I will tell you from the start – I love the Babylon Bee. It’s brilliant, biting wit is unmatched. While I’ve found a few of the posts a touch mean-spirited and a few have bothered me a little, but the Bee has given me more than a few chuckles and “oh my goodnesses.”
My question today is not whether the Bee is funny or whether it is “spot-on” in its analysis. The question is whether there is a place in the Christian social media world for satire.
Is There a Problem with “Christian” Satire?
I recently copied this Babylon Bee gem to my site and had an interesting response. One of my “sincere” Christian friends reposted it and I suspect it was to demonstrate that she was most certainly a “real Christian.” Another friend rebuked me, wondering how I could be duped into believing that a person could show the reality of their faith by sharing a post like this. Neither of them understood the satirical nature of the post.
A friend announced today on Facebook that if he ever reposts any more Babylon Bee stuff he is going to add a disclaimer that it is satire because of the problems that have come from it.
I’m guessing every one of you who has shared a Bee article has had someone respond not realizing it was satire, either getting offended or angry of something. Did you see the recent one about Obama dedicating the 18th hole of his golf round to the victims of Louisiana’s flooding? Many people used this as proof positive that the president is a no-good, dirty, rotten….well, you finish the sentence. The fact that this was satire either did not register or was irrelevant. Should we condemn the president’s behavior based on a fictional story?
How often have you been duped? Or perhaps read a real but bizarre story and looked around to wonder if it is not actually a Babylon Bee offering?
The Questions
The world accepts satire as a normal thing, but is it an appropriate outlet for us as Christians? Please understand my motives. I’m not some old codger (well, I am) who hates rock music questioning whether drums and guitars are “of the Lord.” I love the Bee. It’s brilliant. I’d love to have created it and I’d love to contribute to it. I actually had an idea for a post back before the SBC, but I thought better of it in the interests of unity. I ask this question as a fan of the site. But we are not hedonists. The fact that I enjoy something doesn’t make it godly. If I don’t enjoy something it doesn’t make it wrong. It is right that we ask ourselves what kind of humor is appropriate for Christians in social media and whether the Body of Christ is being built up by this.
Are sarcasm, insult, and the kind of disdain that are the lifeblood of Babylon Bee inherently fleshly or can they be redeemed? Can these things build up the Body?
Does the confusion and misunderstanding that the Bee (and other Christian satire sites) cause negate whatever good they do? People often come away from the Bee believing false stories. We can blame it on their naivete and lack of internet sophistication, but does the chance of misunderstanding negate whatever benefit might come?
The (Attempted) Answers
I do not have a definitive answer – I don’t think this is one of those clear-cut, black and white, right and wrong, easy-to-judge issues. I can’t give you 12 clear guidelines to follow. There is a line at which humor becomes ungodly and destructive, I believe, but we must also believe that humor is a creation of God. Like fire, it is neither intrinsically good or bad. What I have here are more reflections.
1. Christians cannot simply mimic the worldly ethic.
Romans 14:9-10 makes it clear that we have a Lord to whom we will answer one day. Just because I enjoy this kind of humor does not justify it and just because you may not enjoy it does not condemn it. We must look at biblical principles and make a decision based on them, seek to exalt Christ, and recognize that this may be one of those disputable matters in which we may not all come to the same decision.
But as those living under the Lordship of Christ, we must look at things like this and not just say, “It makes me laugh,” therefore, it must be good. South Park made me laugh but it was hardly godly. We need redeemed and redemptive decision-making and discernment.
2. Full disclosure is probably best.
It might be best to do as my friend did today, and commit to making sure that no one is fooled on your FB page by a Babylon Bee article. Label it clearly. A lot of people just don’t have the savvy, sophistication, or discernment to distinguish real news and satire. How often do people share fake news stories planted by the faux-conservative news sites? We joke that if it’s on the internet it has to be true, but in spite of all evidence, a lot of people live their lives this way.
If you are going to share the Bee (or other such humor posts), it might be best to go the second, third, even fourth mile in making sure all your readers understand.
3. Sharing on social media is a form of teaching – it makes you responsible.
I know, people are idiots. I look at that picture above and think, how could anyone take that seriously? But did you know that the word gullible is written in faded letters at the top of this page? You looked, didn’t you? When you share on Facebook, you are teaching, evangelizing, exhorting, rebuking – whatever the case may be. It is a form of teaching and it seems that at some level, James 3:1 kicks in and you bring to yourself the responsibility to take extra care that you do not deceive those you share with.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen something and been about to share it and thought, no. Can’t do it. This person or that might misunderstand.
4. Remember, a lost world is listening.
The vast majority of my social media friends are fellow conservative Christians. But I have some non-believers, some atheists, some people from other denominations and other perspectives out there. I remember a few years ago I heard a great satirical joke about Lent – which has never mattered a lick to me. “I gave up meaningless religious rituals for Lent.” I promptly posted it on Facebook, and an old friend of mine, a Christian from Europe with whom I went to high school in Taiwan 150 years ago, logged on to explain to me how meaningful Lent was to her. She is a genuine believer, though on many issues she stands on my left. I gave her offense just by being flippant about something that was precious to her.
Now, if I had written a serious post about why Lent is not a genuine Christian practice, that would be one thing, but a sarcastic, insulting statement was hardly a Christlike thing, I now think.
5. Make sure it’s fair and true!
I’ve been the subject of some satirical ridicule myself, which I felt was grossly unfair. I’m guessing that if Joel Osteen ever reads any of the Babylon Bee posts about him, he thinks they are unfair. Again, I’m not sure where the line is here, or even if there is a clear line, but we must always make sure that our satire rings of truth and is fair in its presentation. The secret to satire is that it COULD be true. How many times has someone asked you to repost something, hinting that if you love Jesus, you will share it? The post I mentioned above is funny because people really do things just like that. It calls attention to something that really happens. There was an article about how Obama was cracking down on global warming as a result of recent terror attacks. Silly? Of course, but there have been actually administration suggestions that global warming is a root cause of Middle Eastern terrorism. There is a grain of truth.
6. Satire should be clearly satire and not just a false news story.
The story about Obama golfing came close to violating this because it was the kind of story many people, in their hatred of Obama, would accept as true. While I’ve said we should label our satire, there should be no need to label satire because it is so clearly satire. Most of the Bee stories are funny, poke a funny bone of truth, but are so clearly not true that they are easily seen (by most) as satire. I think this is important.
7. If you laugh at them, laugh at you.
The best satire is when you laugh at you, not at them. The head honcho of the Bee is, I believe, a Calvinist, but some of his best posts have teased Team Geneva. And I appreciate that I tend to see those being shared most by my Calvinist friends. “Yep, that was me a while back.” “I’ve known guys like that. We all have, right?”
There was a satire site many centuries ago (in blogging years) that I found entertaining, but all their fun was poked at one group of people. I made a comment indicating that I found one of their posts humorous and received a “love note” from one of the people who had been the subject of the satire on that site questioning the validity of my walk with God because I laughed when someone made fun of brothers in Christ.
He may have had a point, but just before I got my email rebuke from him, I’d witnessed a comment exchange between him and two or three of his buddies in which they were harshly ridiculing some brothers in Christ who were on the other side of that day’s blog war. For him, it was fine for him to join with his friends to ridicule the other side, but it was not okay for me to enjoy a well-written satire that made fun of him. There’s a term for that, I think. It starts with “hypo” and ends with “crisy.” You can figure out the rest.
We need to be just as willing to laugh at our own as to make fun of them.
8. Satire ought to be mostly good natured ribbing, not brutal skewering.
Again, I’m setting up a boundary that is hard to define, but it’s an important one, I think. Good satire has a velvet claw. It scratches gently but does not rip deep wounds. If a satire is too mean, too dark, too pointed, too hurtful, best just to leave it be.
9. Satire is a diversion, not a tool of discipleship.
Enjoy it if you do, but when we preach and teach, very little satire ought to be present. Earnest proclamation is the norm for discipling God’s people, for teaching the word of God. When satire, when polemics, when words of attack become the norm, you’ve likely strayed off the straight and narrow.
10. I really had a tenth thing, but I forgot it.
I’m hoping I’ll remember, in which case I’ll replace this placeholder. If not, 10 seems like a much better number than 9 anyway.
I’m really still thinking through this. These are some random thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think, although if I get a “well, it’s funny so it has to be okay” answer, I’ll probably invoke the Lutheran Insulter on you.
What say you?
“If not, 10 seems like a much better number than 9 anyway.” Not sure. 9 is three times three, the number of the Trinity. But, then again, 10 is the number of perfection plus the number of the Trinity. OK, I guess you may be right!
That #10 thought was really good. But so far, it’s gone.
I believe it would have changed lives.
Some of this may hinge on intent or purpose. What is our purpose of using satire or sarcasm? If it is just for making fun of somebody or something and getting a laugh, probably wrong. But if it is for useful intent, it seems to be “redeemed”. I see things in the Bible that I consider the use of satire and/or sarcasm (some people might argue about which it is in some cases). Paul wished the agitators about circumcision would go ahead and emasculate themselves (Galatians 5:12). When King Ahab asked Micaiah whether he should go to fight at Ramoth-gilead,… Read more »
Some of the prophets used something that certainly resembled ridicule or sarcasm. I’m always a little nervous about using their works as the model for my actions, because they had the inspiration of the Spirit.
At the very least, it seems to give credence to the idea that sarcasm and satire are not wholly out of bounds biblically.
Yes, that was my point exactly. Not that we have to use them as a model for our own speech, but that they represent times and circumstances where such speech is “sanctified”. So it is not inherently sinful, imo. Bart mentions some others below, and I’ve always loved Job’s “quack physicians” barb to his three friends (Job 13:4).
One problem we might be prone to, and must guard against, is using our totally “in the flesh” humor to insult others and then running to the Bible to excuse ourselves.
Dave Miller,
Do you remember Villa Rica? It was all satire and comedic expression. The reactions to it were very mixed. The owner of the Villa Rica blog decided to let it die because of the mixed reactions.
I have had some readers to get hurt feelings or become angry over football posts and comments in the past. Why people would see any seriousness in such is beyond me. I guess we are all wired differently and satire and comedic expression is sometimes misunderstood.
CB, your football comments are offensive to all people of taste and good will.
I think the Villa Rica thing was just before my time. I heard of it but never read it.
Villa Rica was a decade ago. Time has flown by, has it not?
Dave, you know that deep down in your heart, you are a TIDE Fan. You can’t help it. You like winners and BAMA is a winner.
Over 10. The Wade/IBM imbroglio was in 2005/2006.
You were already old back then. Now you are wizened.
CB: It wouldn’t surprise me if some of those who see too much seriousness in your football comments have a background with someone who really *did* make an idol out of football or other sports.
Ben Coleman, The truth is that many people do make an idol of sports. Not long ago I read an article about a man whose coffin was painted crimson and white with various Alabama logos all over it. To me, that is sad to see, for the sum total of a man’s life should not be his fan loyalty to a football team. That’s heartbreaking and it is even more heartbreaking to see the living relatives complimenting the deceased for his loyalty above all else to a sport and the team he favored above the others. Ben, I can honest… Read more »
“I guess we are all wired differently and satire and comedic expression is sometimes misunderstood.” This is an astute observation, CB. What one person finds funny, another does not. I often “get” certain comics that my wife does not, and vice versa. Dave seemed surprised that some people did not get the satire of “You Are Not A Real Christian If You Do Not Share This Post On Social Media Right Now.” While I don’t find it particularly funny myself, I understand it is not to be taken literally. Yet I do know good and intelligent people that just seem… Read more »
Hey, let me tell you guys what real satire is: It is when BAMA is about to play an opponent, any FOOTBALL Nation, it don’t matter which one and the coach of the opposing Nation tells an interviewer: “I think we have a pretty good chance of beating ALABAMA today if our defense does thus and thus.” Now, boys, that is satire and that coach knows it. He knows down to the soles of his Niki shoes that he is going to lose and there is nothing he can do about it. That’s satire, guys. Yep. Sure is! ROLL TIDE… Read more »
Proverbs 26:18-20 “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”” (ESV) I realize that this is not referring to satire, but is addressing someone who intends to mislead, deceive, lie, even harm, and then that person tries to excuse their behavior/statement by saying it was just a joke. However, that’s a line that those of us who tend towards satire and sarcasm have to guard against. Another key verse for me is Ephesians 4:29 “You must stop letting any bad word pass your lips, but only… Read more »
Isaiah 40:18-20 is a satirical critique of idolatry. Isaiah 44:12-20 is a satirical critique of idolatry. 1 Kings 18:27 is Elijah’s satirical mocking of the prophets of Baal. 1 Corinthians 4:8-12 crosses the boundary even to sarcasm. Paul sarcastically rebukes the haughty Corinthian believers. Job 12:2 may even be sardonic, but it is most certainly a sarcastic rebuke of Job’s self-assured interlocutors. Full confession: I am the friend of Dave Miller who has started to label my Babylon Bee posts. I’m doing that because it gets tiring, this constantly having to explain to someone that, no, a local man actually… Read more »
By the way, I don’t want you guys to miss this one…
Man Delivers Prepared Remarks after Spontaneous baptism
This is satire critiquing the way that “spontaneous baptism” events are often rigged with ringers.
Leland Ryken in his treatment of Amos in “Literary Introductions to the Books of the Bible” says this: “The book is a masterpiece of satire, and this is the most helpful large label to attach to it. …Amos is a pure example of informal satire.” Then later on, “The book is designed to achieve the following: subject its readers to a shock treatment in regard to their complicity with evil…” Yes, Amos was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But he was also a preaching prophet and a gifted communicator. His style of communication when used as Amos… Read more »
Wait, the Bee is satire? I guess that I am going to have to delete this draft SBC resolution rebuking Dr. Moore for drinking in a Nashville bar.
Do you know, he actually had to put out a statement after one of the early Bee articles about him explaining that it was a satire. I guess many people took it seriously.
I heard about that! While it is unfortunate, it still made it that much funnier. Poor Dr. Moore!
Satire is perfectly fine. I consider it an established genre of both political and theological expression. Sometimes Babylon Bee crosses the line, like the article that came out on the day Tammy Faye Bakker Messner died. But overall, it’s fine.
Generally, older church members who are Facebook Friends with their pastors will look at the highly professional visual quality of a Babylon Bee post and assume it must be real because it *looks* real. This is a little unfortunate and embarrassing.
Ouch…
I think you mean the day Jan Crouch died Rick. I have not read the Babylon Bee since that day.
Prosperity gospel theology is borderline demonic and defiantly heretical to its very core. It is a theology that LITERALLY teaches that if you get sick, it is because of some sin you have committed or because you lack enough faith in God to make/keep you well. I have seen, with my own eyes, a prosperity gospel church completely implode after its pastor died from a heart attack. They literally could not grasp how or why it could happen, because he was such a “man of God”, his faith was “so strong”. Some even began to wonder if there was some… Read more »
I think number 8 is close to the answer. Good natured ribbing and brutal skewering are subjective. First, you have the intent of the one doing the ribbing or skewering. Then you have the feelings of the one being ribbed or skewered. First, the intent of the one ribbing and skewering must be right. Even if they are right, the feelings of the one being ribbed or skewered can be hurt. Second, if the intent of the one ribbing and skewering is not right, it can sometimes be possible for the one being ribbed and skewered to turn it around… Read more »
Villa Rica shot at me a couple of times. He couldn’t ever catch me; him and his band of bandits. But, I felt the heat of their vile breathe, at times. Villa Rica was a bad, bad dude. Also, I did a funny, satirical type of joke, one time, on FB, about going on a cruise down a small river near where I live, the Obion River,with it eventually going down the MS River to a little town in MS. I talked about all the great restaurants we were planning on stopping at. I mean, I played it up. I… Read more »
I think sites like the Bee are important because they can reveal in us the roots of something we ought to guard against. If our hatred (sorry, no, Christians never hate) of someone is so great that we uncritically believe anything bad we hear about them, then we have a problem. I think Christians who are on the internet or exposed to people who frequent the internet, need to keep Snopes bookmarked. In the circles I frequent, I could say almost anything bad about the president, and it would be believed, true or not, reasonable or not. The same will… Read more »
That was so true with the Obama/golf thing. People jumped all over that enthusiastically.
Don’t put so much trust in Snopes. It has been found to be wrong, more than few times. Whoever runs that sight has a bias, as well. And, it has come thru.
David
It is a mistake to think any human source of information is without error and without bias. But snopes remains an invaluable resource in debunking outrageous stories.
David, could you point out a few of these errors, or biases?
William,
No, I can’t remember them, at this moment. I do remember when they were pointed out, though. And, I remember seeing how they manipulated the truth, in order to put down a conservative belief. It appears that the people, who run Snopes are liberals, and their bias comes thru, at times. If you don’t believe me, then just check out what I’m saying. Go to Snopes! 😉
David
This is an interesting link at Snopes. Evidently they receive lots of mail from liberals and conservatives, each accusing them of being biased for the other side.
http://www.snopes.com/info/notes/politics.asp
Here’s a link that will show you how news media people manipulate news to fit their own agenda. One of was sent to liberal Austin, TX and the other to more conservative cities in Texas… On the same day!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210184398063694&set=a.1420102859864.2060085.1151437153&type=3
Read the explanation of the ex-newspaper guy in the comments. It’s not unusual for a headline to change as the story changes, and different outlets have different deadlines and release the paper at different times. And as we know with Trump, he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth on immigration. He talks tough in front of his rabid fan-base and is trying to soften things when he’s interviewed on national media. Both headlines are true.
The only people more liberal than the news people are college professors. And, guess who influenced the news people? They push their liberal agenda in every newscast and story.
I’m not sure why you felt the need to include college professors in your broad brush insult of news people. It’s a bit like saying the Jews are stingy or the Italians are hot blooded.
Bill, are you denying bias in news reports?
My comment at 12:12 on 9/1 answers your question. My objection to David is his use of stereotyping.
I suspect there is just as much bias in how people receive the news as there is in how people report it.
I’m beginning to think that Bill Mac just likes to argue against everything that I say.
The news media is overwhelmingly liberal, and most of them are Democrats. Fox News would be one of the exceptions. But, there’s no question that most of them are extremely liberal..And, I’ve seen studies, and I know from experience, and I’ve seen articles written about how liberal College Professors are….for the vast majority.
David
Not at all David. You are using stereotypes that we as Christians would object to if they were used against us. You don’t know the political leanings of all news people, of which there must be hundreds of thousands in the US. Maybe in the millions. I just read a stat that suggests there are over 1.5 million college professors in the US alone. I doubt they’ve all been surveyed. I don’t see the difference in someone coming on here saying people on welfare are lazy or college professors are liberal. What we should be asking, when we read a… Read more »
Bill, you are correct that we need to ascertain the veracity of an article, not only the factual accuracy of its claims, but also the way it characterizes things like people and movements. Additionally, we should pay attention to any facts that are missing as well as unstated assumptions that beg the question requiring the reader to subscribe to the worldview of the author.
Jim: Agreed. It is interesting. One of my relatives is regularly met with shock and disbelief when he reveals that he watches NBC news. I prefer CNN myself. I am ideologically closer to the Fox News end of the spectrum, but I consider Fox to be the most biased and unreliable of the major networks.
Bill Mac, you are absolutely correct when you ask David not to use such a broad brush when saying “all college professors are liberal”. I mean after all, we have many good conservative professors at SBC affiliated state schools and our own SBC seminaries (most of which have undergrad degrees). So of course we cannot say “all college professors are liberal.
Now as for all “public” college professors, that may be a bit easier to argue. 😛
Now as for all “public” college professors, that may be a bit easier to argue. ?
I assure you it isn’t.
#4 is where I get concerned. I long for a way that we can have the clear, sometimes painful, rebuke that we get from some satire (and from our reactions to it), but I know that the listening lost have a different set of ears. How, then, do we as believers profit from items like the Bee (or Church Curmudgeon, or FakeJDGReeeeeeeeeeear) while not putting a stumbling block to the Gospel for the lost? Because sometimes we believers, especially us pastors, need to trip over a thing or two and take our sense of self-importance down. Anyway, I see the… Read more »
BB has often brouught me a smile. I perceive there is a danger in doing a continual, regular satirical site. To maintain desired level of humor/shock the envelope has to be pushed and this can border being mean spirited at times.
http://babylonbee.com/news/nations-worship-leaders-flock-american-apparel-v-neck-sale/
Dave would have never posted this piece, if the Babylon Bee had left casseroles alone ;^)
Seriously, I wish the Church prayed as much as it laughed.
This should help the conversation:
https://thejesusquestion.org/2011/06/10/jesus-the-satirist/
Btw: a lot of your posts like this where you try to relate modern issues to the Bible are well spoken but remind me of the rabbinical system. I think as believers we do need to reason through things, but we also need to carefully avoid the appearance of “hedging” sin especially when it disguises motive and thought. The starkness and simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount (or Plain if you enjoyed Dr. Gideon’s preference for Luke) compared to the rabbinical teachings (Talmud Style) is worthy of consideration. That Jesus intentionally used hyperbole is undeniable. His use of everyday… Read more »
Mel Brooks, the master of cinema satire in the 70’s once stated something to the effect that satire wasn’t effective unless something had reached the point of tireless cliches. He addressed western’s with Blazing Saddles and horror films with Young Frankenstein by exploiting these cliches.
The biggest issue isn’t the Bee, but that Christianity as a whole has reached a point where it is so ripe for the picking. There is a seemingly endless area of barbs in the religious world. Funny as I find the Bee, that’s sad to me
“The biggest issue isn’t the Bee, but that Christianity as a whole has reached a point where it is so ripe for the picking. There is a seemingly endless area of barbs in the religious world. Funny as I find the Bee, that’s sad to me.”
Amen. Christianity Lite is the theme of the day – we’ve taken the salt out of salt. As you note, easy pickins for gimmicks and aberrant teachings of men. Many churches drag as much world into their midst as they can, while attempting to still appear “Christian.”
I think the idea that there is a group of people who “do it right” and another group who “do it wrong” borders on stating the obvious.
But I’ve always noted people who make that claim–every single one of them”–of course believe they are in the “do it right” group. Including the Pharisees and Saducees. Just a caution about broad brushes.
It is interesting that Volfan’s example of bias used the Wall Street Journal, a very politically conservative newspaper, as an example. Of course even that was not an example of bias in that it was referencing two events and the paper was not marketed to a liberal market or a conservative market. Yes there are liberals in the media but by the some token radio is dominated by very conservative talk shows. In Arkansas every state wide paper is owned by conservatives who always endorse Republican political candidates. I suspect that is not far from the norm in most states… Read more »
Well, let’s see. I wonder what political persuasion Matt, Savannah, Al, and the others on the Today Show are? I wonder if they vote Democrat? lol Also, how about George Stephanopolous, Robin Roberts, Amy Robach, and others at Good Morning America? I wonder what political persuasion they are? I wonder if they vote Democrat? lol I wonder the same about the CBS crew? It’s just so hard to tell….wink, wink. CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and NPR are a given. They’re as liberal as you get. They might as well be owned by the Democrat Party. I wonder where Katie Couric, Peter… Read more »
Good observations, Vol. Regarding the news outlets, what I think is interesting is that pretty much all of them claim to be unbiased. The ones that are almost exclusively liberal rail against Fox for being conservative, which is hardly an unbiased thing to do. As you point out, Fox actually has conservatives on board, although they still have plenty of liberals. Conservatives generally recognize that this may be the closest thing to unbiased anyone can get, but that it’s still not unbiased. You don’t get unbiased by getting voices from both sides and having them hash it out. You simply… Read more »
http://dailysignal.com/2016/01/14/liberal-professors-outnumber-conservative-faculty-5-to-1-academics-explain-why-this-matters/
How can we trust The Daily Signal, which is the “news” outlet for the far right Heritage Foundation?
The studies just go on and on and on about the news media and college profs being very liberal and a lot of them are Democrats. And, some of them are so liberal that they won’t even let themselves be described as a Democrat. They say that they’re Independent, but they end up voting Democrat. It’s like with me. I’m an Independent. I’ve always been an Independent. Of course, I’m Independent, Conservative, and Christian. So, I’ve voted mostly Republican, down thru the years….even though I’m truly an Independent. So, they’re Independent, and they end up voting Democrat….for the one most… Read more »
https://www.facebook.com/EnemiesOfLiberalism/photos/a.310586372408546.1073741828.310559449077905/881997145267463/?type=3&theater
lol