Scripture reveals the nature of human violence in all its types, including interpersonal, structural, sexual, and political violence. To explore what the Bible says about human violence, Old Testament scholar Helen Paynter dives deeply into even the most problematic biblical narratives in Blessed Are the Peacemakers Video Lectures. Starting with the creation narratives in Genesis and moving to the conquest of Canaan, she investigates how these texts speak to the origins of human violence and its dynamics. The prevalence of violence throughout biblical history is inescapable. Through prophetic voices and Jesus's teaching, the Bible reveals that the seeds of violence exist within every human heart. Along the way, Paynter considers other relevant biblical themes, including the apocalypse, "crushing the serpent's head," and the concept of divine vengeance. Despite evidence of resistance movements in the Bible, it is only on the cross that an absorption of violence by God takes place: a defeat of violence by self-sacrifice.

Considering the pervasiveness of violence and its concealed structures in our Western society, Paynter challenges learners to consider their own complicity. The question of how we regard "others," both as individuals and as societies, is a deeply relevant and urgent one for the church. The church is called to be a prophetic witness to the non-violent eschatological world that we await.