When Saul was rejected by God and replaced by David, the spirit of God departed from him and he was tormented by a spirit of evil. Saul pursued David with the intention of killing him but David refrained from using violence against him.

We have to combat the spirit of evil, but violence is not the answer. Violence today, has become an evil on a scale previously unknown. Endless wars are being waged by groups, of different religions, and school-going youths participate in the conflicts by throwing stones and burning cars. The number of people seeking refuge from war, oppression and from being denied human rights is colossal, and violence is a daily feature of the media. Yet science is being used to produce more effective lethal weapons, TV entertains millions of viewers with shows of violence, the manufacture of toy machine-guns and toy tanks is a thriving industry and for children, stories of wars in space have replaced traditional fairy tales.

Three of the beatitudes are related to the meek, the merciful, and the peace-makers and Jesus commissioned His disciples to heal the sick, to drive out evil spirits, and to spread the peaceful message of the Gospel.