The Serrated Edge

Imitate Christ. 
But not like that!

All Christians should imitate Jesus in all his attributes. But rarely are Christians exhorted to imitate Jesus’s satiric bite.

Imitate his love, of course. But if anyone follows Christ in how he dressed down the Pharisees in Matthew 23—that one will be charged with un-Christlike behavior.

In The Serrated Edge, Douglas Wilson aims to remedy this blind spot in modern evangelicalism. The Bible is replete with prophets and apostles leveraging all kinds of rhetoric to make their points, including satire. Rather than being off limits, Wilson shows from Scripture that satire is a rhetorical tool to develop, use, and improve upon.

America is in desperate need of pastors who speak with the authority of Christ. A Christian polemic—a Christian serrated edge—must be based on the Word of God, and not based on the sensibilities of men who spend Sunday mornings swaying side to side, moaning along to the newest Hillsong release.

The Serrated Edge first appeared in print more than twenty years ago. Since then, Douglas Wilson's uncompromising approach to truth-telling has been discussed and analyzed worldwide, from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, Der Spiegel, and beyond. This 2nd Edition of Doug Wilson's defense of giving offense includes a new preface and a new appendix from the author, "Principles of a Godly Satirist."