# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1962_S200
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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COMMITTEE 12 199

[327-B] COMMITTEE 12

To Request the “Lutheran Witness”
to Grant “State of the Church” Group
Equal Opportunity to Present Its Position

Wuereas, The Lutheran Witness has given consider-
able space to Dr. Martin Scharlemann in order that he
might explain his position; and

Wuereas, Those who defend the historic Lutheran
doctrine of Holy Scripture and who seriously object to
the doctrines advanced by Dr. Martin Scharlemann
have not been afforded space in the Lutheran Witness;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod request the Lutheran Wit-
ness to grant the “State of the Church” group equal
opportunity to present its position.

Jor E. Patten, Detroit, Mich.

MMITTEE 13
[1110-B] COMMIT

To Refrain from Authorizing Any
Collections for Valparaiso University
Until Steps Have Been Taken to Remedy
Certain Evils

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod,
through official synodical papers such as the Lutheran
Witness and through the Synod’s Board of Directors,
continually present Valparaiso as “a great, loyal Lu-
theran University” which is thoroughly deserving of all
financial assistance possible; and

Wuereas, In the celebration of the centennial of the
university the officials of this school saw fit to invite to
its campus men whose background and influence on
thinking people have been contrary to sound Christian
principles of doctrine and life, such as the modernist
Richard Niebuhr, and the Socialist labor leader of Great
Britain, Lord Clement Atlee; and

Wuereas, Valparaiso University sponsored the pres-
entation of Langston Hughes’s play The Black Nativity
on its campus January 7, 1962, in the chapel; and

Wuereas, Langston Hughes authored the following

blasphemous poem:

Goop-By CHRIST
Listen, Christ,
You did all right in your day, I reckon —
But that day’s gone now.
They Ghosted you up a swell story, too,
Called it “Bible” —
But it’s dead now.
The Popes and the Preachers ’ve
Made too much money from it.
They’ve sold you to too many
Kings, generals, robbers, and killers
Even to the Tzar and the Cossacks,
Even to Rockefeller’s Church,
Even to the Saturday Evening Post.
You ain’t no good no more.
They’ve pawned you
Till you’ve done wore out.

Good-by.

Christ Jesus Lord God Jehovah,

Beat it on away from here now.

Make way for a new guy with no religion at all—
A real guy named

Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker
ME—

I said, ME!

Go ahead on now,

You’re getting in the way of things, Lord,
And please take Saint Gandhi with you when you go,
And Saint Pope Pius,

And Saint Aimee McPherson,

And big black Saint Becton

Of the Consecrated Dime.

And step on the gas, Christ!

Move!

Don’t be so slow about movin’!

The world is mine from now on—

And nobody’s gonna sell ME

To a king, or a general,

Or a millionaire.

Good-by Christ, good morning Revolution!

Langston Hughes;
and

Wuereas, No man who writes such revolutionary
and blasphemous poetry should be recommended and
sponsored by any church group; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod refrain from authorizing
any further collections for Valparaiso University until
steps have been taken to remedy the aforementioned
evils and that satisfactory safeguards be instituted in
the selection of those people who will henceforth influ-
ence the thinking and learning of our youth.

TueoporeE SmirHey, Taylor, Mich.

[1110-C]

To Refrain from Authorizing Further
Collections for Valparaiso University
Until Certain Instructors Are Removed, etc.

Wuereas, It is a publicly known fact that the theory
of evolution is taught as a fact at Valparaiso Univer-
sity; and

Wuereas, Valparaiso University has not heeded the
protests of various individuals and congregations; and

Wuereas, It is impossible for one to maintain that
man has evolved from some primary organism and still
accept the Holy Scripture as the Word of God; and

Wuereas, Those who accept the evolutionary origin
of man will eventually be compelled to deny the entire
Christian faith if they are consistent in their approach
to the Holy Scriptures; and

Wuereas, Those who accept the evolutionary origins
of man have no need of a real Savior from sin; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the Synod refrain from authorizing
any further collections for Valparaiso University until
all those Valparaiso instructors who have been advocat-~
ing the theory of evolution as historic fact are removed
from their teaching position.

Mrs. O. SmaLtLwoop, Traverse City, Mich.