The Babylon Bee was launched in 2016 as a satirical news site for Christians. Its sharp humor and self-awareness immediately gained the admiration and respect from people in and outside of the church, and it has been fondly described as “The Onion, but for Protestants.” Initially, they were known for good-natured articles that comedically exposed some of the ridiculousness within the Church, playfully mocked Christian idiosyncrasies, or communicated religious discrepancies with a well-intended spirit. Some of their classic titles include, “Scholar Alleges Plot Of New Testament Stolen From ‘The Matrix,’” and “Local Youth Group Has Been Singing ‘I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever’ Since 1999.” They were clever, relatable across denominations, and in my opinion, very funny.
However, in recent years, The Bee has leaned more heavily into the politically conservative element of their tagline, and has pulled the “Christian” title along for the necessity of cultural identity. More recent articles include titles like, “As Kamala Campaigns, Nation Starting To Miss The Clarity And Coherence Of Joe Biden,” and “Behavioral Scientists Now Believe Feminists Are Always Angry Because They Don’t Have A Man To Tell Them To Calm Down.” Unfortunately, there is very little about their current content that promotes Christianity or supports the love, forgiveness, and gospel of Jesus. And frankly, very little that is actually clever or funny. The Babylon Bee is now a content creator that reinforces all kinds of negative conservative Christian stereotypes. Phil Vischer said, in a 2023 episode of his podcast The Holy Post, “[The Babylon Bee] used to be funny until they learned there was more money in being political.”
On August 1, 2024, The Babylon Bee released a post on Instagram that pictured a drag queen on one half of the main photo and a traditional family of four on the other. The title was in bold letters across the top of the image: Weird or Not Weird. The post was a game, and the viewer was invited to play by swiping through the multiple pictures on the post and guessing whether each image was weird or not weird.
The first image was of a six-person family: a husband, wife, and their four children. The bottom of the photo reiterated the question: weird, or not weird? Then, swiping to the following image, the answer presented: “WEIRD. Four kids? Does he know how bad that is for the climate?”
Another photo in the “game” was of Sam Brinton: bald, with a mustache, yet wearing red lipstick, a red lace dress, and diamond necklace. And the next slide confirmed: “Stealing a red lace dress because it’s the PERFECT accessory for a mustache? NOT WEIRD!”
This post confirmed that The Babylon Bee has moved entirely out of the lane of Christian satire and has swerved head-on into Christian nationalism; it has fully embraced the secular media’s journalistic tactics of being haughty, aggressive, and polarizing, and has completely traded Christian principles for click-bait. Even just the title photo of this post, with a drag queen on one side and a traditional nuclear family on the other, is already divisive imagery pitting the two sides against one another and reinforcing an “us vs. them” ideology.
Now, I’m not saying there isn’t a place for humor in Christianity—I believe we need more of it, frankly. Comedy and satire is immensely valuable to bring joy, foster community, ignite conversation, and encourage corporate self-awareness. But, I am saying that there is certainly no place for mockery, and no place for sewing discord. Especially in light of today’s extremely divisive, polarizing, and combative climate, The Babylon Bee has surrendered a valuable opportunity to share content that promotes unity, hope, and laughter on their platform, and have instead used it to devalue, belittle, alienate, and antagonize. There is never a biblical justification for this behavior. In fact, Jesus says quite the opposite:
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
These words from Jesus always get me: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” Loving those who love you is easy—but when you follow Jesus, you must love those who don’t love you; because love is the only thing that softens hearts, changes minds, and nurtures unity. We unfortunately have not seen a lot of “Christians” exemplifying this over the last several years, culminating in this most recent election season–but I believe it’s vital to keep talking about it nonetheless: the standard of love we should be holding ourselves to. An authentic expression of the Christian faith is rooted in Jesus’s command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
Comedy is a strong and impactful tool, but when brandished as a weapon, it does far more harm than good. So, if The Babylon Bee is going to choose to continue to identify as Christian, then I recommend they attempt to tailor their content and online presence accordingly, and learn to be funny without being hateful. Weird or Not Weird does not in any way represent the heart of God, or recognize these commands from Jesus; rather, it indicates a wholehearted allegiance to cultural conservatism, which is dichotomizing, destructive, and unbiblical. But, of course, there’s nothing funny or satirical about loving your neighbor, and that doesn’t sell.
Sophia (‘19) double-majored in theatre and religion and insists that her life is a “storybook.” She lives in an apartment above a flower shop in downtown Chicago and has multiple roles working across the arts in comedy, music, theatre, film, and visual art—though her greatest passion is writing. Her work includes stage plays, screenplays, and articles, focusing mostly on cultural trends, comedy, reviews, and religious satire. She loves road trips, visiting her family in Grand Rapids, hunting for the perfect latte, and rescuing plants from the flower shop’s dumpster.
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Oof. I have clearly not kept up with the Babylon Bee because there were some pieces back in the day that definitely got a chuckle out of me. Disappointing (but unsurprising) to see a hard-right turn from them
I agree, beautifully said. The Babylon Bee should hire you to rebrand their website.
Babylon Bee was sold in 2018. That’s when the hard right turn happened and stopped being funny. I will always remember the article “Motion Activated Lights Turn Off During Presbyterian Worship Service.”
I didn’t know about the sale originally and reached out to the BB to discuss the recent unloving articles and to gingerly counsel them.
They responded back with a very rude and hateful response. That’s when I knew.