Julian Baggini: Christ reveals limits of free speech

A statue by Terence Koh of a tumescent Christ in Gateshead has led to predictable howls of outrage, followed by the now familiar scratchy noise of lines being drawn in the sand. "Enough gratuitous offence to believers!" says one side; "enough kowtowing to religious sensitivities!" say the other.

I suspect a lot of people on both sides actually like a good blasphemy row. It gives both the opportunity to express that most satisfying of moral emotions: righteous indignation. But I'm getting bored of them. Whenever one blows up, there is an unsightly rush to "inviolable principles", when the dull truth, as usual, is that it depends.

Julian Baggini: Christ reveals limits of free speech | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.