# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S279
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Intersynodical and Doctrinal Matters 279

American Lutheran Church on the doctrine of inspiration,
¢ the United Lutheran Church of America commission had
itely refused. to endorse what our Brief Statement says on
subject. The question was, How could the American Lutheran
“hurch commission accept our position and at the same time
itself in harmony with the United Lutheran Church of America
mrmissioners? In response to an invitation two members of the
American Lutheran Church commission came to St.Louis for a
conference. They declared: In their view the United Lutheran
hurch of America commission had receded from its opposition to
verbal inspiration as taught in the Brief Statement and had accepted
-. the Biblical doctrine. We on our part found the Pittsburgh Agree-
ment not adequate because it contains loopholes for a denial of
‘the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures.

Attitude of Other Synodical Conference Synods

7. In the mean time we held several meetings with repre-
sentatives of our sister synods in the Synodical Conference and
found that the brethren of the Wisconsin and the Norwegian Synod
’ considered the basis adopted in St. Louis, June, 1938, for the estab-
lishment of fellowship between the American Lutheran Church and
our body inadequate.

Our Statement on Remaining Obstacles

8. At our last meeting with the commissioners of the American
Lutheran Church, held March 26 and 27, 1940, they asked us for
a formal statement enumerating the obstacles which in our view
still hinder the establishment of fellowship between our two church-
bodies —a statement which they might submit to their convention
to be held in Detroit in October, 1940. We were glad to hand them
such a statement. (For a full text of this statement see Concordia
Theological Monthly for December, 1940.)

9. The obstacles which we enumerated may briefly be given
as follows:

a) The membership of the American Lutheran Church in the
American Lutheran Conference, inasmuch as we cannot unite with
the American Lutheran Church unless its sister synods in the
American Lutheran Conference occupy the same position as the
American Lutheran Church and the Missouri Synod;

b) Our membership in the Synodical Conference, inasmuch
as we cannot enter into fellowship with a church-body if our sister
synods cannot share the new relationship;

c) The points in the Sandusky Resolutions and the one sentence
in the Declaration mentioned above;