Why Use Satire in Apologetics? Updated and Expanded!
Why Use Satire in Apologetics? Updated and Expanded!

Rock Solid Apologia

Welcome (or welcome back) to the world’s one and only apologetics satire site! Now, you may hear “apologetics satire” and think that is an oxymoron. How in the world does this Will fellow think he can combine apologetics with satire?

Well as editor-in-chief, I wanted to give a brief overview of why I use satire and comedy in apologetics. It is a somewhat novel approach and I think my long-suffering audience deserves to know why I take the approach I do.

As Christians, God has blessed us with lots of fantastic apologists. Men like J. Warner Wallace (Cold Case Christianity) Sean McDowell, John Lennox, Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason) David Wood (Acts 17 Apologetics) and James White (Alpha and Omega Ministries) to name a few, have done a fantastic job of defending our Christian faith intellectually. The idea of me trying to do their job better is more comedic than this website. I am not interested in competing, I think they will do a better job at intellectually defending the faith than I will. I want folks with questions to go to them first. I am using satire and humor to complement the work they do, not compete with it.

On a personal level, I think I can glorify God better through humor and satire than I can through the more traditional approach. God’s given me a gift to write and publish jokes on the internet.

As far as I know the tagline for Rock Solid Apologia “World’s one and only apologetics satire site” is more than just a catchy saying. It’s true! I think the need for humor in the defense of the truth is huge. Christians are leading in the intellectual field, but secularists and non - Christians are destroying us in satire and humor. Atheists like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams have used their incredible humor to go after Christianity. I want Rock Solid Apologia to provide genuinely funny content that defends Christianity and exceeds secular humor. I don’t know about you, but I think Jesus had a much better sense of humor than Terry Pratchett.

It turns out that satire in apologetics is nothing new! Elijah made some unloving jokes on Mount Carmel. Martin Luther wasn’t exactly known for being “restrained” in his use of humor. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, G.K. Chesterton, and C.S. Lewis are all relatively modern examples of the relatively unheard-of phenomenon known as funny Christians.  

I think 1st Peter 3:16’s command to treat folks with gentleness and respect while doing apologetics is unequivocal. I don’t think the Christian is given much wiggle room on that. I wonder if 1st Peter 3:16 commands us to treat ideologies with gentleness and respect.

It doesn’t seem like God has a high view of opposing Gods. I have never gotten the feeling from the scriptures that God has a healthy respect for idolatry. God doesn’t have many gentle words for Baal.

Romans 12:9 tells us to abhor evil. If all other worldviews lead people away from Jesus, they are fundamentally fallen and use a harsher word, evil. Now, it is also the teaching of scripture that mankind is evil. As a satirist, my job is to imitate the all-time master of humor in apologetics. Jesus didn’t treat bad ideas with reverence, but he treated people respectfully. When I make jokes, I am joking about fallen worldviews that lead people away from Christ. I try not to make personal jokes about people.

I am not saying I hit the target every time, but when I use satire, I am using it on a worldview, not a person. I try to use people as catalysts for my satire, not as objects. I hope folks can appreciate that distinction.

I hope that gives you a better understanding of what I am doing and why I believe it’s a good idea. I am always open to feedback or criticism; you can contact me through our contact page. I am always happy to hear from anyone who is willing to put up with the jokes on the world’s one and only apologetics satire site.

Will England

2 thoughts on “Why Use Satire in Apologetics? Updated and Expanded!

  1. About to venture into the world of Parody for Christ.
    The band Apolologetix was an inspiration from decades ago for me. Words are how I made my living. Creating original music when I play has been elusive. My first song will be Jeepster for my love. T Rex 1971. I love
    the GUITAR and rythem. Any advice on staying within thelegslities of the Parody law?

    1. Hi Darryl,
      Thanks for commenting. I wish I could be of more help to you! Satire and parody are similar, but they aren’t quite the same thing. I’m almost always making fun of real world beliefs when I write satire, whereas parody is often making fun of already copywrited material from another creator. I don’t have to worry about copywrite in that sense, so parody law is something I know next to nothing about. I learned a lot about satire simply by reading the Babylon Bee. Find some parodists you really enjoy that are recognized as masters of their craft, and listen and read their stuff. Figure out what they did and try to do it as well or better. I’m really sorry I can’t be of more help!

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