How Babylon Bee Uses Satire to Champion Truth: ‘It Serves to Give People Courage’
By Movieguide® Staff
The satire and comedy site known as The Babylon Bee is popular among Christian conservatives and is no stranger to attacks from political opponents, censorship and cancellation from disgruntled social media sites.
According to the managing editor of The Babylon Bee, Joel Berry, satire is a tool they can use to teach truth.
“In today’s world, humor has kind of become one of the most effective ways of communicating truth,” Berry told CBN’s Faithwire. “We’re oversaturated with information. It’s coming at us from all sides. There’s so many distractions. Our attention spans are short.
“I think it serves to give people courage. I think social media is designed to keep us in silos and cut off from each other … feeling alone,” he added. “And, in the way, we think like we’re the only sane person left on planet Earth, and The Babylon Bee … serves to help people remember they’re not alone in thinking and their worldview.”
Read More: Babylon Bee Editor Discusses Satire: ‘We Communicate Truth to a Post-Truth Culture’
Despite criticism, editor-in-chief Kyle Mann said that the truth is worth it. Although conservative in their values, Mann said that they receive “hate” from both sides of the political extremes.
“We get criticism from the people you would expect,” Mann said. “But there’s also hate from progressive Christians, there’s hate from people who are on either side of the political extreme.
“What I find is that, anytime people are so absorbed in their political system, or they’re so sold out to some extra-biblical idea or some tradition, they’re not able to laugh at themselves,” Mann added. “It is humorous to me how people can take a joke and laugh and see the value of humor — until it’s directed at them, and then, all of a sudden, it’s not funny anymore.”
Mann added that as independent companies like The Babylon Bee grow a steady following, mainstream media no longer dominates the comedy space.
“They’re getting a wakeup call to how powerful their means of communication have been over the years as they’ve controlled so much of the late-night shows and comedy and movies and all of that,” he said of big tech companies. “Now that those tools are pointing towards them, all of a sudden, they treat us quite differently than they treat somebody like The Onion when they fact-check us. When they fact-check The Onion, it’s very lighthearted.”
Although they face ridicule, The Babylon Bee continues to grow in popularity and even had Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the show in Dec. 2021.
Berry also announced a new book, “The Postmodern Pilgrim’s Progress: An Allegorical Tale,” that he hopes will point people to the truth.
“We’re seeing a lot of people fall away … not just deconstructing their faith and rebuilding it but leaving it altogether,” Berry said. “One of the things that’s really important for Christians right now is understanding the truth of Scripture as it’s written in God’s Word and holding onto that in spite of the cultural noise that is around us.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
