Resolution: Barmen

Memorial regarding Barmen Declaration
submitted by Philip Van Dam / Peter Suwak

Whereas the Lutheran Church has long followed the teaching on the two kingdoms, namely that God acts both through the Church, and through secular organs, like government, and

Whereas this has often been twisted to say that if the government illegalizes something, then it is sinful to do, and if the government legalizes something, then it is at least morally neutral, and

Whereas the Lutheran Church has been divided how to respond to recent circumstances where the government has been changing its stand on issues such as same sex marriage, and

Whereas the Barmen Declaration was not adopted after World War 2 because it supposedly contradicted the two kingdoms teaching, be it therefore

Resolved the the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod in assembly memorialize the Church wide assembly to adopt the Barmen Declaration as a confession of this Church, and that the ELCA reject and anathematize any use of the two kingdoms teaching that simply endorses whatever any particular government happens to be supporting at a particular point in time.