To Reject Racial Quotas and Idolatry of Human Characteristics

Ov. 4-22

To Reject Racial Quotas and Idolatry of Human Characteristics

WHEREAS, God’s Word calls us to unity in Christ: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you;

but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment … Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:10, 13 KJV); and

WHEREAS, The world and Satan seek not unity, but division by urging some to fall into sinful pride (Prov. 11:2) based upon the human attributes with which God has created us (Matt. 3:9), and by burdening the consciences of others with “sins” they have not committed and for which there can be no absolution; and

WHEREAS, The Synod has condemned (2019 Res. 7-02) such harmful ideologies, which embrace the Marxist concepts of victim and oppressor by appealing to our sinful nature to lord it over one another (Mark 10:42); and

WHEREAS, The Church must reject false teachings that war against God’s unchanging truth and His order of creation; that would make us our own gods and deny the fact of His creation of male and female (Gen. 1:27); that would assign merit or guilt based upon worldly demographic or socioeconomic characteristics; or that would define and measure the success or failure of our own churches and institutions based upon the superficial appearance of our brothers and sisters therein; and

WHEREAS, It should disturb us that any educational institution of the Synod would, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s 1993 social statement, Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture, adopt explicit numerical racial quotas or “goals” for students or faculty in the carrying out of its mission, as though a sister or brother is more or less welcome based on (God-given) skin color, and that we have met our “goal” and can declare victory based on achieving some minimum or token number of a particular skin color or ethnicity, when the Lord of the harvest calls us to reach all nations; and

WHEREAS, The Church must faithfully proclaim the Word of God, which is living and active (Heb. 4:12), to all nations and trust the Lord of the harvest to provide the increase, rather than go beyond what God says and into the realm of worldly sociological discourses (see 1995 Appendix R3-01A, Cameron A. MacKenzie, Ken Schurb, James W. Voelz, and Norman Nagel, “Racism and the Church: A Dissenting Opinion,” Workbook , 62–64; 1995 Res. 2 - 05A, “To Commend for Study the CTCR Document Racism and the Church,” Proceedings, 112); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod reject and condemn disturbing ideologies of race and ethnicity-based goals and quotas (cf. Rev. Dr.

Matthew Harrison, “President Harrison denounces disturbing ideologies,” Reporter Online , Feb. 21, 2023, reporter.lcms.org/2023/president-harrison-denounces-disturbingideologies), and direct its institutions not to teach, advocate, or adopt any such policies; and be it further

Resolved, That this resolution not be construed to limit outreach to or the production of resources for language groups, which is a non-racial characteristic; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod affirms that God has created all the nations and all of our varied attributes, of which no one should be ashamed, rejoices in His good gifts of creation given to each of us, and calls upon all people to glory only in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:2–11)

and their baptismal identity in Christ as redeemed children of God (Rev. 7:9–17).

St. Paul Brookfield, IL