Ask Anything Wednesday: Christian Satire

Ask Anything Wednesday may have been on hiatus, but it is now back as a monthly regular. I have received a few questions so far, but please keep them rolling in for future editions!

Question:
"Is Christian Satire wrong?"

Answer:
Maybe. I don't think satire is prohibited for Christians. After all, even our Savior used it! At the same time, we need to probe into the use of Christian satire. Why does one want to use it? How is it used? These kinds of questions must not go unanswered.

Douglas Wilson has actually written a book on this subject, A Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian Skylarking (I admit that I haven't read it yet, but it has been on my reading list since it came out!). Since this book's release, there has also been some helpful interaction between Wilson and John Frame--see Frame's Review of Douglas Wilson, A Serrated Edge and Wilson's Response to John Frame’s Review of A Serrated Edge.

Used wisely (and Wilson lays out some excellent principles), Christian satire can be very effective. However, Christian satire can also be dangerous when not done properly. I personally enjoy good satire, but would be very careful in producing it myself. Above all, I would want to glorify God in all things, and that includes in exposing folly, vice, or stupidity.