Oddbean

Violence is absolutely necessary to be carried about by the righteous to keep the evil at bay. Man is inherently sinful. No amount of people asking and hoping for world peace will prevent evil people from wanting to carry out evil acts. The point of "Be peaceful, not harmless" is for righteous individuals to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner at all times and at the same time have the capacity to exert violence, also at all times, in order to prevent evil from being carried out by evil people.

Man is inherently cooperative, understanding, and sociable; we wouldn't be around anymore if the opposite was true. It's divisive ideologies (racism, sexism, religion, statism, etc.) that make us believe otherwise. It's human nature to adapt, change, and not give in to our primal instinct of labelling "others," which ultimately is what causes us to be violent. One does not have to hope that people wake up to this reality, but can in fact show others that this is possible. Sure, it won't happen overnight, but realizing the singularity of the species is ultimately what I see as the purpose of the human condition. https://youtu.be/c1nYtX-NUsc

Yes, many verses in the OT and NT about not provoking anger, not instigating fights, etc. while also being called to defend what is holy and good. But arrogant, godless people will tell you we should all just be friends and love everyone