Revd Dr Helen Paynter

Founding director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence

Helen Paynter was a nephrologist (kidney doctor) when God called her to Baptist ministry. She has worked as pastor of two local churches in Bristol, but now exercises her ministry by teaching Old Testament, and training the next generation of Baptist ministers at the Bristol Baptist College. She has a PhD in Old Testament studies from Bristol University.

Helen is also the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and works extensively in the twin areas that the centre studies: the interpretation of biblical violence, and the weaponisation of scripture in a violent world. She is the author of a number of books and articles, and speaks and preaches nationally and internationally.

Publications

Single-authored books

Blessed are the Peacemakers: A Biblical Theology of Human Violence (Zondervan, 2023)
The Bible Doesn’t Tell Me So: Why you don’t have to submit to domestic abuse and coercive control (BRF, 2020)
Telling Terror in Judges 19: Rape and Reparation for the Levite’s Wife (Routledge, 2020)
God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today? Wrestling honestly with the Old Testament (BRF, 2019)
Reduced Laughter: Seriocomic Features and their Functions in the Book of Kings (Brill, 2016)

Edited books

Helen Paynter and Maria Power, The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity (SCM, 2024)
Helen Paynter and Michael Spalione, Global Perspectives on Bible and Violence (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2023)
Maria Power and Helen Paynter, Violence and Peace in Sacred Texts: Interreligious perspectives (Palgrave McMillan, 2022)
Michael Spalione and Helen Paynter, Map or Compass? The Bible on Violence (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2022)
Trevor Laurence and Helen Paynter, Violent Biblical Texts: New Approaches (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2022)
Helen Paynter and Michael Spalione, The Bible on Violence: A Thick Description (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2020)

Short form publications

The Strange World of Elijah and Elisha (Grove, 2019)
Dead and Buried: Attending to the voice of the victim in the Old Testament and today (Regents Park College, Whitley Publications, 2018)
Immigration and the Church: Reflecting faithfully in our generation (Grove, 2017)

Lecture titles

How should Christians act in a violent world?
This lecture explores content from Helen’s book, Blessed are the Peacemakers: A Biblical Theology of Human Violence, and seeks to offer a nuanced and biblically-shaped framework for Christians seeking to live faithfully in today’s complex world.
Wrestling with Old Testament violence
This lecture can be shaped in a number of ways, e.g. focusing closely on the meaning of the ‘totally destroy’ texts of Deuteronomy and Joshua, looking more broadly at Old Testament violence, or considering sexual violence in Scripture. Helen’s approach takes a ‘high’ view of Scripture, not dismissing texts which are uncomfortable, but wrestling with them to discover God’s good voice. This lecture does not seek to provide easy answers
Christian nationalism
In this lecture, Helen can map the development and expressions of Christian nationalism in the UK context, provide some analysis of its causes and dynamics, and then offer some theological considerations of its problems and affordances. Additionally or alternatively, she can provide a more practical set of ideas and approaches to help churches and their leaders resist some of the dangers of our current moment.
Domestic abuse in the Church
Tragically, domestic abuse is as prevalent in the Church as it is in society more generally. But when it takes place within a Christian home, scripture is often drawn in by the abuser to heighten their coercion, and churches sometimes make things worse by inappropriately applying or interpreting certain biblical texts and themes. In this lecture, Helen explores these issues, and offers some positive ways forward.