The Challenge of Christian Deliberation in a Libertarian Context

In 2OO5, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Churchwide Assem-bly authorized the formation of a task force to prepare a social statement on genetics and faith. Although the Churchwide Assembly voted to adopt the social statement in August of 2O11 by a wide margin, there had been an earlier controversy. In June 2O1O, an article in the Dakota Farner questioned whether the ELCA was accusing farmers of "sin" for planting genetically engineered crop seeds. At least two churches in rural North Dakota cited this factor as a reason for leaving the ELCA. Seven synods with strong farmer constituencies proposed resolutions challenging the social statement. This paper explores how the opposition used agrarianism and libertarianism to attack the ELCA's use of the Christian concept of the common good in the social statement. This case reveals the challenges that the Church faces when contributing to ethical deliberations on controversial issues.