# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S125
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

CHURCH RELATIONS 125

Bunge, Dr. Warren Quanbeck, Dr. William Hordern,
Prof, Gerhard Forde, and others; and

Wuereas, The Brief Statement, an officially adopted
statement and one that the Synod has reaffirmed from
time to time as its official position, says: “The orthodox
character of a church is established not by its mere
name nor by its outward acceptance of, and subscription
to, an orthodox creed, but by the doctrine which is
actually taught in its pulpits, its theological seminaries,
and in its publications”; therefore be it

Resolved, That altar and pulpit fellowship with The
American Lutheran Church be not declared until these
doctrinal matters on revelation, inspiration, and iner-
rancy are cleared up, so that we can all speak the same
thing and thus have a truly God-pleasing fellowship;
and be it further

Resolved, That when we reach agreement on doc-
trine and practice (and we pray that the Holy Spirit
will bring this to be), at that time the matter of altar
and pulpit fellowship with The American Lutheran
Church be declared on the basis of a congregational
referendum, in which at least two thirds (%3) of the
congregations of the Synod would have to vote affirma-

tively for it to become effective Rev. A. E. Scumirt

Taft, Calif.
(3-84)

To Postpone Decision
for at Least 2 Years

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod,
assembled in convention at Denver in July 1969, is
being asked to declare altar and pulpit fellowship with
The American Lutheran Church; and

Whereas, Christians should not practice altar and
pulpit fellowship with one another unless there “is
mutual agreement in doctrine and in all its articles
as well as in the right use of the holy sacraments”
(Formula of Concord, Epitome, Art. X, Par. 5; Rom.
16:17; 1 Peter 4:11; John 8:31-32; 2John9-10; 1 Tim.
6:3-4); and

Wuereas, “It is not sufficient that the Gospel is cor-
rectly stated in the church’s official confession. It must
actually be proclaimed in the pulpits and taught in the
church” (“The Doctrine of the Church in the Lutheran
Confessions,” an essay adopted by the commissioners
of ALC and LCMS, 1966); and

Wuereas, There is ample evidence that officials, pas-
tors, and professors within The ALC in their periodicals,
books, and official statements reject the Scriptural doc-
trine of the real inerrancy of the Bible:

1. “We who teach at Luther College cannot subscribe
to the scriptural inerrancy because our knowledge of
Scripture prevents us from making such a claim.” (Dr.
Paul Jersild, in “What Are Those Theologians Say-
ing?”)

2. The Bible: Book of Faith, by Theological Profes-
sors of the ALC, prepared for the Board of Parish Edu-

cation and the Board of Publication of the ALC, teaches
that “the infallibility of the Scriptures is the infallibility
of Jesus Christ and not the infallibility of the written
text” p. 148; and also teaches that Isaiah did not write
Isaiah, chs. 40—66 (pp. 43, 62,76), that Moses did not
write the first five books of the Bible (pp. 67—79), and
that Daniel did not write the Book of Daniel (pp. 46,
77, 78).

3. “The ALC holds that the inerrancy referred to
here [i. e., the Constitution of The ALC] does not apply
to the text but to the truths revealed for our faith, doc-
trine and life. The ALC has not voted this statement in
a general convention. I base this interpretation on
a number of factors” (Dr. Fredrick Schiotz, President
of The ALC, “The Church’s Confessional Stand Relative
to the Scriptures, prepared for distribution by the Office
of Public Relations — the American Lutheran Church,
p. 27); and

Wuereas, The essay “Sola Gratia,” adopted by the
commissioners of the LCMS and The ALC, never even
mentions the question of synergism (the heresy that
man cooperates in his conversion) or the question of the
freedom of the will of the unconverted man, leaving
the question whether the members of the bodies now
constituting The ALC have changed their conviction
on this matter or what their convictions are; and

Wuereas, The divergence in practice regarding
membership in the lodges has not been resolved; and

Wuereas, The ALC is deeply involved in the Lu-
theran World Federation and the World Council of
Churches, organizations with which we have declined
membership because of the compromise and unionism
involved in such membership; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod postpone for at least 2 years the decision to join
in fellowship with The American Lutheran Church; and
be it further

Resolved, That in the interim the proper commis-
sions seek under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to re-
move the roadblocks to true fellowship; and be it finally

Resolved, That the laity and clergy of both The ALC
and the LCMS seek to meet or continue to meet with
one another to discover the basis for such unity in fel-
lowship where we “all speak the same thing . . . [and
are] perfectly joined together in the same mind and
in the same judgment.” (1 Cor. 1:10)

NAZARETH LUTHERAN CHURCH

Milwaukee, Wis.

Wi.tiiaAm Heuser, Secretary
(3-85)

To Delay Declaring Altar and Pulpit
Fellowship with The ALC
Wuereas, Materials prepared for the Board of Par-
ish Education and the Board of Publications of The
American Lutheran Church reveal that The ALC holds
views differing from those of the Missouri Synod, to wit:
Underscore the fact that the Bible has a very human