I ran across the following quotation from an interview with the theologian James Alison:
At the resurrection, what the apostolic group began to understand was that there is no violence in God, no wrath, no desire for retribution, no need for vengeance or satisfaction” (James Alison, “Befriending a Vengeful God,” Encounter, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, October 24, 2004).
Violence and vengeance are not to be found in the heart of God. One cannot be a maker of violence and at the same time claim to be following Christ.
Violence, we are told in the letter to the Galatians, is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but is rather the work of the “flesh,” that is, belonging to the order contrary to the Spirit of Christ. Included in the list of those contrary works (Galatians 5) are enmity and strife. Those words are sometimes translated hatred and discord, and can also be rendered as hostility and fighting. No matter how they are translated, they stand in sharp contrast to the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We also read that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). There is violence in each of us, of course, because we are all sinners. But we mustn’t let the violence in us become the lens through which we view the world. And when we claim that the violence we do is God’s will, we add to the shame of the action.
What does the fact that there is no violence in God say about a Christian’s stance toward war, or capital punishment, or abortion? What about domestic violence, or coercion, or emotional violence in all of its forms? What about hours spent gazing at violent television programs or playing violent video games, since ancient wisdom tells us we become what we gaze on?
Thanks be to God for the mercy shown us in Jesus Christ, without which we would be lost! Blessed be the Spirit of Christ, who works in us to transform us into peacemakers, whom Jesus calls the children of God.