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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 144

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

144 CHURCH RELATIONS

cannot be expected to know more about the world than
their age allows them. ... Let us seek to keep from
regarding the Bible as a scientific document which
somehow must compete with contemporary scientific
knowledge. Let us, moreover, recognize that whatever
the ancient biblical writers may have thought about
the way things came to be, it does not appear that for
us the language of Gen. 1—11 can today be taken in its
basic verbal meaning as referring quite precisely to
a particular tree, or to a specific geographical spot
somewhere in the Near East, or to a primitive surgical
procedure, or to a scene where God sews clothes” (pp.
106-107); Dr. Fredrik A. Schiotz, president of The
American Lutheran Church, in “The Church’s Confes-
sional Stand Relative to the Scriptures”: “Let us now
turn to the American Lutheran Church and its teaching
regarding the Scriptures. The constitution states, ‘The
American Lutheran Church accepts all the canonical
books of the Old and New Testament as a whole and
in all their parts as the divinely inspired, revealed, and
inerrant Word of God, and submits to this as the only
infallible authority in all matters of life’ The ALC
holds that the inerrancy referred to here does not apply
to the text but to the truths revealed for our faith, doc-
trine and life” (pp.6—7); and

Wuereas, The Brief Statement, an officially adopted
and repeatedly reaffirmed statement on our Synod’s
official position, says, ‘The orthodox character of a
church is established not by its mere name nor by its
outward acceptance of, and subscription to, an orthodox
creed, but by the doctrine which is actually taught in
its pulpits, its theological seminaries, and in its publica-
tions”; therefore be it

Resolved,

1. That the proposed altar and pulpit fellowship be
held in abeyance until these conflicting matters may
be cleared up;

2. That guides for fellowship essays be prepared on
revelation, inspiration, and inerrancy; and

3. That altar and pulpit fellowship be established
on a truly God-pleasing basis.
Rev, L. W. Fauusticx, Ph. D.
Bakersfield, Calif.

(3-136)

To Declare that the Synod Is Not Ready
for Fellowship with The ALC

Wuereas, According to Resolution 3-23 of the 47th
convention of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod,
our beloved Synod has resolved that “the Synod recog-
nize the Scriptural and confessional basis for altar and
pulpit fellowship between The Lutheran Church — Mis-
souri Synod and The American Lutheran Church” and
has resolved that “the President of the Synod in con-
junction with the Council of Presidents make the ap-
propriate recommendations to the 1969 convention”
at Denver; and

Wuereas, The American Lutheran Church in its
public teachings teaches doctrines contrary to the ver-
bally inspired, inerrant Holy Scriptures; and

Wuereas, The American Lutheran Church receives
members from anti-Christian societies into communi-
cant membership; and

Wuereas, The American Lutheran Church is a mem-
ber of the Lutheran World Federation and the World
Council of Churches and has declared altar and pulpit
fellowship with the Lutheran Church in America; and

WuereaS, These errors need to be settled in an evan-
gelical way on the basis of the verbally inspired and
inerrant Holy Scriptures in order to have a Scriptural
and confessional basis for altar and pulpit fellowship
with The American Lutheran Church; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod in convention at Denver in 1969 declare that we
are not ready for altar and pulpit fellowship with The
American Lutheran Church at this time.

Sr. Paut LUTHERAN CHURCH
Hamel, II].

Marvin H. SANDER, Secretary
R. L. Bourn, Pastor

(3-137)
To Declare Inability at This Time

to Enter into Fellowship

Wuereas, By the grace of God “the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testament as the written Word of
God and the only rule and norm of practice” are the
sole source of Christian teaching and life for The Lu-
theran Church — Missouri Synod; and

Wuereas, Within The American Lutheran Church
the claims of higher Biblical criticism, which are in-
consistent with and contrary to the authority and iner-
rancy of Holy Scripture, are widely proinoted and en-
dorsed; and

WHEREAS, Most regrettably as a result of this, full
agreement and consensus on the doctrine of Holy Scrip-
ture as the inspired Word of God does not exist; and

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
and The American Lutheran Church at this time do not
have a common understanding and practice regarding
religious unionism and membership in religious lodges,
though such practice involves the doctrine of the Gos-
pel; and

Wuereas, The Lutheran Confessions state that for
true unity in the church there must be agreement in

the preaching of the Gospel, which includes all the
fundamental articles of Scripture; and

Wuereas, This necessary agreement can not be
shown to “exist” fully or adequately between The
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and The American
Lutheran Church at the present time; and

WuereEas, Such consensus in doctrine and confes-