LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 413

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 413

Minority Opinions

During the triennium the Commission has received the minority
opinions printed below as submitted in accordance with its guide-
lines for consideration of minority opinions (signers and date of re-
ception listed at the end of each minority opinion). Such reception
implies neither approval nor disapproval by the CTCR of the mi-
nority opinions produced by the individuals who have signed them.
These minority opinions have also been placed on the CTCR’s
Web site at www.lcms.org/ctcr/.

Minority Opinions on Dispute Resolution Panel Request

1.

The majority response to the two questions from the Dispute
Resolution Panel suffers from a fundamental inconsistency. The
opinion gives back in Answer 2 what it took away in Answer 1.

Answer | rightly states that the citation from the “Cases of Dis-
cretion” part of the Response document did not explicitly address
alleged “civic events” with prayers “‘by representatives of non-
Christian religions.” That particular issue is now under study by
the CTCR.

Yet Question 2 clearly assumes the same notion of “civic
events” as Question |. By ignoring this fact Answer 2 is either ir-
relevant or seriously misleading.

It is irrelevant if it addresses a notion of “civic events”. other
than that assumed by the question.

It is seriously misleading if it applies the scenario of “honest
disagreement” to be tolerated “in Christian love” to so called “civic
events” which are really inter-religious services.

Since it is a matter of public knowledge that the category of
“civic events” is being used to excuse participation in a joint ser-
vice not only with false teachers but with official representatives
of non-Christian religions, truth and honesty demand a clear repu-
diation of such an abuse of the CTCR document in question.

Dr. Kurt Marquart
Feb. 19, 2003

2.

The first question can be answered: YES. (The majority reaches
the opposite conclusion.) But we insist: Were an LCMS pastor to
offer a prayer at an event in which prayers would also be offered by
representatives of other religions, that would be considered a prac-
tice not in keeping with the teaching presented in The Lutheran Un-
derstanding of Church Fellowship.

In fact, such a prayer would itself teach publicly the very thing
The Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship was intended
to prevent. When the event is comprised of Christians of different
confessions, the ever-present temptation is to manifest in one’s
prayer a “different gospel” such as that the apostle Paul condemned
in the strongest terms in the first chapter of his letter to the Gala-
tians. In such cases the pastor must clearly and deliberately distin-
guish himself and the church’s teaching from the false teaching that
is taking place around him. When the event includes non-Chris-
tians worshiping other gods, a greater danger exists: the pastor’s
participation may actually deny the Gospel altogether by associat-
ing the Triune God of the Bible with what St. Augustine charac-
terized in his City of God as demons worshiped under the guise of
other gods.

Let us reflect upon this sobering fact: When we encounter false
worship, we confront the lying arch-enemy of our souls, who
would drag all men after himself into eternal damnation. The
Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship explains:

Satan, who appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), is the author
of all false doctrines (see Eph. 6:12), which can be appealing and sound
biblical. Tragically, in deceiving others false teachers deceive them-
selves (2 Tim. 3:13). In spile of their sincerity, their doctrines do not

come from the Spirit of truth Jiohn 15:26) but oppose the one faith
(Eph. 4:5). Even in those who err the Holy Spirit can work faith, yet
never through or because of their errors but in spite of them. Our task is
not to untangle the heart’s mixed motives or to pass judgment on the
presence and quality of the faith of others, but to apply the apostolic
standard to their doctrines and practices. (p. 9)

All this is the old devil and the old serpent who made enthusiasts
of Adam and Eve. He led them from the external Word of God to spir-
itualizing and to their own imagination. ... It is a poison implanted and
inoculated in man by the old dragon, and it is the source, strength, and
power of all heresy, including that of the papacy and Mohammedanism
(SA III viii, 5, 9; Tappert 312-13). (Footnote 36)

Thus the question of an LCMS pastor’s participation in a civil
event also depends upon the degree of religious diversity among
the event’s participants. One must assess the extent to which their
beliefs are the same or different—shared or in conflict. In preparing
the Report on Synodical Discussions, the Commission made no
provision for its application to events involving non-Christian reli-
gions. (This may be excused by noting that the primary Study Doc-
ument addressed “Church Fellowship,” thereby presuming Chris-
tian interactions alone.)

Yet The Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship does say:

The New Testament shows throughout that the confession of what is
true and the rejection of what is false were taken seriously not merely
for the sake of being right but for the sake of preserving saving faith
(Titus 1:13; 2:2). Distinguishing Christ’s voice from other voices spells
the difference between life and death for believers (John 10). (p. 7)

It goes on to emphasize that ‘Pastors in particular have a responsi-
bility in this regard.”

By remaining in Paul’s teaching Timothy would save himself and
his hearers (1 Tim. 4:16). A bishop must be able not only to teach
(1 Tim. 3:2), but must guard the true and saving doctrine (1 Tim. 6:20).
Pastors must be able to refute all doctrines that contradict the apostles’
teachings (1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3-5, 20; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:5; Titus 1:9; 3:10;
2 Peter 3:2-4). (p. 7)

Further along, it buttresses this admonition by citing the Preface to
the Book of Concord:

The responsibility devolves upon the theologians and ministers duly
to remind even those who err ingenuously and ignorantly of the danger
to their souls and to warn them agains! it, lest one blind person let him-
self be misled by another. (Tappert, 11-12)

National crises and times of community mourning move all cit-
izens to express their unity with one another. Even and especially at
such times, Christians long for a spiritual unity which does not yet
exist, because we know where our fellow citizens must turn to find
the strength and comfort they need. Spiritual unity is indeed what
The Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship teaches—tely-
ing upon a basic assumption:

a. The Holy Trinity is the source and pattern for the fellowship
Christians have with one another in “the one holy Christian and apos-
tolic church” (Latin: una sancta).

The unity that exists among Christians finds its foundation in the
unity that exists among the three persons in the Trinity. The Son and
the Holy Spirit share in the deily of the Father. As the Nicene Creed
states it: the Son is “of one substance with the Father” and the Holy
Spirit “together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.”
The triune God, therefore, is an indivisible communion of persons by
virtue of their common participation in the one divine substance. (p. 4)

True spiritual] unity with others is a gift of the Triune God, and can
only be found in unity with Him.

The Dispute Resolution Panel shall find a clear answer to its
second question from within the Report on Synodical Discussions.
Nothing in Point B “Cases of Discretion” can be understood with-
out reference to Point A “Commitment to the LCMS Position,”
where the final paragraph states:

The promise not to participate in worship services with those not in
fellowship with the LCMS applies particularly to pastors, who are the
official representatives of both their congregations and the LCMS. Their
solemn commitment to the scriptural and confessional position of the
LCMS must be their guide and will supercede personal feelings or pref-

2004 Convention Workbook