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Krister Stendahl has died

The news has already started to make the rounds. Esteemed New Testament professor and former Dean of Harvard Divinity School has passed away this morning after a long bout with cancer. This post cannot possibly substitute for an official obituary, so I shall not attempt the task. I would just like a note a few highlights on his relationship with Mormons.

Stendahl had been a pioneer on interfaith dialogue and had been a long-time defender of the Mormons. Having established relationships with LDS students at Harvard, he became engaged in LDS scholarship. He wrote an article on “The Sermon on the Mount and Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon,” in Meanings , ed. K. Stendahl (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984): 99-113 (also in Madsen, Reflections on Mormonism). He is also the author of the article on “Baptisms for the Dead” in the Encyclopedia on Mormonism. Stendahl appears in the LDS film about temples called Between Heaven and Earth. He also became publically involved in defending the LDS temple construction in his native Sweden.

We have lost a great friend today.

[This was posted earlier today before the information was officially made public. Email sometimes moves faster than official news. I apologize for any inconvenience.]

April 15, 2008 - Posted by TT | Mormon Studies, Uncategorized | | 8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. [...] Krister Stendahl has died. Don’t know who he is? Check Wikipedia. [...]

    Pingback by Krister Stendahl Died : Mormon Metaphysics | April 15, 2008

  2. Honestly I was most surprised that he was still around. That sounds horrible, but I first encountered him in college which was longer ago now than I care to admit. I think Stendahl deserves a lot of praise for bringing LDS into the kind of interfaith dialog which has characterized the last period of LDS history. This is sad.

    Comment by Clark | April 15, 2008

  3. I will never forget his concept of “holy envy” which he taught in Between Heaven and Earth. That seriously changed the way I viewed religion.

    Comment by jondh | April 15, 2008

  4. We still have not engaged his thought as thoroughly as we could. His insights on interfaith dialogue inspired me to make it a subject of research in my graduate studies. Mormons would do well to pay him more attention.

    Comment by jacobtbaker | April 15, 2008

  5. Thanks for the notice, TT. A gentleman and a scholar he.

    Comment by Kevin Barney | April 15, 2008

  6. I never took a class from him, but I have great memories of meeting him, hearing him speak and appreciated his gentle wisdom, magnetic personality, and to-die-for accent.

    Comment by tona | April 17, 2008

  7. His “holy envy” concept is concise and beautiful.

    Comment by BHodges | April 17, 2008

  8. I have always enjoyed his insights and scriptural exegesis. Stendahl was also one of the teachers of Elaine Pagels, who is and has been one terrific read in the Gnostic materials. Standahl did a magnificent thing saying we should have “holy envy” for the best in all religions, and to only compare the best with the best. He was an inspiring example of the kind of kind and gentle scholars we ought to emulate.

    Best,
    Kerry

    Comment by Kerry Shirts | April 20, 2008


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