God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today?

Do you find the violence in the Old Testament a problem? Does it get in the way of reading the Bible–and of faith itself? While acknowledging that there are no easy answers, in God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today?, Helen Paynter faces the tough questions head-on and offers a fresh, accessible approach to a significant issue. For all those seeking to engage with the Bible and gain confidence in the God it portrays, she provides tools for reading and interpreting biblical texts, and points to ways of dealing with the overall trajectories of violence. ""In God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today? Honestly wrestling with the Old Testament, Helen Paynter tackles problematic texts of violence in the Old Testament. The questions Paynter asks are pressing ones today, and she sketches out the complex issues clearly but without undue oversimplification. Outlining valuable principles of interpretation and applying them in worked examples, the author's candor and pastoral attentiveness invite readers into the conversation. The volume models Christian engagement with the biblical text and shows the value of honest wrestling within the text's own vision of shalom. Providing tools to think not only about specific texts of violence, but the biblical text more broadly, it is a welcome and compact initial resource for Christian laypeople troubled by biblical texts of violence."" –Dr. Lissa M Wray Beal, Professor of Old Testament, Chair, Seminary Bible and Theology Department, Providence University College and Theological Seminary ""In lucid prose Helen Paynter argues that violence featured in the biblical canon should not be ignored or denied but acknowledged and faced honestly. While history is played out in a broken and often violent world the author shows how the movement of scripture is toward God's creative intention for healing and wholeness. Without providing final answers Paynter offers ways of interpreting even the most violent passages so that we may hear God's word for today."" –John Meredith, Editor of Word & Worship Following a first career in medicine, Helen Paynter is now a Baptist minister, Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence at Bristol Baptist College, and Editor of BRF's Guidelines Bible reading notes. Helen is passionate about helping people to get to grips with the Bible because she has seen its power to transform lives. She loves to study it, preach it, teach it, and encourage others to study and understand it.