Christians think that making fun of people is never okay. If so, then why did Jesus and the prophets do so much of it?

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Satire is a kind of preaching. Satire pervades Scripture. Satire treats the foibles of sinners with a less than perfect tenderness. But if a Christian employs satire today, he is almost immediately called to account for his “insensitive” and “unloving” behavior. But is the Golden Rule really “be nice”? Actually, Scripture shows that the central point of some religious controversies is to give offense. When Christ was confronted with ecclesiastical obstinacy and other forms of arrogance, He showed us a godly pattern for giving offense.

In every controversy godliness and wisdom (or the lack of them) are to be determined by careful appeal to the Scriptures and not the fact of people having taken offense. In this book, veteran satirist Douglas Wilson explains his rationale for why so much of what he says gets people upset and yet he continues to speak as he does, and why you should (sometimes) too for the sake of the Gospel.

You can also purchase this as an audiobook here, on audible,* and on SCRIBD.

* All purchases made through this link will earn us a small commission through Amazon Associates, an affiliate program.

What People Are Saying:

“Douglas Wilson’s playful, yet serious-minded book … makes a persuasive argument that Christ himself was no verbal pacifist, and that indeed He used satire and irony to devastating effect.” -Daniel Horace Fernald, in Atheism Answered

“As always, the author Doug Wilson delivers with wit, wisdom and humor along the way…. Overall a good book I recommend, and it should make Christians aware of not assuming Victorian prudish expectations to be the same thing as Christian ethics. I’ve highlighted and written all over my copy of this book as I was reading it–especially the principles given and the witty remarks and illustration. They get my mind fired up to adapt, discover and invent more witty sayings and illustration to make the point more forcibly for use in the pulpit and during evangelism and apologetics.” –The Domain of Truth

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Douglas Wilson has been pastor of Christ Church, Moscow, ID for forty years and is the author of more than fifty books including Empires of Dirt, Rules for Reformers, and Flags Out Front. He blogs regularly at www.dougwils.com and can be heard weekly on The Plodcast. Doug and Nancy have three children and lots of grandchildren.

Look Inside the Book

AUTHOR: Douglas Wilson

PAGE COUNT: 128 pages

SIZE: 5.50×8.50″

ISBN 10: 1591280109

ISBN-13: 9781591280101

PUB. DATE: June 3, 2003