# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S433
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Ov. 5-13

To Reaffirm the Scriptural Teaching concerning
the Age of the Earth
WHEREAS, The Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, which
is God’s Word, is the only rule and norm of faith and life (Ps.
119:105; John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Formula of Concord
Solid Declaration Binding Summary 3); and
WHEREAS, Christ’s words presuppose the inspiration and
veracity of the five books of Moses (Matt. 17:3; 19:4–5; Mark
12:26; Luke 16:31; 24:44; John 5:46; etc.); and
WHEREAS, The first two chapters of Genesis teach that the world
was made from nothing in six days; and
WHEREAS, There is no reason to believe from the context or some
subtlety of meaning that “day” refers to a span of time longer than
24 hours (see Joel Heck, In the Beginning, God [St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 2011], 39–47); and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Francis Pieper also wrote the following in
his Christian Dogmatics ([St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1950], 1:468):
The time in which creation was completed was six days, as Gen.
1:31 and Gen. 2:2 expressly state (hexaemeron). These six days
are neither to be shortened, for pious reasons (to set forth God's
omnipotence), to a moment (Athanasius, Augustine, Hilary), nor
are they to be extended, for impious reasons (to bring Scripture
into agreement with the ‘assured results’ of science), to six
periods of indefinite length (thus almost all modern theologians).
Scripture forbids us to interpret the days as periods, for it divides
these days into evening and morning. That forces us to accept the
days as days of twenty-four hours;
and
WHEREAS, Darwinian evolution presupposes death before and
apart from sin which conflicts with the Scriptures’ clear teaching
that death came as a result of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21);
and
WHEREAS, St. Paul commands us to hold every thought captive
to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5); and
WHEREAS, The genealogies from the book of Genesis do not
leave room for millions or billions of years, but rather thousands of
years in the history of the world; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Iowa District East memorialize The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in convention to reaffirm the
scriptural doctrine of creation from nothing in six days in
conformity with the natural reading of Genesis; and be it further
Resolved, That the Iowa District East memorialize the LCMS in
convention to reaffirm the age of the earth in terms of thousands of
years rather than in terms of millions or billions of years.
Iowa East District
Ov. 5-14

To Study and Respond to “Young” and “Old”
Earth Creationist Teachings
WHEREAS, Many varieties of “old-earth” and “young-earth”
creationist models have been proposed by Christians who reject that
naturalistic evolutionary explanations explain the origin of the
world, life, and human beings; and

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WHEREAS, Most of these explanations have been developed
outside The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and
therefore reflect thought processes and associations with heterodox
church bodies; and
WHEREAS, Within the Synod, both proponents and opponents of
“day-age” creationism have erroneously equated that view with the
broader category of views that can be described as “old-earth”
creationism; therefore be it
Resolved, That the South Wisconsin District in convention
memorialize the LCMS in convention 2019, to request the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations to consider the
range of views regarding the age of the earth, and to prepare a
report, including any recommendations they deem appropriate for
adoption by the Synod in convention.
South Wisconsin District
Ov. 5-15

To Encourage Scriptural Teaching concerning
Creation
WHEREAS, The Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, which
is God’s Word, is the only rule and norm of faith and life (Ps.
119:105; John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Formula of Concord
(FC) Solid Declaration (SD) Binding Summary 3; and
WHEREAS, Christ’s words presuppose the inspiration and
veracity of the five books of Moses (Matt. 17:3; 19:4–5; Mark
12:26; Luke 16:31; 24:44; John 5:46; etc.); and
WHEREAS, The first two chapters of Genesis teach that the world
was spoken into existence by God ex nihilo in six days (“and there
was evening and there was morning,” Genesis 1) as cited in A Brief
Statement of the Doctrinal Position of The Missouri Synod (adopted
1932), “Of Creation”; and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) has spoken clearly about the creation account in Genesis in
“Creation a Biblical Perspective” (LCMS CTCR [adopted 1970])
and “The Creator’s Tapestry” (LCMS CTCR [adopted December
2009]); and
WHEREAS, Macroevolution presupposes death before and apart
from sin, which is in conflict with the Scripture, which teaches that
death came as result of Adam’s fall into sin (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor.
15:21); and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod adheres to
and upholds these scriptural and confessional teachings concerning
Creation (FC SD Binding Summary 3); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Mid-South District memorialize the Synod in
convention to reaffirm the Scriptural doctrine of creation from
nothing in six days in conformity with the reading of Genesis; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Mid-South District memorialize the Synod to
include in their evangelism, outreach, and educational resources an
emphasis on the importance of the narrative and doctrine of
Creation (First Article gifts), as an appropriate apologetic against
non-biblical worldviews.
Mid-South District

2019 Convention Workbook