The pen is mightier that the sword.

The slaughterer of staff at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday is a reminder -  as if one was necessary - of how out of touch the murders are. Why would someone want to kill these journalist including the editor and two policeman? Being able to ridicule the prophet Mohammad is and important touchstone and a necessary but not sufficient part of a democratic and civilised society. The Catholic Church and Church of England have all be lampooned and satirised by magazines down the ages, but have not murdered anyone. Its this inability to perceive the world as metaphorical and not a concrete representation that makes them so backward looking. Being able to see the world in a subtle manner is important, as it allows for humour and ridicule. The film The Life of Brian by Monty Python was a movie about the life of Christ that was humourous and ridiculous. The makers were not murdered for their efforts. For that matter I don't think an atheists has killed for his/her beliefs either.