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Editorial
RELIGIOUS TOPICS - CONSCIENCE
Conscience has been defined in various ways, including an inner moral sense of right and wrong, the voice of God within, and he mind of human beings making moral judgements.
Two abiding aspects of conscience are, first, a human awareness of universally binding rules or principles of conduct and, second, the ability to relate those general rules or principles to particular cases. St Paul taught that there was a universal moral awareness, even the Gentiles having "the requirements of the law written on their hearts, their consciences bearing witness" (Romans 2: 15).
Conscience relates to past actions done or omitted and either brings feelings of guilt and the awareness of the need for repentance or, on the contrary, a sense of having done the right thing in the circumstances. Conscience also acts as a guide before we act, so that we may act properly in good conscience. In the New Testament, the word is presented as an integral part of human personality.
It has traditionally been regarded as one of the goals of Church teaching to assist people to develop their innate sense of right and wrong in a Christian way. This involves much more than simply stating that ‘this is right’ or ‘this is wrong’. The Prayer Book Catechism (pp.766f) includes the Ten Commandments as an integral part of the instruction to be learned before candidates are presented for Confirmation, but it goes on to expound them in terms of duty towards God (the first four) and duty towards one’s neighbour (the last six). A way of combining the prohibitions (from the Old Testament) with positive teaching (from the New Testament) may be found in the Prayer Book on pp.222f, where the abbreviated Commandments are set out, together with texts from the New Testament which deepen the moral thinking.
Moral judgements and choices are seldom straightforward. Indeed, often involved is a quite complex balancing of different aspects in a particular dilemma. It is for this reason that the development of a sense of right and wrong in the form of conscience should be a priority in Christian formation and in continuing teaching and pastoral care.