Thou Shalt Not Kill?

From overseas a perplexed soldier wrote to his pastor at home: "In the Bible it says, Thou shall not kill. We are trained to go out with that purpose. I can't get that straight."

The pastor, the Rev. James Carroll Wright, 46, of Akron's Westminster Presbyterian Church, knew that others must be similarly bothered; he answered the soldier's question in a letter addressed to all 82 of his parishioners in service. Last week the church made his answer public:

"This is a serious matter and not easy to answer. . . . What the Bible really means is: 'Thou shalt do no murder.' A murderer . . . goes out to kill others to gain selfish ends or because of a personal injury he will not forgive. . . . You were called by your country to disarm a dangerous and skillful enemy who [conquers by] torture and murder. . . . I do not call a policeman who must shoot a gangster . . . a murderer any more than the law does. Perhaps in the terrible business of war, murderous thoughts will take possession of us. . . . God, I am sure, will forgive . . . many of our weaknesses."

The pastor never knew whether the soldier accepted his answer or not. Six days after he wrote the letter, Mr. Wright shoveled the snow from his sidewalk, went into his house to rest, died of a heart attack.

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