Parody website takes a swipe at prosperity gospel preachers following televangelist's death

Christian parody website The Babylon Bee was criticized for a satirical piece they published shortly after televangelist Jan Crouch died on May 31.

"I have been a fan of the Babylon Bee. I have appreciated their sometimes irreverent and stinging satire," said Barry McCarty, professor of preaching and rhetoric at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, according to the Christian Examiner. "I would also say that ordinarily I appreciate wit and satire and I am no fan at all of prosperity gospel and televangelists — but this struck me as being beyond the pale today."

The satiricial article titled "Top Prosperity Theologians Puzzled Over Death Of Jan Crouch" focuses on "various baffled prosperity gospel preachers" giving their theories on how the 78-year-old woman could have died, "given her overabundance of faith, her supernatural ability to name and claim health and wealth at will, and her decades of collecting donations while promising that God's will is for everybody to be wealthy and healthy." It contains made-up quotes from well-known church leaders, namely Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Bishop T. D. Jakes, and Kenneth Copeland.

Osteen's fake quote says that Crouch must have spoken a negative thought out loud and gave them life. It argues that there is no other explanation for the death of "someone who possessed supernatural health from God," which came four years earlier than the average life expectancy for females in the United States. Her network Trinity Broadcasting Network also has a show that promises God's healing "of absolutely anything if you will just speak the right words."

"She must've spoken negative words out loud," the fake quote says. "That's the only explanation I've got."

Hinn's made-up quote, meanwhile, says that Crouch must have spoken "her own demise into being" after tiring of her luxuries, since there is no other reason to explain why she would die during TBN's healing month when people are reminded that "God wants them whole." The article did not fail to mention Hinn getting into a limousine "and speeding off to his private hangar for his next crusade in a third-world country."

Jake's quote says that the stroke had declared victory over Crouch's health, "activating God to do its will through faith," while Copeland's quote said that he'd increase the number of his daily health declarations to four times a day because he's not getting any younger.

The article concludes by saying that TBN will be "solemnly and aggressively seeking donations in her honor."

Readers have expressed their thoughts on The Babylon Bee Facebook page, with some saying that it has crossed the line while others think it's the perfect time to publish such an article. One said that it is in moments of pain and suffering that "the hellacious Prosperity Gospel does its most damage." 

McCarthy, however, thinks that the timing is not right, saying, "I think it would have been best to have said nothing than to have lampooned and satirized someone on the day she died. She was a wife and mother and people love her. Today is a day to extend condolences to those who grieve her loss."