- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Canon Press (Feb 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1591280109
- ISBN-13: 978-1591280101
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 13.9 x 0.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 74,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Serrated Edge
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Product Description
Product Description
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 "unbiblical" behavior. Yet 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 to the fact of someone having taken offense. Perhaps they ought to have taken offense, and perhaps someone ought to have endeavored to give it.
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6 reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Work on Satire
23 Sep 2004
Format:Paperback
Doug Wilson is an exceptional writer, and this book shows why. This book was written as a polemic for the use of satire in relation to others. Wilson is very humorous in this book. He is always humorous to read, but this book was exceptionally so.
Because many Evangelicals (including in the Reformed community) find it very offensive when someone uses satire to make a point, Wilson does an excellent job to show how that there actually is satire in scripture and that they did poke fun at people to proove a point. This can be a very valuable and effective tool when used in the biblical sense (as Wilson cogently shows).
For those who worry that this book advocates just ripping people to shreds and not carring about them, then that is mistaken. He even states this later on in the book that this is not the biblical attitude which we are to have. Overall, Wilson sets out to have a biblical and not an overly emotional and sensationalistic attitude as much of Evangelicalism suffers. This was a fun and easy book to read (I read it in one day).
Because many Evangelicals (including in the Reformed community) find it very offensive when someone uses satire to make a point, Wilson does an excellent job to show how that there actually is satire in scripture and that they did poke fun at people to proove a point. This can be a very valuable and effective tool when used in the biblical sense (as Wilson cogently shows).
For those who worry that this book advocates just ripping people to shreds and not carring about them, then that is mistaken. He even states this later on in the book that this is not the biblical attitude which we are to have. Overall, Wilson sets out to have a biblical and not an overly emotional and sensationalistic attitude as much of Evangelicalism suffers. This was a fun and easy book to read (I read it in one day).
18 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Be imitators of Christ
11 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
As the subtitle suggests, this book is a Biblical defense of the use of satire. The author regularly uses this device to poke fun at various groups in his publication Credenda/Agenda (he's the editor and one of the main writers). My wife and I recently discovered this publication and disagreed over the use of often biting satire in it. We purchased this book to see his defense of its use.
This is not a straightforward, well structured, dry proof. Instead, the book is a pleasure to read and makes its case even though it meanders a bit. There is a clear discussion defining satire, chapters on the use of satire by Jesus, Paul, and others in the Bible, answers to common objections to the use of satire, instruction on the proper, biblical use of satire, and even a special section devoted to the satiric treatment of modern evangelicals (not necessarily in that order).
We found this work very helpful and are convinced by the argument in favor of the use of satire. Two concerns we had about satire were answered: 1) that satire is not loving, but gives offense and 2) Jesus did use satire but that doesn't mean we should. The answer to the first is that satire can be loving in giving Biblical offense. The answer to the second is to ask the basis on which we pick and choose how to imitate Jesus and whether that standard is Biblical.
I only give four stars (and would prefer to give 4.5) because there are several sentences in the book that we had to read several times before we understood what they meant. I think this was partly due to somewhat odd construction and partly due to our not understanding a metaphor, reference, or the use of satire right away. (Since we both hold graduate degrees I would like to think we're fairly literate, but some of the fault in understanding may certainly be our own.) This was a stumbling block to understanding the argument presented.
Some may object to certain words used in this book. I beg them to consider whether the author's exegesis is correct, not whether the book fails an extra-Biblical "dirty word count."
The book is a very quick read, even with the difficult sentences. My wife and I read it out loud in about 10 hours (not all together) which included our discussions of the book. I highly recommend this book for my fellow Christians for their personal study into the use of satire in the Bible and in our everyday lives.
20 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Designed to shake things up
16 Dec 2003
Format:Paperback
First, to the previous reviews...
'A reader from Canada' appears to be making an ad hominem attack against Wilson, commenting on a book he hasn't read: 'If the quotes from the reviewer below are accurate'.
It's not surprising that 'A reader from Kirkland' would hate this book, because one of Wilson's goals appears to be to force us to look beyond our pietistic memory of what the Bible says, and actually _read_ what it says.
'A reader from Canada' appears to be making an ad hominem attack against Wilson, commenting on a book he hasn't read: 'If the quotes from the reviewer below are accurate'.
It's not surprising that 'A reader from Kirkland' would hate this book, because one of Wilson's goals appears to be to force us to look beyond our pietistic memory of what the Bible says, and actually _read_ what it says.
As for Phil 3:8, the Greek word is 'skubalon', and Wilson's rendering appears quite reasonable (the KJV rendered it 'dung'). Instead of insisting that an apostle would never write such a thing, Wilson calls us to see the strength of the contrast Paul makes between the worth of knowing Jesus and all that he used to think important.
Wilson builds a solid case that satire and strong words are biblical, quoting from Jesus, Proverbs, the OT prophets, and Paul. The title indicates that he is well aware that satire is a weapon, and he is diligent in pointing out where it is and is not appropriate.
This book is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Even if you wouldn't use satire yourself, it's valuable to see just how much is in the Bible, and how well it is used. As for being nice, Jesus was not 'nice' to the Pharisees. Wilson suggests there might be a lesson for us all.
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