were learned works and varied in length from four to over 400 pages. An important center for the spreading of tracts was the London-based
49:
in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, a tract referred to a brief
323:
872:
847:
707:
517:
813:
132:
that the movement became known as "Tractarianism", after the publication in the 1830s and 1840s of a series of religious
234:
394:
Tracts were used for political purposes throughout the 20th century. They were used to spread Nazi propaganda in
958:
403:
569:
963:
699:
638:
214:
Tracts are often left in places with high amounts of public traffic. This tract was left under a vehicle
524:
Prominent among them was what in the context of life in the world of Islam one might call the
Christian
509:
483:
319:
938:
264:
889:
105:
382:
256:
188:. Tracts were used both within England, affecting the conversion of pioneer missionary to China,
185:
177:
943:
448:
422:
378:
245:
223:
121:
20:
433:
255:. One of the most widely distributed, and one that continues to be handed out en masse, is "
564:
283:
193:
161:
138:
109:
267:
and first published in 1965. "This Was Your Life" was the first of many tracts written by
8:
473:
370:
172:
discourses that sought to establish the continuity between the Church of
England and the
124:
and the various upheavals of the 17th century. They came to such prominence again in the
948:
646:
334:
329:
In the 2010s, Saint Paul Street
Evangelization, a Roman Catholic apostolate focused on
78:
769:
540:
192:, as well as in the crosscultural missions that movements such as Taylor founded: the
953:
914:
868:
843:
703:
612:
604:
513:
407:
374:
299:
181:
153:
129:
784:
506:
The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and
Muslims in the World of Islam
351:
to refer to door-to-door proselytizing, whether or not actual tracts are dispensed.
799:
215:
199:
26:
754:
817:
620:
295:
230:, around 3 million alone are purchased annually to be distributed by Christians.
125:
453:
395:
307:
252:
82:
70:
932:
732:
729:"Halloween tracts serve as tool to spread gospel to children - Baptist Press"
344:
tradition, being published by apostolates such as the Pilgrim Tract Society.
315:
227:
189:
173:
86:
74:
624:
616:
411:
388:
204:
165:
120:
As religious literature, tracts were used throughout the turbulence of the
94:
443:
311:
291:
272:
260:
696:
Evangelical Gotham: Religion and the Making of New York City, 1783-1860
599:]. Bibliotheca theologiae practicae 3 (in Swedish) (1st ed.).
458:
330:
268:
157:
42:
226:
has continuously published literature of this type since 1825; around
415:
341:
46:
333:, has published tracts for distribution especially while engaged in
676:
478:
468:
366:
360:
207:
and sought to assist them in their struggles in their new country.
169:
146:
100:
90:
57:, a derivative of a tract, is equivalent in Hebrew literature to a
50:
840:
Catholic Street Evangelization: Stories of Conversion and Witness
463:
276:
608:
541:"Modern History Sourcebook: The Tracts for the Times, 1833-1841"
381:. A well-known example of a far-reaching tract from this era is
347:"Tracting" is a colloquialism commonly used by missionaries for
149:
30:
399:
133:
210:
69:
The distribution of tracts pre-dates the development of the
600:
418:
16:
Literary work to convince somebody of an idea or belief
782:"Presenting the Good News—With Tracts and Handbills",
294:
and other contemporary and historic writers including
251:
As evangelistic tools, tracts became prominent in the
865:
The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide
767:"Witnesses to the Most Distant Part of the Earth",
770:Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom
930:
752:"Kingdom Proclaimers Active in All the Earth",
349:the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
797:"“The Silver Is Mine, and the Gold Is Mine”",
497:
831:
687:
402:to wide success. In the months before the
856:
720:
503:
432:
209:
145:These tracts were written by a group of
99:
25:
887:
693:
590:
931:
837:
593:De svenska traktatsällskapen 1808–1856
862:
726:
597:The Swedish tract societies 1808–1856
437:Page from a tract by Thomas Shillitoe
373:, and in the English response to the
657:from the original on 20 January 2022
365:Brochure-like tracts, also known as
814:"About the Fellowship Tract League"
557:
354:
115:
13:
504:Griffith, Sidney Harrison (2008).
14:
975:
677:"World Christian Tract Directory"
377:, a "pamphlet war" known as the
240:Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society
203:to newly arriving immigrants at
907:
881:
806:
791:
776:
761:
681:World Christian Tract Directory
410:handed out pamphlets promoting
180:. They had a vast influence on
45:and, in current usage, usually
842:. Ignatius Press. p. 64.
746:
669:
631:
584:
551:
533:
275:followed the pattern of vivid
1:
888:Stapley, J (30 August 2010).
863:Jones, Charles Edwin (2005).
490:
404:John F. Kennedy assassination
890:"Mormon Etymology: Tracting"
568:(in Swedish). Archived from
7:
700:University of Chicago Press
428:
85:, being widely utilized by
10:
980:
639:"The Gospel in 30 Tongues"
510:Princeton University Press
358:
340:Tracts are widely used in
320:Living Waters Publications
286:reprinted articles in the
233:By the late 19th century,
64:
18:
915:"Biography of Jack Chick"
694:Roberts, Kyle B. (2016).
265:Campus Crusade for Christ
282:In the 1980s and 1990s,
89:during the start of the
61:of the Christian Bible.
257:The Four Spiritual Laws
186:Religious Tract Society
838:Dawson, Steve (2016).
449:Marprelate Controversy
438:
423:New Orleans, Louisiana
379:Revolution Controversy
224:American Tract Society
219:
128:for reform within the
122:Protestant Reformation
112:
34:
21:Tract (disambiguation)
436:
213:
108:tract printed by the
103:
29:
959:Religious literature
785:Our Kingdom Ministry
727:Curry, Erin (2002).
650:. 24 February 1907.
565:Nationalencyklopedin
288:Last Days Newsletter
284:Last Days Ministries
194:China Inland Mission
162:Henry Edward Manning
139:Tracts for the Times
136:collectively called
110:China Inland Mission
19:For other uses, see
964:Tracts (literature)
867:. Scarecrow Press.
474:Tractarian movement
371:American Revolution
324:Million Dollar Bill
246:Jehovah's Witnesses
647:The New York Times
603:: C.W.K. Gleerup.
591:Ribbner T (1957).
439:
421:on the streets of
220:
113:
35:
894:By Common Consent
874:978-0-8108-5433-8
849:978-1-58617-988-5
709:978-0-226-38814-4
560:"traktatsällskap"
519:978-0-691-13015-6
408:Lee Harvey Oswald
375:French Revolution
300:Leonard Ravenhill
182:Anglo-Catholicism
154:John Henry Newman
130:Church of England
971:
939:Activism by type
923:
922:
911:
905:
904:
902:
900:
885:
879:
878:
860:
854:
853:
835:
829:
828:
826:
825:
816:. Archived from
810:
804:
795:
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780:
774:
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750:
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743:
741:
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724:
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635:
629:
628:
588:
582:
581:
579:
577:
555:
549:
548:
537:
531:
530:
501:
355:Political tracts
318:. More recently
237:associated with
216:windshield wiper
200:Charles Spurgeon
116:Religious tracts
979:
978:
974:
973:
972:
970:
969:
968:
929:
928:
927:
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913:
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836:
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823:
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777:
766:
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751:
747:
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725:
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710:
702:. p. 123.
692:
688:
675:
674:
670:
660:
658:
654:
641:
637:
636:
632:
589:
585:
575:
573:
572:on 11 July 2021
556:
552:
539:
538:
534:
520:
512:. p. 145.
502:
498:
493:
488:
431:
363:
357:
335:street ministry
296:David Wilkerson
244:distributed by
126:Oxford Movement
118:
67:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
977:
967:
966:
961:
956:
951:
946:
941:
925:
924:
906:
880:
873:
855:
848:
830:
805:
800:The Watchtower
790:
775:
760:
755:The Watchtower
745:
719:
708:
686:
668:
630:
583:
550:
532:
518:
495:
494:
492:
489:
487:
486:
481:
476:
471:
466:
461:
456:
454:Minor tractate
451:
446:
440:
430:
427:
396:central Europe
359:Main article:
356:
353:
308:Charles Finney
304:Winkie Pratney
259:" authored by
253:Jesus movement
235:Bible Students
178:church history
117:
114:
83:printing press
71:printing press
66:
63:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
976:
965:
962:
960:
957:
955:
952:
950:
947:
945:
944:Books by type
942:
940:
937:
936:
934:
920:
916:
910:
895:
891:
884:
876:
870:
866:
859:
851:
845:
841:
834:
820:on 2008-12-01
819:
815:
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801:
794:
787:
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779:
772:
771:
764:
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756:
749:
734:
733:Baptist Press
730:
723:
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705:
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697:
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672:
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317:
316:William Booth
313:
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228:Allhallowtide
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190:Hudson Taylor
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127:
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111:
107:
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98:
96:
92:
88:
87:Martin Luther
84:
80:
76:
75:John Wycliffe
72:
62:
60:
56:
52:
48:
44:
43:literary work
40:
33:tract of 1820
32:
28:
22:
918:
909:
897:. Retrieved
893:
883:
864:
858:
839:
833:
822:. Retrieved
818:the original
808:
798:
793:
783:
778:
768:
763:
753:
748:
736:. Retrieved
722:
713:
695:
689:
680:
671:
659:. Retrieved
645:
633:
596:
592:
586:
574:. Retrieved
570:the original
563:
553:
544:
535:
525:
523:
505:
499:
412:Fidel Castro
393:
389:Thomas Paine
384:Common Sense
383:
364:
346:
339:
328:
287:
281:
273:Chick tracts
250:
238:
232:
221:
205:Ellis Island
198:
168:. They were
166:Edward Pusey
144:
137:
119:
95:Christianity
93:movement of
68:
58:
54:
38:
36:
576:22 November
558:Ribbner T.
545:fordham.edu
444:Chick tract
312:John Wesley
292:Keith Green
261:Bill Bright
170:theological
933:Categories
824:2009-01-03
491:References
459:Miss Clack
331:evangelism
269:Jack Chick
176:period of
158:John Keble
152:including
949:Documents
919:chick.com
484:Tractatus
416:Communist
367:pamphlets
342:Methodist
174:patristic
79:Gutenberg
47:religious
954:Ephemera
899:21 March
738:6 August
652:Archived
625:6253621M
609:58018356
479:Tractate
469:Pamphlet
429:See also
361:Pamphlet
279:images.
271:. Later
147:Anglican
91:Lutheran
55:tractate
51:pamphlet
715:Bibles.
661:13 June
617:5023035
464:Nezikin
277:cartoon
65:History
59:chapter
871:
846:
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607:
526:qiblah
516:
314:, and
164:, and
150:clergy
134:essays
106:Gospel
31:Quaker
655:(PDF)
642:(PDF)
595:[
400:China
41:is a
39:tract
901:2021
869:ISBN
844:ISBN
740:2020
704:ISBN
663:2018
613:OCLC
605:LCCN
601:Lund
578:2006
514:ISBN
419:Cuba
414:and
387:by
290:by
263:of
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218:.
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