To the Editor:

The two Presbyterian ministers who were convicted of trespassing on
government property at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Presbyweb, July 17) may also have committed offenses under the rules of discipline of the church. An offense is defined in the Book of Order at D-2.0203b as "any act or omission by a member or officer of the church that is contrary to the Scriptures or the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)."

When a church officer disobeys a governmental law or regulation, and at the same time concedes that the particular law or regulation is lawful and just, such an action seems to me to be inconsistent with St. Paul's admonition in Romans 13, which states in part: "Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." The act seems also to be inconsistent with the Scots Confession at 3.24, which states: "[W]e confess and avow that those who resist the supreme powers, so long as they are acting in their own spheres, are resisting God's ordinance and cannot be held guiltless."

The General Assembly adopted resolutions in 1994 and 1995 seeking closure of the School of the Americas, but the method of implementation amounted to no more than arranging for advisory communications to government officials. Resort to civil disobedience by the two ministers in this instance, I believe, was unjustified under the General Assembly's policy, was inconsistent with carrying out their called responsibilities within the church, and arguably was contrary to the scriptures and the constitution of the church.