Aujourd'hui tout le monde sait que Charlie

Yesterday, I had no idea who or what Charlie Hebdo even was.

Unfortunately, today I know, for all the wrong reasons.

I may have mentioned before that one of the biggest problems plaguing certain types of fundamentalists is that they have absolutely no sense of humor.

Looking at a brief collection of some of the magazines satirical cartoons, I notice that there really isn't a very good analogue for what they did in the United States.  I would say they're kind of like MAD magazine, but what they do is a little more hostile and serious than Alfred E. Newman.  There are things in their portfolio that I find explicitly offensive, and I don't really get offended too easily.

Even in the times that I have been deeply offended, even in times when that offense has been in the name of my God, I would not consider storming a magazine's office with an assault rifle and mowing down the "infidel."

Not because I can't get hopping mad about things, but I'm rather mystified by the mindset that thinks you should kill people over crudely drawn cartoons.

Yes, I am aware that the men who did this do not represent Islam as a whole.

Yes, I am aware that Christians have burned, hung and disemboweled people for blasphemy.

Yes, I know that was not that long ago.

But I am not willing to say that, because violence happens, we must accept this sort of thing.

Getting offended is generally not a productive thing.  You can be challenged, you can be angry, you can strongly disagree, but when you, as they say, "get your nose out of joint," you will have a hard time acting in a rational and constructive way.

You know what offends me?  Violence, poverty, injustice.

You know who I think we ought to defend?  Children, the poor, the old, the defenseless and the marginalized.

God is not on that list.  God is perfectly capable of handling Godself in a scrap.  I'm rather certain that God is going to have some unpleasant things to say to those gunmen, who killed in his name, and I suspect he will be rather more kind to the godless scoffers who have arrived, rather unexpectedly.

From a spiritual point of view, people that do this sort of thing think that they can do God's work using the Devil's tools, and that's a BIG mistake.  The sort of thing that happened in Paris this morning is basically a lose-lose-lose situation for the offended parties.  First of all, it's not going to stop journalists and satirists from doing their thing, if anything it's just going to give them more ammo, and a greater sense of vindication for mocking you.

Second of all, the world is, all of the sudden, going to pay a lot more attention to what they say about you. You have just given a magazine that had very little in the way of international audience, a sudden surge of notoriety.  Now the world knows about Charlie Hebdo, and the world feels empathy for Charlie Hebdo, even if they were offended by Charlie Hebdo, they're now much more offended by your bloody killing in the name of your god.

Finally, you have sold your soul to the spirit of violence, hatred and all that is contrary to the creative love of God, and that is what Satan really is.  When you attack defenseless people in the name of god, you are not serving God, you are serving the opposite of God.  You are not vindicating God's righteousness, you are a slave to evil.

Today, I will pray for the godless critics of religion at Charlie Hebdo, and I will pray for the Satanic men who tried to silence them.  I will leave the vengeance and the justice up to God.