Stephen H. Webb, 1961-2016

We at the Interpreter Foundation were deeply saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of our dear colleague, the Catholic philosopher and theologian Stephen H. Webb, on Saturday, 5 March 2016.  Among other things, we had been looking forward to spending time with him this coming weekend; he was scheduled to speak at the Foundation’s symposium on science and Mormonism.

Stephen was a warm friend of the Latter-day Saints, both intellectually and personally.  Among his many publications are Mormon Christianity: What Other Christians Can Learn from the Latter-day Saints (Oxford, 2013) and, with Alonzo L. Gaskill, Catholic and Mormon: A Theological Conversation (Oxford, 2015).

His remarks on “Why Mormon Materialism Matters,” delivered at the August 2015 FairMormon conference, are available online at http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2015-fairmormon-conference/why-mormon-materialism-matters, as is a video of his remarkable discussion with Margaret Barker at the Interpreter Foundation’s August 2015 birthday party (https://interpreterfoundation.org/an-evening-with-margaret-barker-stephen-webb/).

We had hoped and expected to hear much more from Stephen.  More importantly, though, we are heartsick at this terrible loss.  We pray that God’s comfort and blessing will rest upon his wife and their five children, and upon the many people who knew and loved him.  And we look forward to the day when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

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