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Central
Illinois District - July 2003
R-O3-2-3
A Resolution Calling the Rev. David Benke to Repentance WHEREAS, The
events of September 11, 2001, greatly accentuated the need of the people
of this country to hear the love of God for them in Christ Jesus; and
WHEREAS,
The civic leaders of
New York City
, seeing a great spiritual need in
the people, gathered various religious leaders in a ceremony with a
mixture of sacred and secular; and
WHEREAS,
This ceremony was broadcast live, coast to coast, making this a public act
that was witnessed by a vast number of members of congregations in the
Synod; and
WHEREAS,
This event was placed under the auspices of syncretism by the comments of
several of the speakers, including Rabbi Marc Gellman, ("the
important task in our spiritual journey now is not for all of us to agree
that the name of hope is God, the main task now is to agree that hope was
not one of the words destroyed on that day"), and Imam Izak-El M.
Pasha ("We are one with the creator of the heavens and the earth. We
are one with members of faith both Jewish, Christian and others here today
and those who are after. We are believers."); and
WHEREAS,
Many speakers unequivocally distanced themselves from such syncretism by
boldly declaring the unique value of the Christian faith, such as Bishop
Thomas Daly ("For Christians our hope is founded in the resurrection
of Jesus in whom death and evil is overcome.") and Bishop Arapajian
("Lord Jesus Christ. ..By the mystery of your all powerful and
miraculous death on the cross, transform the pain and devastation into
life and hope."); and
WHEREAS,
The Synod's resolution commended (3.07A) "The Lutheran Understanding
of Church Fellowship," including the document's commendation to
pastors to speak at "civic events" because of the
"opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ;" and
WHEREAS,
Our Lord in Holy Scripture not only tells us to "give an answer.
..for the hope that we have. ..with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter
3: 15), but as pastors we have an additional responsibility to "hold
firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that [we] can
encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it"
(Titus 1 :9); and
WHEREAS,
An ecclesiastical supervisor determined that Atlantic District President
David Benke's actions at the Yankee Stadium event, on September 23, 2001,
did constitute a public act of syncretism; and
WHEREAS,
Our Lutheran Confessions remind us that "where the sin is public, the
reproof also must be in public, that every one may learn and guard against
it" (8th Commandment, Large Catechism); therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That we, the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod in convention assembled, implore our dear brother in Christ, Rev.
David Benke, to recognize the sinful flesh's failure to accomplish the
good task of sharing the Gospel that he intended to accomplish, to see the
sin of syncretism his actions did accomplish, to repent of this sin, to be
restored by the grace and forgiveness of Christ, as we all are, and to be
strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that having been instructed through this
trial and subsequent examination of God's Word, there may be no divisions
among us but by God's grace we may more clearly "teach what is in
accord with sound doctrine" (Titus 2: 1 ).
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