LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1962, Page 179

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COMMITTEE 3 179

teaches, and confesses regarding the questions which
have become points of controversy since 1580; and be
it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod empower its President and the Board of Direc-
tors, in consultation with its Committee on Doctrine
and Fellowship, to make the necessary arrangements,
possibly by inviting other Lutheran church bodies to
cosponsor such a conference; and be it finally

Resolved, That the President report on the progress
of such arrangements at the next regular convention of
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod.

SoutH-CENTRAL PasToRAL CONFERENCE
Michigan District
James P. PorRSHKE, Secretary

[322-B]

To Sever All Official Connections with the
“Christian Century”

Wuereas, The Christian Century is the voice of lib-
eral Protestantism; and

Wuergas, A pastor of The Lutheran Church — Mis-
souri Synod is an associate editor of this publication;
and

Wuereas, This pastor, as associate editor, is in basic
agreement with the publication, “By combining their
(i. e., the staff members’) contributions they make the
voice of the paper recognizably one voice, speaking with
its own kind of authority” (The Christian Century,
Jan. 1, 1958, p.8); and

Wuereas, This publication stated thirty-seven years
ago:

Christianity according to fundamentalism is one religion

and Christianity according to modernism is another... .

There is a clash here as profound and grim as between

Christianity and Confucianism. The God of the funda-

mentalist is one God, and the God of the modernist is

another. . . . Which is true Christian religion is the
question to be settled by our generation for future gen-
erations. (The Christian Century, Jan. 3, 1924); and

Wuereas, This present generation of authors is com-
mitted to the same view (The Northwestern Lutheran,
Sept. 28, 1958, p. 307); and

Wuereas, The Christian Century consistently sup-
ports such leading modernists as Fosdick and Ferre
(Christian Century, May 21, 1938); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod urge all its members to
sever all official connections with The Christian Century.

St. Perer’s LUTHERAN CONGREGATION
Rhineland, Ontario
Donato Watpick, Secretary

[331-A]

Identical with Memorial 331; submitted by Zion Lu-
theran Congregation, Farmersville, Ill, A. F. H. Wiegert,
pastor, Paul Brockmeyer, secretary, Robert J. Lubben,
president.

[342-A]

Identical with Memorial 342; submitted by St. John’s
Lutheran Congregation, Natoma, Kans., LaVern E.
Lyon, secretary, and Immanuel Lutheran Congregation,
Natoma, Kans., Vernon H. Hackerott, secretary, W. H.
Medler, pastor.

[350-A]

To Urge the “Praesidium” to Act
with More Dispatch, etc.

Wuereas, Unduly prolonged doctrinal controversy
has harmful effects on the life of the church; and

Wuereas, Definite action taken in regard to doctrinal
deviation by professors, pastors, and teachers is neces-
sary to help keep the peace within the church; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That we suggest that the Synod urge its
Praesidium to act with more dispatch in handling cases
of alleged doctrinal deviation; and be it further

Resolved, That the Praesidium receive the approval
of its actions from the College of Presidents; and be it
finally

Resolved, That the Praesidium, if necessary, seek the
aid of an especially established Synodical Judicial Com-
mission to aid the Praesidium in its handling of such
cases. It is suggested that such a commission be com-
posed of three parish pastors, one theological professor
of one of the seminaries, two laymen and one teacher.

NazareETH LUTHERAN CONGREGATION
Buffalo, N. Y.

Rogsert WEBER, JR., Secretary
[350-B]

To Request Synodical Officials to Carry Out
Discipline, etc.

WHEREAS, Over against necessity of application of the
first step of Matthew 18 in the case of secret sin, we
have declared our agreement with the express teaching
of the Lutheran Church in its Confessions regarding
matters that are public, as follows: “Where the sin is
public, the reproof also must be public, that everyone
may learn to guard against it” (Large Catechism, Eighth
Commandment, Trigl., p. 661: 284); and

WuerEAs, It is the first object of our Synod “To unite
in a corporate body the members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church who acknowledge and remain true to
the Book of Concord of the year of our Lord 1580 as
a true exhibition of sound Christian doctrine” (Articles
of Incorporation, Ila, emphasis added); and

Wuereas, We should be able to depend on synodical
officials to protect us against false teaching which is
a matter of public record, through the proper use of
Scriptural directions applying to such a case, as, e.g.,
Titus 1:9; Galatians 2:11-14; 1 Timothy 5:20; Romans