# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S434
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

434

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Ov. 5-17

Ov. 5-16

To Confess and Reaffirm Six-Day Creation
and the Official Position
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures teach that God is the Creator of
all that exists (Gen.1:1; Ps. 33:6, 9; Heb. 11:3; Col. 1:16; John 1:1–
4); and
WHEREAS, Genesis 1 and 2 detail the creation of the world by
God in six days, with a seventh day for rest, each day consisting of
24 hours; and
WHEREAS, Holy Scripture in its entirety is inspired by God, the
Holy Spirit and is without error and infallible (John 10:35; 2 Tim.
3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:21); and
WHEREAS, Holy Scripture teaches the historical event of the
creation of the first man, Adam, who was in the image of God, and
it is as consequence of his sin that death has come into the world
(Rom. 5:12–19); and
WHEREAS, Theistic evolution, or old earth creationism, which
teaches that God used an evolutionary process to create mankind, is
in direct contradiction to the teaching of Holy Scripture; and
WHEREAS, Theistic evolution, or old earth creationism, which
teaches that death is a natural occurrence, present before the fall,
not the result of Adam’s sin, is also thereby in direct contradiction
to the teaching of Holy Scripture; and
WHEREAS, The official position of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod (LCMS) regarding creation is, “We teach that God
has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space
of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Genesis 1 and 2,
namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days. We reject
every doctrine which denies or limits the work of creation as taught
in Scripture. In our days it is denied or limited by those who assert,
ostensibly in deference to science, that the world came into
existence through a process of evolution; that is, that it has, in
immense periods of time, developed more or less of itself. Since no
man was present when it pleased God to create the world, we must
look for a reliable account of creation to God’s own record, found
in God’s own book, the Bible. We accept God’s own record with
full confidence and confess with Luther’s Catechism: ‘I believe that
God has made me and all creatures.’” (Brief Statement of the
Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [1932], 2); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District confess and
reaffirm that God created the world in six days, with a seventh day
for rest, each day consisting of 24 hours; and be it further
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District reaffirm that Holy
Scripture teaches the historical event of the creation of the first man,
Adam, who was made in the image of God, and that death came in
the world as the consequence of his sin; and be it further
Resolved, That the district reaffirm that theistic evolution, or old
earth creationism, is in direct contradiction to the teaching of Holy
Scripture; and be it further
Resolved, That the district reaffirm the official position of the
LCMS regarding creation as stated in the Brief Statement; and be it
finally
Resolved, That the district send this resolution as an overture to
the 2019 Synod convention.
Minnesota South District

2019 Convention Workbook

To Ask Circuit and District Pastors Conferences
to Study Our Synod’s Statements
Dealing with Creation and Explore Ways to Help
Congregations Discuss Issues Related
to the Intersections of Faith and Science
WHEREAS, Issues related to the intersection of faith and science
continue to top the list of concerns by young people not only in the
wider American church (see, David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why
Young Christians Are Leaving Church… and Rethinking Faith
[Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011]) but also in our own church
(see, Mark Kiessling, “The Search for Young People: 2017
Research of Millennials and the LCMS,” Concordia Journal, vol.
44, no. 1 [Fall 2018]: 19–32); and
WHEREAS, One of the most popular sessions at the National Youth
Gathering in past years has centered on the question of whether or not
one can be a Christian and take up a career in science; and
WHEREAS, The number of new discoveries (e.g., in genetics and
paleontology) and technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence)
continues to increase at an exponential pace; and
WHEREAS, Many pastors and other church workers may not be
familiar with what the Synod has stated publicly over the course of
the past century regarding the Scriptural teaching on creation and
our place within that creation; therefore be it
Resolved, That pastors and other church workers be encouraged
to uphold in their teaching the Synod’s publicly stated positions as
set forth in A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the
Missouri Synod (adopted 1932, Article 5):
We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the
manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures,
especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word,
and in six days. We reject every doctrine which denies or limits
the work of creation as taught in Scripture. In our days it is
denied or limited by those who assert, ostensibly in deference to
science, that the world came into existence through a process of
evolution; that is, that it has, in immense periods of time,
developed more or less of itself. Since no man was present when
it pleased God to create the world, we must look for a reliable
account of creation to God's own record, found in God’s own
book, the Bible. We accept God's own record with full
confidence and confess with Luther's Catechism: “I believe that
God has made me and all creatures.”
and A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles
(adopted 1973, Article V):
We believe, teach and confess that God, by the almighty power
of His Word, created all things. We also believe that man, as the
principal creature of God, was specially created in the image of
God, that is, in a state of righteousness, innocence and
blessedness.
We affirm that Adam and Eve were real historical human beings,
the first two people in the world, and that their fall was a
historical occurrence which brought sin into the world so that
“since the fall of Adam all men who are propagated according to
nature are born in sin” (Augsburg Confession II 1). We confess
that man’s fall necessitated the gracious redemptive work of
Jesus Christ and that fallen man’s only hope for salvation from
his sin lies in Jesus Christ, his Redeemer and Lord.