Violence

All violence motivated by greed, lust, anger, fear and/or the desire for power, is evil at its core.  There is such thing as holy violence. It is motivated only by Love and the ensuant desire for freedom for the human soul. This is the violence that one would use to protect his family from a violent attacker. But there are threats in the spiritual realm that threaten freedom and peace for whole nations and cultures. The lust for power was recognized by our Founding Fathers who set up a governmental system with "checks and balances" to guard against it. They recognized the dangers that perpetually threatened a government that provided and tried to protect individual freedom from tyranny and oppression. They recognized the dark side of the human soul. They even protected the populaces' freedom to bear arms to prevent being overpowered by a government run amuck. This, of course, places immense responsibility upon the populace to be mature and self-controlled; not quick to violence and willing to go to great lengths to settle all disputes without violence, but rather through the sincere pursuit of the "common good."  Even with this sincere discipline and holy desire, there has been and will continue to be the need for good men who have no ill will toward anyone---who covet no man's property or rights, and who desire to live in peace with all mankind---to take up arms against those who seem to be lost in a deep darkness that spawns hatred and callous disregard for freedom and human life. The primary battle is and will always be the battle for the enlightenment of those who are in this darkness. This battle can only be won if motivated by divine Love---the Love of Christ evident in His prayer from the Cross, "Father forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." Theological debates, though necessary, are only useful if they lead to more of this love in the hearts of human beings. This is the result of all true evangelism. The hardness of heart that opposes the Truth of Christ puts one on a pathway that has as its ultimate destination many variations of hell, including hatred and violence.
Any theology that presents a god that rejoices in the death of any human or that rewards violence and spawns hatred cannot be the God of the universe---the God Who has so generously lavished us with life, beauty. and freedom.