Current TV’s satirical news show infoMania recently aired a short video entitled God’s Favorite TV Shows. The satire made fun of “today’s Christian TV.”
I saw the clip on a Christian website and laughed along with the sites viewers. It wasn’t surprising that the video drew expressions of frustration and concern about the current state of Christian TV.
Then, I read comments about the video on YouTube.
After watching the video, one viewer said, “It makes me so glad I’m not a Christian.” infoMania’s portrayal of Christian media and Christianity seemed to have reinforced this person’s decision to reject the gospel.
That wasn’t funny.
I had to hit the pause button and think about this for a minute. The video had become more than a mere satire to be laughed at.
Critique can help
Healthy satire can be used for constructive criticism. It’s said that public ridicule of the absurd–behavior or views–can help people rethink faulty positions.
For years, secular media has used satire, sarcasm and parody to make fun of the ways Christians have used media. Just as there’s lousy secular programming, there’s bad Christian programming. Some of it absurd, sadly.
Christian programming broadcast all over the world by radio, TV and the Internet is not above critique. Feedback from the outside, even in the form of humor, helps Christian broadcasters improve their presentations, resources and effectiveness.
Critique from the inside is important too. When teaching strays from sound Christian doctrine and foundational biblical truths, pastors and leaders need to respectfully correct it.
When a speaker or host of a media program professes to be Christian and uses disgusting language or makes an offensive remark (as one guy did in the infoMania video), they should be held accountable. When an individual program or resource fails to deliver genuine excellence, constructive opinions should be given to encourage constant improvement.
Satire can occasionally be used to do these jobs. But it can also be used to be cruel and to misrepresent the truth.
Critique can hurt
In his article, The Fine Art of Godly Mockery, Al Maxey said, “There is a fine line between responsible ridicule and malicious mockery. What begins as an honorable effort to separate truth from falsehood can quickly deteriorate into vicious villainy.”
The infoMania satire didn’t use wit and sarcasm to point out only what the show’s producers thought was absurd about a few Christian TV programs. They went further.
With cunning subtlety they left the viewer, who may not have known any different, with the impression that “most” Christian TV was bad. With surgical precision, the host used sarcasm and caustic language to ridicule Christian TV viewers and their beliefs.
In my view, the show crossed a line. Discussing it is important for three reasons.
First, the times have changed. Making fun of believers isn’t as harmless as it may have been in the past. Real animosity and prejudice against Christians is on the rise in the U.S. and around the world.
Fox News analyst Brit Hume and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin were attacked by the mainstream press for simply expressing their core religious views. Christians in Britain are fighting a move “to criminalize Christian speech and practice.”
Second, as Joshua Clark, pointed out in his article Satire and Sarcasm, “There are perversions and abuses of mockery, ridicule, sarcasm and other legitimate devices, and these on occasion have been maliciously employed to stir up strife and generate schisms.”
The slickly deceptive “Religulous,” comedian Bill Maher’s documentary satire mocks God and just about every religion on earth. Maher attempts to argue that, “faith isn’t just silly, it’s downright dangerous.”
Comedy Central announced to advertisers it’s new cartoon “JC,” which will make fun of Jesus Christ. This from the same network that only a few weeks earlier censored even the use of the name Mohammed on the show “South Park” for fear of offending followers of that faith.
Third, an attack on Christianity, even under the guise of humor has eternal consequences. “Not being a Christian makes me feel normal,” another viewer said after watching the piece.
Christian media powerful not perfect
The truth is, billions of people all over the world have been reached with the gospel through Christian media, its outstanding teachers and speakers and its wonderfully produced programs.
Yet, some really bad Christian programming is going to be made. It will get made fun of. That’s ok. Insulting believers and ridiculing their faith, under the guise of cultural critique, is not ok. That needs to be pointed out too.
Bigotry parading as satire, however subtle, is no laughing matter.
A final thought. Even if there were a unified standard for creating “perfect Christian media,” the world would still find a way to mock it and the people presenting it.
“And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.” [youversion]Mark 15:20[/youversion]