I Don’t Think Evangelical Christians Understand the Purpose of Satire

Sorry Babylon Bee, But You’re No “The Onion”

Wikipedia describes satire as…

A genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction… in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or shaming the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement …its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism [emphasis mine], using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.

This Studio Binder video essay opens with a quote from author Philip Roth:

Satire is moral outrage transformed into comic art.

For centuries, artists have used satire to speak truth to power. It almost always is a form of “punching up”—critiquing and criticizing those in positions of power and the impact their actions have on the less fortunate or those subject to their rule, power, or influence.