# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1973_S119 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SEMINARY ISSUES 119 Wuereas, Said document reflects seriously inadequate theological viewpoints, to wit: 1. It relates inspiration exclusively to the power of Holy Scriptures as a means of grace to bring men and women to salvation (p. 36) and minimizes the authority of the Bible as a record of history (p. 37) and even as a reliable report of the life and teachings of Jesus (pp. 25—26) ; 2. It emphasizes the promise character of the Gospel, but it is not able to give the promise any definitive content or to say anything explicitly about the promise ex- cept that it presupposes a personal relationship of trust between God and man and is our assurance that God will continue to act mercifully in human history. and it even warns against imposing on people a certain way of wording the Gospel promise since all formulations of the Christian message are in fact culture-conditioned (p.32), implying thereby that it does not recognize any one way of stating the Gospel as the only correct way and that there should be latitude in the way the church formulates even the central article of its faith (pp. 24 ff.; 32); therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod declare said document by the St. Louis seminary faculty to be both a misrepresentation of the issues under discussion in our Synod and an inadequate expression of the Biblical and confessional understanding of the Gospel; and be it further Resolved, That the Synod reject and condemn all _at- tempts to substitute such a version of “gospel” for the Holy Scriptures as the source and norm of our theology. Trinity LUTHERAN CHURCH Scarsdale, N.Y. Merlin C. Meyer, Pastor Alfred Barsuhn, President Identical or Similar: 3-14B Hope Lutheran Church, St. Ann, Mo., John E. Greenwald, President; Robert Baum, Pastor. 3-14C Christ Lutheran Church, Mason City, Ill, E. L. Schnelle, Pastor; Henry R. Wendt, Chairman. 3-15A To Evaluate Seminary Document Resolved, To request the Commission on Theology and Church Relations to evaluate the theological content of the recent document from the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., Faithful To Our Calling, Faithful To Our Lord, An Affirmation in Two Parts. Trinity LUTHERAN CHURCH Easthampton, Mass. Francis Lu Bell, President Glenmore Carr, Secretary Louis Elgert, Pastor Similar: 3-15B Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church. Brooklyn, N.Y. Joseph C. Weber, Recording Secretary. 3-16 To Endorse “Report of the Synodical President” Wuereas, The Fact Finding Committee has faithfully performed its duty in regard to investigating conditions at our Seminary in St. Louis: and Wuereas, This was an honest and factual finding: and Wuereas. Nothing has been shown to disprove the find- ings of the Committee; be it therefore Resolved, That the Synod in convention assembled at New Orleans endorse the Report of the Synodical President to The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod as being in com- pliance with Res. 2-28 of the 49th regular convention and ask the Board of Control of the St. Louis seminary to deal ap- propriately with Dr. John Tietjen and the deviating pro- f . essors. Grace LUTHERAN CHURCH Bakersfield, Calif. L. W. Faulstick, Pastor C.F. Billingsley, Secretary 3-17 To Support Dr. Preus’ Recommendations Wuereas, The President of Synod has issued his report in compliance with Res. 2-28 of the 49th regular convention of the Synod; therefore be it Resolved, That this convention commend Dr. J. A. O. Preus for his work in dealing with the faculty and president of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, and support his recom- mendations for further action (pp. 146—147, Report of the Synodical President). TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Arapahoe, Nebr. Leon Riepe, Chairman Ernest Mues, Secretary Herbert Kluck, Pastor 3-18A To Take Action to Conform with Synod’s Official Doctrinal Position Wuereas, The President of the Synod is required by the Constitution of the Synod (Art. XIB) and by the Bylaws (2.27) of the Synod to exercise “supervision over the doc- trine taught in the Synod and over the administration of the officers and employees of the Synod"; and Wuereas. The President of the Synod, Dr. J. A. O. Preus, found it necessary to appoint a Fact Finding Committee to investigate the faculty members of Concordia Seminary, St, Louis, Mo.: and Wuereas, The Fact Finding Committee has faithfully car- ried out its task and has reported its findings to the Presi- dent of the Synod; and Wuereas, The President has made an evaluation of the committee's finding, and has reported the same to the con- gregations of the Synod: and WuereaS, The Report indicates that many of the faculty members and the seminary’s president do not feel bound to teach as required by the Constitution of the Synod (as understood by the Synod for more than 100 years): SCRIP- TURES and the LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS, and do not wish to honor and uphold the many synodical doctrinal reso- lutions which are truly in accord with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions; Therefore, We, the Voters’ Assembly of First Trinity Lu- theran Congregation, Bloomfield, Nebr.. for the sake of re- storing peace and unity in doctrine and practice within our beloved Synod, earnestly pray the Synod in convention at New Orleans, La., July 6—13, 1973, under the leadership of Synod’s President, to do speedily what needs to be done to require all faculty members, not only at the St. Louis sem- inary, but also at every synodical college and seminary, to teach according to our Synod's Scriptural and confessional doctrinal position: or, if some faculty members cannot, or will not, do so. to ask them to resign their positions, so that our Synod might put all its man power and resources to carrying out our chief. God-given Commission: “Preach the Gospel.” Disunity in doctrine hinders the Synod from doing its work. First TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Bloomfield, Nebr. Walter E. Wearne, Secretary Similar: 3-18B St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Spanish Lake, Mo., Norman Schneider, Pastor; Kenneth Kreitner, Secretary.