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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 435

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

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
We therefore reject the following:
1. All world views, philosophical theories and exegetical
interpretations that pervert these Biblical teachings and
thus obscure the Gospel.
2. The notion that man did not come into being through the
direct creative action of God, but through a process of
evolution from lower forms of life, which in turn
developed from matter that is either eternal, autonomous
or self-generating.
3. The opinion that the image of God in which Adam and
Eve were created did not consist of concreated
righteousness, that is, a perfect relationship to God.
4. The notion that Adam and Eve were not real historical
persons and that their fall was not a real historical event
which brought sin and death into the world.
5. The opinion that original sin does not deprive all men of
their spiritual powers and make it impossible for them to
be in the right relationship to God apart from faith in
Jesus Christ.
and be it further
Resolved, That pastors be encouraged to study and discuss within
their circuit meetings and as opportunity arises the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations reports: Creation in Biblical
Perspective (1970), Together with All Creatures: Caring for God’s
Living Earth (adopted 2010), and All things Hold Together in
Christ: The Intersection of Science and Christian Theology
(adopted 2015); and be it further
Resolved, That pastors take seriously their people who are
wrestling with issues related to the intersection of faith and science
by providing opportunities for thoughtful discussions that (a) help
them remain faithful to our confession (as set forth in the Scriptures
and witnessed to in our Confessions and the Synod’s publicly stated
positions) and (b) address accurately and honestly the assumptions,
theories, and findings of scientists along with the challenges that
they raise for Christian thought; and be it finally
Resolved, That pastors equip their people to engage teachers and
scientists in respectful and thoughtful conversations and to be able
to give a Christian witness as opportunities arise.
Faculty, Concordia Seminary;
Faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary
Ov. 5-18

To Confess and Affirm Six-Day Creation
and the Official Position
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures teach that God is the Creator of
all that exists (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 33:6, 9; Heb. 11:3; Col. 1:16; John 1:1–
4); and
WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures are inspired by God, the Holy
Spirit, are without error and infallible (John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:16–17;
2 Peter 1:21); and
WHEREAS, Genesis 1 details the creation of the world by God in
six 24-hour days, each identified as one evening and one morning;
and
WHEREAS, The Hebrew word for day, yom, consisting of evening
and morning used in Genesis 1 is to be understood through its usage
in Ex. 20:8–11, where the six days of creation and the seventh day

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of rest are days just as the days of week were known by the children
of Israel, that is, seven 24-hour days, a day being the amount of time
of one rotation of the earth; and
WHEREAS, The Scripture teaches that Adam was a real man and
it is the consequence of his sin that death has come into the world
(Rom. 5:12–19); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District confess and affirm
the official position of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS) regarding creation: “We teach that God has created heaven
and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded
in the Holy Scriptures, especially Genesis 1 and 2, namely, by His
almighty creative word, and in six days. We reject every doctrine
which denies or limits the work of creation as taught in Scripture.
In our days it is denied or limited by those who assert, ostensibly in
deference to science, that the world came into existence through a
process of evolution; that is, that it has, in immense periods of time,
developed more or less of itself. Since no man was present when it
pleased God to create the world, we must look for a reliable account
of creation to God’s own record, found in God’s own book, the
Bible. We accept God’s own record with full confidence and
confess with Luther’s Catechism: ‘I believe that God has made me
and all creatures’” (A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of
the Missouri Synod, 1932); and be it further
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District confess and affirm
that God created the world in six days, each consisting of one
evening and one morning of approximately 24 hours in time; and be
it further
Resolved, That that the Southern Illinois District confess and
affirm that Adam was a real man and that it is the consequence of
his sin that death has come into the world; and be it further
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District confess and affirm
that theories teaching that God used an evolutionary process to
create mankind and that death is a natural occurrence, not the result
of Adam’s sin, are in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Holy
Scripture; and be it further
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District memorialize the
2019 convention of the LCMS to confess and affirm its official
position regarding creation, as expressed in the Brief Statement; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District memorialize the
2019 convention of the LCMS to direct the presidents of Concordia
Seminary and Concordia Theological Seminary to exercise their
spiritual oversight by actively discussing the Brief Statement with
their respective faculties and procuring written subscription to this
statement from each current or new faculty member, as well as by
ensuring that all publications of the seminaries clearly uphold and
promote these biblical teachings; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Southern Illinois District memorialize the
2019 convention of the LCMS to direct the presidents of the
colleges and universities of the Concordia University System to
exercise their spiritual oversight by actively discussing the Brief
Statement, with their respective faculties and procuring written
subscription to this statement from each current or new faculty
member, as well as by ensuring that all publications of the colleges
and universities clearly uphold and promote these biblical
teachings.
Southern Illinois District

2019 Convention Workbook