Krister Stendahl

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Stendahl redirects here. If you are searching for the 19th century author, see Stendhal.

Krister Stendahl (b. 1921), Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, Emeritus Bishop of Stockholm.

Stendahl received his doctorate in New Testament studies from Uppsala University with his dissertation The school of St. Matthew and its use of the Old Testament (1954). He was later Professor at the Divinity School at Harvard University, where he also served as dean, before being elected bishop of Stockholm in 1984. After retiring in 1989, he returned to the United States, and is now Mellon Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the Harvard Divinity School. He has also taught at Brandeis University.

Stendahl is perhaps most famous for his publication of the article "The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West." This article, along with the later publication of the book Paul Among Jews and Gentiles, conveys a new idea in Pauline studies suggesting that scholarship dating all the way back Augustine may miss the context and thesis of Paul. His main point revolves around the early tension in Christianity between Jewish Christians and Gentile converts.

Through his interest in the Jewish context of the New Testament, Stendahl developed an interest in Jewish Studies and has been active in the Jewish-Christian dialogue.