To Condemn Racism, White Supremacy, and White Nationalism and Reaffirm Biblical and Confessional Common Humanity of All Peoples

WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures teach that all humanity shares a common origin in Adam and Eve, whom God created in His own image (Genesis 1–2; Acts 17:26); and

WHEREAS, All humans, except our blessed Lord Jesus, are sinners from birth, have inherited original sin from Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12; Augsburg Confession [AC] II 1–2; Smalcald Articles [SA] III I 1; Formula of Concord [FC] I 1), and do in fact sin personally (Rom. 3:23; AC II 2); and

WHEREAS, In His Law, God condemns all sinners without exception (Rom. 1:18; 5:18; SA II III 4–5; FC I 6; IV 3); and

WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures teach that God desires that all people be saved (2 Cor. 5:19; 2 Peter 3:9) and that, to this end, Christ died for all people (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2), and the Lutheran Confessions unambiguously testify to this will and saving work of God in Christ as proclaimed by the Holy Scriptures (AC IV; Small Catechism [SC] II 3–4; FC V 5; XI 18); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded His followers to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19); and

WHEREAS, The Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments, gathers the Church from all nations (Matt. 24:14; 28:19; Acts 1:8; John 20:23; AC XIII; SA II 4); and

WHEREAS, “God shows no partiality, but accepts in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34–35); and

WHEREAS, Racism is defined as: (1) A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race (Racism, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism); and (2) Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of adifferent race based on the belief that one’sown race is superior (www.lexico.com/en/definition/racism, no longer accessible); and

WHEREAS, White supremacy is defined as abelief that the “white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races” (White Supremacy, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20supremacy); and

WHEREAS, White nationalism is defined as “a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white racial and national identity” (White nationalism, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/white_nationalism); and

WHEREAS, Racism, white supremacy, and white nationalism are found in the cultural life of the United States at this time; and

WHEREAS, Some white supremacists and white nationalists in America have self-identified with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS); and

WHEREAS, Racism—including white supremacy and white nationalism—has its roots in the sins of pride and arrogance, which have plagued humankind in every time and every place including in the Christian church; and

WHEREAS, Racism—including white supremacy and white nationalism—harms its victims in body, mind, and spirit, and people in our communities and ministries have experienced such harm; and

WHEREAS, Racism—including white supremacy and white nationalism—implies denial of the biblical and confessional doctrines that all humanity was created in God’s image; that all humans are equally fallen in sin; that God’s Law judges all humans impartially; that Christ’s death has atoned for all people of all ethnicities, languages, and nations; and that the Holy Spirit gathers the one Holy Christian and Apostolic Church from all nations; and

WHEREAS, Racism—including white supremacy and white nationalism—is, rather, consistent with atheistic evolutionary and pagan ideologies and movements that claim the supremacy of one people group over another; and

WHEREAS, The Churchand its ministers are called to identify and condemn sin and false teaching in every time and age; and

WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations’ (CTCR) February 1994 document, Racism and the Church states: “We in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have before us a wonderful opportunity to commit ourselves to strive toward making racism a thing of the past, and to demonstrate before a watching world how people of all cultures and groups can become one in Christ, who has made of many one body for the edification of all”;

therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention underscore and reaffirm its historically consistent and categorical rejection of racism and its current manifestations (e.g., white supremacy, white nationalism, Nazism—both in its historic and current forms—and attempted defenses of slavery or antisemitism), not on the basis of any contemporary social theory, but because racism is antithetical to the teachings of Holy Scripture as exhibited by the Lutheran Confessions; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS redouble its efforts to affirm—in all of its proclamation and public teaching, its more local and global mission, its parish life, and its individual and corporate works of mercy—the reconciliation Christ has won for us with God and with all other forgiven sinners from every tribe, race, and nation; and be it further

Resolved, That the CTCR provide new or updated resources for ordained and commissioned ministers to study further and address these issues in their parish and in their circuit and district forums;

and be it further

Resolved, That all members of the Synod be encouraged to commit themselves afresh to better understanding and loving their neighbors of every ethnicity, tribe, and language, as God in Christ has loved us all; and be it further

Resolved, That all members of the Synod be admonished to refrain from espousing or associating with racism in any form, even in jest, and that they be admonished to build all brothers and sisters up in love, which adorns the Gospel with up rightness of life; and be it further

Resolved,That all members of the Synod be exhorted to proclaim without shame or fear that Gospel that Christ, the Lamb of God, has saved us and made us His own people with His own blood; and be it finally

Resolved, That the assembly here please voice its anticipation of the time to come when we and peoples from all ethnicities, tribes, nations, and languages shall all stand before the heavenly throne, giving praise to God and unto Christ the Lamb forevermore by rising and joining together in singing the common doxology.