Righteous Mockery: A Biblical Case for Sarcasm

“And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself”
– the prophet Elijah to the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:27

How boring would life be if we only spoke to one another with necessities? How mundane would play-by-play sports be if sports announcers were replaced with the equivalent of the Emergency Response System robot voice? That is exactly what we would have in our daily conversations without the crayon of the English language known as “sarcasm”. I will be the first to admit that I have been guilty of using sarcasm inappropriately in the past (thankfully less and less as the Lord continues His sanctifying work in me). However, I believe the Bible clearly shows that there are times when it is absolutely appropriate to use such an approach. I’ve found that if we keep our intentions in the spirit of Ephesians 4:15, we can use sarcasm to effectively make a case.

Recently, I had posted a meme on my Facebook feed that quoted prosperity and word-faith “preacher” Joyce Meyer accompanied by the hashtag “theologyfail”. The quote read, “The Bible isn’t enough. You need a personal revelation.” We know that the canon of Scripture is closed and are even instructed not to add or take away from God’s word (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32, Proverbs 30:6, Revelation 22:19).

Another image that drew the ire of many saturated in easy-beliefism was one based on an advertisement for Charmin toilet paper. The name in the same format read “Charlatan” and pointed out the Gospel-less preaching of Joel Osteen. Again, nothing personally derogatory, just a snarky way to point out what many are unable to see as he “preaches” what his followers want to hear, rather than what they need to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).

In both cases, truth was spoken, just in a colorful manner to draw more attention. So was I wrong? Should I repent for mocking such false teachers? Before you answer that, let’s see what, if any, examples there are in Scripture that present truth through the wonderful gift of sarcasm.

Probably the best use of sarcasm in the entire Bible lies in the verses of 1 Kings 18. We see the prophet Elijah giving an ultimatum of sorts to the people that Ahab gathers at Mount Caramel. Elijah proclaims, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21) Elijah continues and challenges the 450 prophets of Baal to prove the legitimacy of their god. The challenge was to lay two bulls out on wood. And “the God who answers by fire, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:24) As the prophets of Baal cried out, their false god did not answer as crying and moaning to him went on from morning to midday (1 Kings 18:26). They were so distraught they even resorted to cutting themselves at one point (1 Kings 18:28).

Then, at the climax of their impotent belief, Elijah taunts them to the point of mocking their god, “…saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself,'” (1 Kings 18:27). In modern terms, Elijah was quipping, “maybe your god can’t hear you because he’s in the bathroom”. If that is not sarcasm in the form of righteous mockery, then I’m not sure what is. The story concludes with the LORD answering Elijah’s call and wiping the false prophets out.

Another (ironically a contemporary of Elijah) who also was a prophet to Israel in the Northern Kingdom, was Micaiah. King Ahab is trying to decide wheter to go to battle against Ramoth-gilead and knows that the other prophets are telling him what he wants to hear. So he sends for Micaiah who is “of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:7-8). He asks Micaiah and without hesitation, Micaiah lets his subtle, yet stinging sarcasm do the work of pointing to truth. He gives the prophecy to “Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” (1 Kings 22:15). Now if we read this in context, we see that King Ahab senses this prophecy for the truthful sarcasm that it is. In other words, it’s like Micaiah mocking, “Sure… go ahead to battle. The Lord will give it to you…” In fact, King Ahab is so irritated he tosses Micaiah in jail for his mockery (1 Kings 22:26-27).

In both cases, we see two bold believers standing on their faith in God and using righteous mockery to drive their point home. Western Evangelism today has become so complacent, watered-down, and Gospel-impotent, we should all hop in this car called “reality” and see it for what it is and not be afraid to point it out from time to time. << – That was sarcasm. ;)

I believe the Bible clearly shows that there are times when it is absolutely appropriate to use such an approach. I’ve found that if we keep our intentions in the spirit of Ephesians 4:15, we can use sarcasm to effectively make a case....
....at the climax of their impotent belief, Elijah taunts them to the point of mocking their god, “…saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself,'” (1 Kings 18:27). In modern terms, Elijah was quipping, “maybe your god can’t hear you because he’s in the bathroom”. If that is not sarcasm in the form of righteous mockery, then I’m not sure what is. The story concludes with the LORD answering Elijah’s call and wiping the false prophets out....

....Western Evangelism today has become so complacent, watered-down, and Gospel-impotent, we should all hop in this car called “reality” and see it for what it is and not be afraid to point it out from time to time.

Osteen Ping!

In Job 38 God asks Job a series of questions that he knows no man can answer (As Job asked why God took everything away from him) Finally in verse 21 God says: "Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!"

Clearly a sarcastic response, much like a parent would say to a kid who thinks he knows better.

Bookmark: 1st Kings 18:27

“...at the climax of their impotent belief, Elijah taunts them to the point of mocking their god, “…saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself,’” (1 Kings 18:27). In modern terms, Elijah was quipping, “maybe your god can’t hear you because he’s in the bathroom”.

Interesting take on mocking the religious belief that a true God actually listens and responds to people in an audible voice.

Interesting take on mocking the religious belief that a true God actually listens and responds to people in an audible voice.

Old Testament has a number of examples that God did use an audible voice and was more personal. New testament has God walking among us in Jesus.

And since then, not an audible word to anyone? That’s not consistent, or logical.

How familiar are you with the Bible? God is as consistent and logical as it gets. I highly encourage you to read and muse upon the entire Bible and perhaps it will click for you. Talking with a friend or other person with access to others who can help explain questions would also be useful.

I used to be at least as scornful as you seem to be until I actually heard the Good News of the New Covenant and became saved. Until then, most of the Bible made no sense to me. I used to make my own "rational" conclusions without so much as exploring the subject, reading appropriate passages or talking to someone with more long-term involvement in Scripture. All my questions/objections were answered with a contextual reading/discussion of them.

You're confusing my skepticism for “scorn”.

I grew up in a family that went to church twice on Sunday and of course Wednesday night bible study. Church conventions in the summer. Every other denomination was considered *wrong*. -After I moved away from home, I met a woman who was a pentecostal. She spoke in tongues and her church was considered “holy rollers”. They considered other churches “spiritually dead”. And one day, she had an affair, and left me for some guy in the church who molested our daughter.

So, I'm sure like everyone else who accepts the bible as God's factual document you think you're own church is correct in its doctrinal teachings, but the very people who have been teaching you tgat illogical fallacy have their own dark secrets. And this biblical version of God supposedly uses these flawed beings to speak his message through. Flawed beings who commit grievous acts, of infidelity, murder, theft, rape, polygamy, war, etc.

Sorry, but after looking at the mountains of evidence around me and in the world at large; including watching the current news about little Christian children being beheaded in the middle east, I can only conclude that the biblical version of God is a man made fabrication.

I believe there's a divine , spiritual being in the cosmos, but based on the evidence all around us, it's not interested in yours or my daily life in the slightest.

Thanks for the run down on your skepticism. I was raised Catholic and never got it. Tried other religions with same result. Finally went non-denominational and it all fell into place. I believe religion in and of itself is sinful and there are far too many that seem to exert rules/canons, etc., to maintain a sense of control over the laity. Religion is man-made and as imperfect as the men who patched it together.

Some of the most effective and enthusiastic speakers/proponents out there began as atheists and set about trying to prove that God did not exist. The deeper they dug with their research, the more convinced they became that He did exist as he is portrayed in the Bible.

I would suggest that you do some more research - perhaps reading the Bible as a non-religious text and trying a non-denominational church. I'm of the school that I'd rather live my life as if the Bible was 100% correct and find out I was wrong later, rather than living as if it was wrong and finding that out later.

God Bless.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.