# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1973_S148 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 148 SEMINARY ISSUES with in compliance with Bylaw 6.83 [Removal from Office”] of the Handbook of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and thereby be formally charged. FaitH LUTHERAN CHURCH Jefferson City, Mo. Martin Beck, President Mrs. James Weber, Secretary 3-122 To Thank Faithful Five for Their Stand Against Majority Faculty in St. Louis Whereas, The Report of the Synodical President and the “Fact-Finding or Fault-Finding” report of President John Tietjen prove that the majority faculty of Concordia Sem- inary, St. Louis, is opposed to the theology and teaching of the minority faculty; and Wuereas§, The five professors of the minority faculty have endured continuing censorship, ridicule, and character as- sassination at the hands of seminary administrators, majority faculty, and students of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; and Wuereas, A member of the minority five publicly stated, that to stand up against the majority faculty was “to resist one of the most outrageous totalitarian tactics ever perpe- trated in the history of Lutheranism” (Christianity Today, 3-2-73, p.46); therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod in convention profusely thank the “Faithful Five” (Professors Bohlmann, Klann, Preus, Scharlemann, and Wunderlich) for withstanding the assaults against their persons and helping thereby to make clear to the Synod and to the world the tremendous theological di- vision and diversity at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Sturgis, Mich. Bruce Schaeffer, Chairman H. M. Heidenreich, Pastor Tom Baker, Assistant Pastor 3-123 To Request Faculty Minority to Explain Its Position Whereas, Much publicity and numerous mailings at Syn- od’s expense have been devoted to the personal opinions of the president and the majority opinion of the faculty of the St.Louis seminary regarding the seminary Fact Finding Committee Report, the historical-critical method, and other current doctrinal issues; and Wuereas, There exists a faculty minority who welcomed the investigation, and who also repudiate the historical- critical method, and whose theology in certain critical areas is diametrically opposed to the faculty majority; therefore be it Resolved, That in the interest of fair play, Christian love, and a desire to establish the truth, the Synod President’s special Convention Committee on the St.Louis seminary respectfully request Drs. Martin Scharlemann, Ralph Bohl- mann, Richard Klann, Lorenz Wunderlich, and Robert Preus to present themselves to said Committee and explain their minority position; and be it finally Resolved, That the testimony of the above professors be made public and available to the membership of Synod. Mount Hope LuTHERAN CHURCH Casper, Wyo. Frank D. Stewart, President Richard R. Means, Secretary J.B. Brown, Pastor 3-124 To Appoint New Members to St. Louis Faculty Whereas, Our beloved Synod has, in recent years, suf- fered much unrest because of theological positions taken by a majority of professors serving on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, who apparently are not in sympathy with the traditional theological posture of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod; and Wuereas, Such lack of theological balance threatens the theological development of students preparing to serve the congregations of the Synod as pastors; therefore be it Resolved, That in accordance with the regulations of the synodical Handbook the officials of the Synod be directed to appoint professors to the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, as soon as possible who strongly represent the theological positions of the orthodox Lutheran theologians of the 16th and 17th centuries; and be it further Resolved, That the number of such appointments be made to at least equal the number of professors who represent theological positions that are regarded as confessionally Lu- theran but which are left of the center established by the standards of orthodoxy of the 16th and 17th centuries. St. AUGUSTINE LUTHERAN CHURCH Troy, Mich. George Ochmke, Chairman Oakley Lute, Secretary 3-125 To Dismiss Entire Faculty Whereas. By far the greatest majority of the St. Louis Seminary faculty have demonstrated that they have erred from the truth of Scriptures; and Whereas, The deviation from the Word of God has been amply demonstrated in the investigation report and the doc- ument entitled Faithful To Our Calling, Faithful To Our Lord: and Wuereas, The vast majority are obstinate and refuse to reconsider their doctrinal error; therefore be it Resolved, That Synod remove or fire the entire faculty along with the president and a new faculty be called on the basis of scholarship and adherence and loyalty to Scrip- ture and historic Christian doctrine. TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Casper, Wyo. Don Eckelberg, Secretary LaVern R. Bellamy, Pastor 3-126 To Censure St. Louis Seminary Faculty Whereas, The Concordia Seminary faculty of St. Louis has printed in its discussion section of the booklet Faithful To Our Calling. Faithful To Our Lord the sentence. “The fact that a given Biblical episode is historical is not impor- tant in and of itself” (p.23): and Whereas, Such a sentence can be interpreted to mean that God's actions in history are unimportant or insufficient; and WuHereEas, God took action in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to make an all-sufficient and complete atonement for the sins of the whole world; and Wuereas, The above statement of the St.Louis faculty permits the denial of the objective atonement of Jesus Christ for the sins of the whole world and thus destroys the Gospel; therefore be it Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod condemn this sentence and its concept as being destructive of the very Gospel by which we are saved: and be it further Resolved, That the Concordia Seminary faculty be cen- sured. Hoty Cross LuTHERAN CHURCH Scott City, Kans. Armin Strickert, Chairman Harry Dicks, Secretary