Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1938 · 37th Convention, St. Louis › Page 229
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1938, Page 229

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

Intersynodical and Doctrinal Matters 229

a great blessing for the Church of the whole world.” It is similarly
gratifying that concerning the Holy Scriptures the Declaration
of the American Lutheran Church representatives specifically and
in opposition to some other Lutheran bodies emphasizes the verbal
inspiration and the inerrancy of the Scriptures.

(b) In some non-fundamental points concerning the doctrine
of the Last Things the Declaration of the American Lutheran
Church representatives asks tolerance for certain teachings and
interpretations which have been rejected in our circles.

1. This concerns particularly the doctrine of the Anti-christ.
With the Missouri Synod the Declaration of the American Lutheran
Church, on the basis of the Scriptures and the Smalcald Articles,
teaches that the Pope is the Anti-christ; but the question as to
whether the future will bring a specific unfolding and personal
concentration of the present anti-christian power is left to God.

While the Missouri Synod teaches on the basis of 2 Thess.
2:3-12 and in accord with the Smalcald Articles (Part II, Article
IV:10) that the Pope is the very Anti-christ for the past and the
future, your Committee finds that the synodical fathers * have
declared that a deviation in this doctrine need not be divisive of
church-fellowship. (Lehre u.Wehre, Vol. 19, 1873, p. 290; Lehre
u. Wehre, Vol. 25, 1879, p. 35 ff.)

2. A second non-fundamental doctrine which the Declaration
of the American Lutheran Church representatives mention is the
doctrine concerning the conversion of the Jews. The American
Lutheran Church representatives do not state that their Church
teaches, in opposition to ours, that there will be a universal con-
version of all Jews. They do state, however, that some find this
doctrine indicated especially in Rom. 11:25, 26 and that the accep-
tance of a conversion of the Jews must not be regarded as divisive
of church-fellowship.

While the Missouri Synod teaches on the basis of the Scrip-
tures that we are not to look forward to a universal conversion
of all Jews before the end of the world, your Committee finds that
the synodical fathers have declared that such deviation in this
doctrine need not be regarded as a cause for division. (Lehre uw.
Wehre, Vol. 14, 1868, p. 252.)

* With reference to the term “synodical fathers”: In this and the
following paragraphs the synodical fathers are mentioned and quoted.
This must not be understoood in any way as if we were basing any
doctrine on what the synodical fathers teach. We simply mention the
fact that they considered some non-fundamental doctrines as not nec-
essarily divisive of church-fellowship.