How to be a Perfect Christian by The Babylonian Bee

Being of Dutch descent, I grew up in the Reformed faith. (If you read this book, you'll know what THAT means.) One of my mother's favorite Dutch words was “sputten.” It was tossed my way when ever I was irreverent or flippant about spiritual things. “Quit your sputten,” she'd say. We took our faith seriously.

Even though my mother has long been in heaven, it was with some trepidation that I agreed to review this book. Satire is an acquired taste, I think. Christian satire may be even harder to appreciate. And that is what this book is full of. It is all tongue in cheek. It makes fun of the odd and man made ways some Christians think about Christianity and living the Christian life. It pokes at cultural Christianity. It jabs at flashy TV preachers. It points to us all.

So what would be the benefit of reading this book? If you practice a sort of reverse thinking, there is much one can learn from it. For example, “Never let the Scriptures challenge your way of thinking,” hopefully challenges us to, in fact, let the Scripture challenge our thinking. ( 125) The description of God: “He votes Republican, loves football, and is suspicious of non-Americans and people with brown skin,” I hope challenges us to seriously think about our own concept of God. (128)

Can anything good come out of The Babylonian Bee? (In the style of Nathanial in John 1:46.) If you love the kind of humor that makes fun of the crazy aspects of Christianity, you'll love this book. If you are a fan of Christian satire, you'll love this book. If, like me, you were taught to not make light of our precious faith, you can still benefit from reading this book. It just may make you hurt or weep more than it makes you laugh. That The Babylonian Bee has so much material with which to work is itself a commentary on the condition of Western Christianity.

You can watch the book trailer here.

You can catch more satire at http://babylonbee.com/.

My rating: 3/5 stars.

The Babylonian Bee is a popular source for Christian satire. It shines a spotlight on modern Christian cultural quirks. It pokes fun at familiar trends and traditions, calling each of us to a truer understanding of real biblical faith.

Multnomah, 208 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review. #PRHpartner