ST. LOUIS — In the final action before the close of the 62nd Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod July 15, delegates commended “preaching and teaching creation.”
This is not the first time that the Synod has spoken on the matter. A 1971 document of its Commission on Theology and Church Relations affirms creation as God’s work.
“The Scriptures teach that God is the creator of all that exists and is therefore the author and giver of life,” today’s resolution states. “The hypotheses of macro, organic and Darwinian evolution, including theistic evolution, or any other model denying special, immediate and miraculous creation undercut this support for the honoring of life as a gift of God,” it continues.
The convention resolved that all Synod schools — from preschools to universities and seminaries — “continue to teach creation from the Biblical perspective,” that no school “tolerate any teaching that contradicts the teachings of divine creation,” that schools “properly distinguish between micro and macro evolution” and affirm the Scriptural teaching on creation, and that all pastors and teachers be reminded to “increase emphasis to the doctrine of God as the creator and author of life in their preaching and teaching.”
The resolution was offered by Rev. Alfonso O. Espinosa of The Woodlands, Texas.
Posted July 15, 2004