{"id":1215,"date":"2010-11-20T14:21:38","date_gmt":"2010-11-20T21:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2010-11-23T16:12:55","modified_gmt":"2010-11-23T23:12:55","slug":"elca-clubs-farmers-congregation-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=1215","title":{"rendered":"ELCA clubs farmers; congregation leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anselm Trinity Lutheran Church in Sheldon, North Dakota, has voted to leave the ELCA. The last straw? The proposed ELCA policy document on genetics.[1]<\/a> It warns that genetic developments in biotech farming could lead to trouble:<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis church believes that the greatest danger<\/strong> in genetic developments lies in the sinful exercise of radically extended human power<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>(lines 423-25).[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRadically extended human powers\u201d! On no! Frankenstein is coming!<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHuman beings \u2026 have a limited vocation to continue what God is already doing for the earth:\u00a0 to promote the earth’s \ufb02ourishing.\u00a0Each genus of birds, mammals, reptiles and creeping things has its own fertility and natural boundaries<\/strong>“<\/em> (lines 124-26).<\/p>\n

All species have \u201cnatural boundaries\u201d deserving protection? Has the ELCA forgotten about evolution? New species?<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHuman creatures\u2026 are expected to not eliminate other species or to make the earth barren. They are not to claim for themselves either the knowledge or the authority to make solely<\/strong> human-focused or unilateral decisions<\/strong> about the creation\u201d<\/em> (lines 133-35).<\/p>\n

What agendas lurk in the terms \u201csolely\u201d and \u201cunilateral decisions\u201d? What is even meant by this jargon?<\/p>\n

Natural isn\u2019t always better. Horses gave way to the steam engine, which gave way to the internal combustion engine, and so on.<\/p>\n

When the vaccine for small pox was discovered in the 1790\u2019s both Protestants and Catholics protested: \u201cIf God had wanted a vaccine, he would have created it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the telegraph was invented in the 1830s, some warned: \u201cIf God had wanted the telegraph, he would have created it. Think of all the evil it will bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August 2011 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Orlando will adopt the genetics statement as official ELCA policy. The statement purports to take various views seriously, but it will be used one-sidedly.<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ELCA lobbyists in Washington will lobby for who-knows-what agendas. With a huge potential for mischief.<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ELCA Youth Gatherings, confirmation materials, women\u2019s Bible studies, and the like will be larded with food myths and environmental agendas.<\/p>\n

Is \u201cnatural\u201d (whatever that means) always better, as the ELCA suggests? John Stossel notes here<\/a> that grass-fed, free-range beef costs twice as much, has a much larger carbon imprint, and there’s no evidence it’s better for the environment or better for your health. It’s just another food myth.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0 ELCA is nothing if not predictable. In genetics, as in sex, economics, education, peace, death penalty, health care, and the like — it spends a lot of money to produce an ambiguous statement that will be used as a political club.<\/p>\n

Congratulations Anselm-Trinity Lutheran \u2013 You\u2019re free at last.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n[1]<\/a> The Task Force on Genetics had only one farmer.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Emphasis added here and below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anselm Trinity Lutheran Church in Sheldon, North Dakota, has voted to leave the ELCA. The last straw? The proposed ELCA policy document on genetics.[1] It warns that genetic developments in biotech farming could lead to trouble: \u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis church believes that the greatest danger in genetic developments lies in the sinful exercise of radically extended […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1215"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}