A satirical website drew rebuke from Christian readers after it came out with an article mocking Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) co-founder Jan Crouch on Tuesday, the day the famous evangelist passed away at the age of 78.
The Babylon Bee poked fun at Crouch's role in the so-called "prosperity gospel movement" in the article headlined "Top Prosperity Theologians Puzzled Over Death Of Jan Crouch," Fox News reports.
"As the nation mourns the sudden and unexpected loss of TBN co-founder Jan Crouch, various baffled prosperity gospel preachers have begun offering theories Tuesday on how Crouch could possibly have passed away, 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," reads the first paragraph from farcical news article.
Jan and her husband Paul Crouch, who died in 2013, were well-known leaders of the prosperity gospel movement, according to Christian Examiner.
The Babylon Bee article also included mocking fake quotes from well-known evangelists like Joel Osteen.
"Maybe she read a really mean tweet or some criticism of her theology," Osteen was "quoted" as saying.
"How else can you explain someone who possessed supernatural health from God dying four years before the average female life expectancy in the U.S.?" the satirical article added.
The satirical website drew immediate fire from the Christian community.
"I have been a fan of the Babylon Bee. I have appreciated their sometimes irreverent and stinging satire," Barry McCarty, professor of preaching and rhetoric at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, told 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."
Other critics vented their anger on the website's Facebook page.
"Being in the funeral industry, the Bee has lost me on this one," wrote one reader. "She does have a family who is grieving her loss. Pray for her family that they may see the truth and be brought closer to God. Don't make fun of her after she passed. What would Jesus do? I love ya Bee, but you crossed the line this time."
Another reader wrote: "I normally think everything BB posts is gold.... but this was completely insensitive. Satire and jokes are fun, but this crossed the line."
Despite the flood of criticism, the Bee has not removed the offending article from its website.
Some readers even defended the website.
"Satire works because it offends and in offending shocks our senses to the reality behind the joke," one reader wrote.
