In January, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR), in collaboration with the LCMS Office of National Mission’s Life Ministry, drafted a COVID-19 vaccine “fact sheet” for Synodwide sharing. Titled “The LCMS and COVID-19 Vaccines: Facts and Considerations,” the document was intended to provide helpful facts and counsel for those attempting to sort through the currently available information about COVID-19 vaccines.
As additional vaccines continue to be released and more questions are asked, the CTCR has updated the vaccine fact sheet with the following statement:
“Since the Synod published the following January 2021 fact sheet addressing the currently available COVID-19 vaccines, more vaccines have been and will continue to be approved. Given the pace with which these vaccines are developed and produced, however, we do not consider it advisable to detail each and every vaccine made available. The science is too technical to insure we treat them all adequately. As we noted in the original document, however, we encourage our members to inform themselves using the best pro-life resources at their disposal. We in particular direct them to consult the principal source we used in drafting our statement: the pro-life scientists of the Charlotte Lozier Institute. You can find their discussion of the COVID-19 vaccines here: lozierinstitute.org/update-covid-19-vaccine-candidates-and-abortion-derived-cell-lines.”
For more information, read:
- The updated vaccine fact sheet.
- The Synod president’s Jan. 21 letter providing pastoral counsel on the COVID-19 vaccines.
- A Jan. 22 Reporter story on the vaccines.
Posted March 8, 2021
“The science is too technical”! I can’t believe the CTCR is saying that. It isn’t too technical for the LCMS to issue the Brief Statement, and it isn’t here. But CTCR is misleading in their “fact” sheet.
“• The current FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested using human fetal cell lines (as
are many other medicines, such as the MMR and polio vaccines, as well as treatments for HIV,
Parkinson’s and diabetes), but the vaccines themselves do not contain any aborted fetal cells.3”
No COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells, even those used in the manufacturing of the vaccines. This can give people the false impression that vaccines that use aborted fetal cells in the manufacture of the vaccine contain aborted fetal cells. This in turn leads to the false distinction between the use of aborted fetal cells in the manufacture of vaccines and the use of aborted fetal cells to test vaccines. There is no difference between those two vaccines when it comes to the presence of aborted fetal cells in the vaccines themselves. The only difference is at what stage in the development of the vaccine it is used, the manufacturing stage or the testing stage, both of which are critical stages to the release of the vaccine. Please correct the fact sheet so as to not mislead people into believing that one is more ethical than the other simply because a pharmaceutical company used the aborted fetal cells in a different way.
I don’t expect you to post this comment, but please at least forward to the CTCR for their consideration. Thanks.
Beyond the matter of whether the vaccine is made with fetal tissue, is the matter of whether it is indeed safe and effective. It has been “fast-tracked” far short of being able to discern the safety over the long term. Once you take the “jab”, you can’t undo that. There have been numerous side effects that may or not be serious, and/or with long-lasting repercussions. This includes the fatality possibility, and there have been more than a few, and indeed hundreds of deaths. The “News” does not report these serious matters for general public information. Why? One does have to wonder about that!!
And like all other vaccines, there are dangerous ingredients that may cause allergic reactions. Or irreversible consequences. The public has a right to be made aware of these facts, and the companies that manufacture them are immune from prosecution, if the worst does occur to you, or your loved ones.
The other fact about this vaccine, is that in reality it doesn’t prevent the disease, as the public has been led to believe. It may cause the very symptoms of that disease, as a side effect, and the only true claim is that they will be “less severe” than if you catch the wild virus. And further down the road, after several months, or a year, or longer, this product may indeed be the “gift that keeps on giving” with unwanted side effects.
Why are you in the Lutheran faith leadership, not teaching us to trust in the Lord of Heaven and earth, who created us, for guidance on the use of a pharmaceutical product that has not been amply tested, nor have the results of what testing has been done, been made widely known to the populace. Pray for wisdom in this matter, and teach your Pastoral servants to also consider these facts as they lead their flocks through this evil time, of the “last days”. God has placed people in authority, but so has the devil, who prowls about seeking who he wishes to devour!!