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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 466

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

466

CHURCH AND CULTURE

and professional church workers to promote spiritual, emotional, and
physical well-being; and (6) to enhance early childhood, elementary
and secondary education, and youth ministry; and
Whereas, The current name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod creates confusion concerning its geographical outreach into
the world; and
Whereas, The proposed change to “Concordia Lutheran Synod”
emphasizes and encourages the global perspective of our Synod; and
Whereas, “Concordia Lutheran Synod” bears our priorities in its
name, literally “With One Heart as Lutherans We Walk Together”;
therefore be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod change
its name to “Concordia Lutheran Synod.”
Monroe Circuit
Michigan District
14-05

To Identify and Respond to Incursions
against Religious Freedoms by Radical Elements
of Islam
Whereas, LCMS congregations accept without reservation the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the written Word of God
and the only rule and norm of faith and practice (Constitution, Art.
II); and
Whereas, The teachings and practices of Islam are in direct opposition to our faith and teaching (i.e., “Infidels now are they who say,
‘Verily God is the Messiah, Son of Mary’ ” [The Qur’an, Sura 5,
19]); and
Whereas, One of the stated duties of the LCMS is to “[p]rovide
protection for congregations, pastors, teachers, and other church
workers in the performance of their official duties and the maintenance of their rights” (Constitution, Art. III 9); and
Whereas, Radical elements of Islam are dedicated to the overthrow of democratic governments by violence and other means, which
undermine the freedoms of religion and speech we are guaranteed in
the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS dedicate resources to addressing the
incursions of Islam in our legal system; and be it further
Resolved, That LCMS members be kept informed of the defense
of our faith in the legal and political spheres by appropriate agencies of the Synod (i.e., “Free to Be Faithful” and the new office in
Washington DC); and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the South Wisconsin District
continue to support actively the work of POBLO (People of the Book
Lutheran Outreach) in its work of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to people of the Islamic religion; and be it finally
Resolved, That upon its approval, this resolution be submitted
for deliberation at the 66th Regular Convention of the LCMS in
Milwaukee in 2016.
South Wisconsin District
2016 Convention Workbook

14-06

To Encourage the Synod to Bear Witness to What
We Believe, Teach, and Confess re Marriage
Whereas, Relying upon the Holy Scriptures, we believe, teach,
and confess that marriage as instituted by God is a lifelong union of
one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4–6); and
Whereas, Marriage is to be honored by all and kept pure (Heb.
13:4; 1 Thess. 4:2–5); and
Whereas, Children are the most obvious, natural gift of marriage,
for God blessed the first married couple—and all married couples—
by saying, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28); and
Whereas, St. Paul describes marriage as a type of the relationship
existing between Christ and His Bride: “This mystery [of marriage]
is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church”
(Eph. 5:32); and
Whereas, On its own, the Church can do nothing; but if the
Church abides in Christ and Christ in the Church, it bears much fruit
(John 15:5); and
Whereas, It is thus with marriage—only a union of a man and a
woman can be fruitful and multiply; and
Whereas, Marriage thus understood also blesses children by giving them a father and a mother to nurture and care for them—making
it the optimal setting for the child; and
Whereas, Sexual complement is therefore the foundation of the
biblical view of marriage as God intended it; and
Whereas, Although solidly grounded in a scriptural understanding of God’s design, this “conjugal view” of marriage is not unique in
the world to Christian cultures, as nearly every culture has recognized
this view of marriage, and it has been foundational to the ordering of
civil society from time immemorial; and
Whereas, The left-hand kingdom’s subscription to the conjugal
view of marriage should come as no surprise, because St. Paul also
tells us that God’s invisible attributes, including His views of what is
ungodly or unrighteous, may be clearly seen as reflected in His creation (Rom. 1:18−20); and
Whereas, The Holy Scriptures also explicitly teach that samesex attraction is a manifestation of sin (Lev. 18:22 [“abomination”];
Rom. 1:26−27 [“dishonorable” and “shameless”]; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim.
1:8−11 [“contrary to sound doctrine”]); and
Whereas, The official position of the LCMS, as set forth in 1998
Res. 3-21 (“To Affirm the Sanctity of Marriage and to Reject SameSex Unions”), is that homosexual unions come under categorical
prohibition in the Old and New Testaments (Lev. 18:22, 24; 20:13;
1 Cor. 6:9−10; 1 Tim. 1:9−10) as contrary to the Creator’s design
(Rom. 1:26−27); and
Whereas, St. Paul also cautions us that sexual sins are no greater
and no lesser than any other sins (Rom. 1:26−32), as all sins separate
us from God and are deserving of eternal death (Rom. 1:32; 6:23); and
Whereas, In recent years, our culture has seen a shift in attitudes
about marriage, with same-sex “marriage” and civil unions now considered by many to be morally acceptable and legally desirable; and
Whereas, The Supreme Court of the United States decided on
June 26, 2015, that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States requires the states to license marriages between
two people of the same sex, and to recognize such marriages contracted elsewhere; and
Whereas, The Solicitor General of the United States has declared
that, if the Supreme Court compels states to recognize same-sex relationships as marriages, “it is going to be an issue” for groups and