LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 201

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

2. DOCTRINAL MATTERS 201

[2-44 Un] 2. Doctrinal Matters

To Request the Synod to Reconsider Her
Position on Woman Suffrage

Wuereas, Woman suffrage is not specifically treated
in Scripture, and the Synod has not said that the Bible
definitely forbids woman suffrage in the church, accord-
ing to the 1956 and 1959 synodical committee reports;
and

Wuereas, “The precise method of administration of
the congregational affairs in the early church is not
ascertainable” (Reports and Memorials, 1956, p. 559);
and

Wuereas, Much controversy exists on 1 Corinthians
14:34 as to whether St. Paul was speaking only to the
Corinthian congregation at that time or if this admoni-
tion was intended for the church throughout the ages;
and

Wuereas, God Himself permitted women to speak,
preach, and prophesy and imbued certain women with
the gift of prophecy: Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and
Anna; and

WuereEas, Romans 16:1 tells us that St. Paul gave his
approval to Phoebe, who according to Kretzmann’s com-
mentary held the office of deaconess in the congrega-
tion at Cenchrea; and

Wuereas, Galatians 3:26-29 tells us: “There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one
in Christ Jesus”; and

Wuereas, The Synod’s policy is not in accordance
with St. Paul’s admonition that women should not teach,
as the women of our congregations are encouraged and
urged to teach in our Sunday schools, Bible classes,
vacation Bible schools, and as professional Christian
day school teachers, youth workers, and deaconesses,
and instead this word “teach” is construed to mean
cannot “vote”; and

Wuereas, The Synod’s policy through the years has
deprived the church of much needed womanpower
through the attitude toward the women of the church,
and we as a congregation feel that greater good can
be accomplished in furthering the Kingdom of God by
permitting the women of the Synod to vote in their
congregations; therefore be it

Resolved, That we add our voice to others requesting
the Synod to reconsider its stand on woman suffrage and
trust that it will see fit to grant this privilege to the
faithful women of our congregation.

THe Voters’ ASSEMBLY
St. MarrHew’s Ev, LUTHERAN CHURCH
Bergenfield, N. J.

Rosert C. Bauer, Secretary
CarLTon A. ADLER, Pastor

[2-45 Un]

To Request that Five Overtures Not Submitted
to the 1962 Convention Be Submitted
to the 1965 Convention of The Lutheran
Church — Missouri Synod

Wuereas, 1.25¢ of the Handbook of The Lutheran
Church — Missouri Synod declares: “AI! memorials or
overtures sent to the President shall be submitted to the
Synod through one of its convention committees”; and

WuereEas, A number of memorials sent to the Presi-
dent to be presented to the 1962 convention of The Lu-
theran Church — Missouri Synod were not submitted
to the convention; and

WuereEas, These memorials were sent in the proper
constitutional manner to the President of the Missouri
Synod; and

WuerEAs, These unsubmitted memorials include the
following:

(1) Concordia College, Bronxville, N. Y.

Wuereas, The following statements appear in mim-
eographed notes written and distributed by a religion
instructor at Concordia Collegiate Institute in Bronx-
ville, N. Y., for Religion 112 and 113A:

1. “When the great story [Old Testament history] was
committed to writing is not certain. At first the his-
tory was transmitted orally as was everything else
considered worth remembering. The writing of a na-
tion’s story was practiced in ancient times only in
moments of crisis when oral tradition was endangered,
when a break in a nation’s history occurred and its
memories were in danger of being obliterated. For
this reason modern scholars say the OT history books
are both preexilic and post-exilic: the stories are an-
cient, but the final written form of the narratives are
often post-exilic.”

2. “The Priestly History (Gen, Ex, Lev, Numb). During
the exile a circle of priests added materials rescued
from the Temple, especially rules and regulations con-
cerning worship and priesthood. They stress the idea
of God’s tabernacling among His people.”

3. “The Deuteronomic History of Israel in the Promised
Land, Deut, Josh, Judg, 1-2 Sam, 1-2 Kings. The
core of Deuteronomy was discovered in Josiah’s reign
622 BC.”

4, “There is no prophecy in Israel before the 11. c. B.C.”

5. “Second Isaiah, the unknown prophet of Isaiah’s
school who is responsible for chapters 40—66, lived
in Babylon.”

6. “When we speak of three ‘persons’ we do not mean
three separate personalities. We must speak of the
‘three’ because there is an irreducible threeness about
the revelation of God to men.”

7. “What is death? It is the absolute end of earthly ex-
istence from which no man and no part of man is
exempt. The Greeks thought that death struck the
body while the soul went undisturbed on its way. But
the Bible knows that sin begins in a man’s heart or
soul, and death strikes the whole man.”

therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod declare at its 1962 Cleve-
land convention (1) whether the above views will be
tolerated in the Synod and (2) whether it will be per-