The killing of George Floyd by a police operation led to a conflict-ridden discourse on the necessity and limits of state violence. This monograph contributes to the current social discourse on violence by examining the tense relationship between necessary and even demanded violence in police work as well as the possibilities of containing violence. The authors put forward the provocative thesis that violence is also inscribed in the biblical understanding of God and that it has always been and will always be part of the experience of human coexistence. Biblical visions of non-violence cannot completely overcome violence. However, they can contribute to an ethical discourse that recognizes the necessity of state violence and, for this very reason, resolutely pushes for the containment of state-legitimized violence.
