OP-ED: The Babylon Bee Crossed the Line Between Satire and Openly Mocking God
There is no denying that the nominally Christian satirical website the Babylon Bee has been effective in fighting the culture war at times. Satire is a useful tool in reaching some who may not otherwise be interested in hearing the truth from more straightforward sources. When one engages in Christian satire, however, that person can run the risk of not only mocking the culture, but mocking God as well.
This is the case with a recent Babylon Bee article titled, God Confirms Man Crushes on Henry Cavill Not Gay. The headline alone should be enough to send a chill down the spine of every born again Christian – satire or not. The brief article goes on to imagine some sort of modern-day ecumenical council that declares, “man crushes on former Man of Steel actor Henry Cavil do not disqualify the soul from its heavenly reward and are decidedly ‘not gay.”
The piece goes on to joke that, “the claim was reportedly made after hours of prayer and fasting in which church leaders across the globe attempted to discern the will of God.” Some of the church leaders jokingly mentioned in the article are Steven Furtick and John MacArthur.
It is actually quite believable that Furtick would approve of Christians having latent homosexual desire for man in Hollywood, but this would hardly be the case for John Macarthur. We can hear the critics now, “Oh it’s just satire, get a sense of humor.” A sense of humor is just fine, but we are not to have a sense of humor about our God, especially not when He is being mocked.
Paul in his letter to the Galatians wrote, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7). Perhaps even more disheartening than the article were the comments on the Babylon Bee’s Facebook post for the piece. There were hundreds of comments from Christian men joking (or maybe not joking) that they were relieved that they no longer had to feel guilty about their homosexual attraction to the actor.
Any man who commented that the post was not giving God the reverence He deserved was shouted down by men and women alike telling us to “lighten up.” The Christian view of God is not something we should ever “lighten up” on. Hebrews 12:28 tells us, “Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
I would caution the folks at the Babylon Bee and all those that follow them to take that verse to heart. It’s fine to mock the culture, but you are on dangerous ground when you attribute something sinful to God, even if it is under the guise of satire.
This op-ed was written by Reverend J.W. Baker, as a guest post for Protestia.
About Author
When I was on Twitter: I called them out for Mocking God with other articles.
As always, the Christians who claimed I was wrong & now defending this very article.
The Babylon Bee & the people running it, have already proven they disregard God Holy Word.
These people are dangerous. I don’t trust them or even like them.
& besides, they are Born Again Donald Trumpers too boot.
I’m sure January 6, 2021 was a Franklin Graham Crusade right?
Coup for Christ !
Says the holier-than-thou guy who “doesn’t like” individuals he doesn’t even know while obviously suffering from TDS. “Coup for Christ” indeed.
Maybe it wasn’t your call to sobriety and reverence as much as it was accusing them of worshiping Trump, and such. Might be worth pondering.
Can’t say I disagree with the article. If it was important enough for God to destroy two cities, and it is important enough to be a significant reason for God’s final judgment, as Revelation says, then it is not something to joke about. Particularly when Christians are being targeted, extorted, fired, sued, and even jailed for simply stating what the Bible plainly says.
There’s plenty to joke and laugh about without making light of sin, much less abominable sin.
do you guys not know that a man crush is definitionally not sexual? Also, many who follow BB on facebook are not Christian (they just want a laugh). There a ton of godless ‘conservative’ folks that follow BB. I mean, stay on guard, but this is a little silly.
Thanks for calling this out. For the record, NotTheBee does stuff that borders on sinful also.
John MacArthur isn’t God, which seems to be why this article was written, by a guest writer?, despite the fact that he has several novel – ie apostate teachings, and has made himself – and family apparently, wealthy on the word of God – all of which, fyi – has been pointed out before by others.
The article wasn’t about what God said, it was about what leaders claimed falsely, in sarcasm. If you don’t think MacArthur is that type of leader – and anyone that promotes false teachings and makes money off them is – than perhaps this humor isn’t for you, MacArthur wasn’t hardly mentioned in the piece, but I think it’s probably the only one reason for this article to have been written. I almost believe it’s one of the reasons behind you getting rid of JD Hall, because he truthfully pointed out that MacArthur bent to closing down the churches originally, then changed his stance when confronted.
Author and others quoting scripture for their own ends should note – God isn’t mocked, and he will hold a man like MacArthur accountable for what he mis-teachers, and using the house of God like a personal enrichment scheme, as well as those who keep holding on him like an idol. instead of to God alone.
Let’s not forget about this:
https://evangelicaldarkweb.org/2023/02/02/babylon-bee-editor-supports-replacement-theory/
The issue is did they break the 3rd commandment. I think so, those were not high and lofty words concerning a thrice holy God. It’s easy for any of us to fall into the trap of using lowly words about God…maybe we forget how transcendent He is because of His immanence to us in Jesus Christ. Is it true that familiarity breeds contempt, maybe, but I encourage all of us to be careful with our words…especially our words concerning our triune God.