The news that Professor Paul Helm (1940-2025) passed away at the end of the year caused much sadness in the Evangelical world as he was an outstanding scholar and significant theological influence in the church.
I knew Paul in the 1990s when I served with him as the secretary to the Tyndale House Philosophy of Religion Fellowship. Although I lost touch with him in later years, I always followed his work, as best I could, and respected his opinion. Particularly in the discipline of philosophy there were few like him.
I first met him when I graduated in Philosophy from Southampton University. I visited him at King’s College, London, to get his advice on doctoral studies. Sadly, the world of philosophy can generate an arrogance of spirit and a rather abstract attitude to learning which, for many, kills the discipline. Paul Helm exhibited none of that. I was immediately struck by his warm, friendly, and engaging manner. He knew his subject matter to a depth that will forever be far beyond my own and yet spoke to me as if I were an equal.
