# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S1140
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS 487

e Committee closed its opinion with the following para-
“The vote at Milwaukee on the acceptance of the Common
sion, which was certainly a ‘matter of doctrine and of con-
nce, can be considered constitutional only if it is definitely
rstood that those who voted for and those who voted against
manner in which the doctrines are expressed in the Common
ession have gone on record as to their position in the matter.
st is their constitutional right. The vote is not to be considered

(7)
vention render the action a the wa sete asion nda 180, om
> © majorit i ~
: Was renee Y null and void becausa
Committee 6 has been in

: e Synod
mittee ee, ort Constitutional Matters for an opie ey Bim to th . ding on the conscience of anyone who voted against the adop-
in which it Y rendered an Opmion under date of M. 1s Com. ‘tian of the Common Confession for the sake of his conscience,
L« I Made the following statements: ay 18, 195], @masmuch as Synod by resolution (Proceedings, p. 586) has given an
doctring mil VIII c of our Constitution States: ‘Al] ‘opportunity for further discussion of all questions with regard to
God. All ma Conscience shall be decided only b the wets of the Common Confession with the Committee on Doctrinal Unity.”
In case of oer matters shall be decided by a ¥ the Word of ** As a result of this opinion, a lengthy criticism was received
i esident may ¢ «9. “from one -of the protestants, and the Committee on Constitutional
no aeaticle safeguards doctrine and conscience ve deciding Vote,’ Wiatters upon giving further consideration to the matter realized
2 “—D, P, decided by man or by vote. ¥ Ceclaring that that its original opinion had been misunderstood in several re-
gen in Sach il 's ben atcs, Vol III, p. 495, states: « ‘Abstimmun. spects and rendered a revised opinion dated September 28, 1951.
ur The Committee changed the last sentence of paragraph 2 as

alle die Lehre des go den Zweck, festzuste]]

stimmen; nicht habe ettlichen Worts erkannt haben und ih ob follows: “Therefore, when Article VIIIC deals with matters of

auch durch Einst nick den Zweck durch Stimmenmehrheit oda, | doctrine and conscience, it says nothing about a unanimous vote

entscheider,’ immigkeit ueber die Richtigkeit einer Lehre _ or majority vote, but demands that all such matters are decided
rts

by the Word of God.” ~

The Committee rewrote paragraph 6 as follows: “The vote at
Milwaukee on the acceptance of the Common Confession cannot
be considered as violating the conscience of anyone inasmuch as
Synod by resolution (Proceedings, p.585f.) has given an oppor-
tunity for further discussion of all questions regarding the Com-
mon Confession with the Committee on Doctrinal Unity.”

Committee 6 has given careful consideration to the original
and revised opinions of the Committee on Constitutional Matters
and to the following conditions and circumstances accompanying
the adoption of the Common Confession:

1. That no objection was voiced on the floor that anything
contained therein was contrary to Scripture. All objections were
addressed to choice of words and adequacy.

2. That before final announcement of adoption by the President
no one protested that adoption by majority vote was contrary to
the Constitution.

3. That no one protested on the ground that the Common
Confession contained false doctrine.

4. That no one protested on the floor on the ground of violation
of conscience.