Definition of Conscience - Essay Example

College CONSCIENCE Conscience is the awareness of what is right or wrong in the society. Conscience is deemed to be as aresult of the guilt that one may feel after doing something wrong according to their principals and that of the society. Sin is the Biblical meaning of doing the wrong things and the guilt that follows for not following what is right by God is what is referred to having a conscience. The feeling of having wronged oneself by doing the unacceptable is called conscience. (Smith 65) Conscience may vary depending on the individuals understanding of right and wrong. The result of doing well is a clear conscience in that one has no regrets whatsoever for their actions, statements or feelings. Conscience is determined by the background of a person both spiritually and the normal lifestyle. Some of the rights and wrongs of the Bible are similar to those of the society but some may differ in that the society puts some laws of the land that are not in the Bible but are to be followed. The society may include superstitions, beliefs and cultural regulations. All these, develop the conscience of an individual and determine its closeness to humanity. A clear conscience is one that is free from guilt while a weak conscience is one that the person is far from being human and acts mercilessly and ruthlessly to the rest of the people. Religiously, the conscience of people may differ since the scriptures in the Holy Books of the religions might be different. Christians have their conscience guided by the Bible and all the teachings help them in differentiating the wrong and rights in their Christian lives. The Old Testament does not cover much on conscience unlike the New Testament which appears to show a variation between a weak conscience and a strong one. The main purpose of having a conscience is for Christians to examine their daily living. They conduct an examination on what they do or speak and if their words and actions are in accordance to the will of God. A clear conscience is as a result of obeying the word of God and serving God with good deeds and utterances. This conscience is therefore given to Christians by God. Conscience serves the serves the purpose of portraying Godliness in individuals. It is said to witness the work and image of God through people. An individual who does well to the people around him especially the members of the church, God is observed to have a positive outlook on the person’s character. Moreover, conscience serves as a witness to God in that He can see the morals of people who claim to serve Him and judge through their conscience. A clear conscience portrays ones obedience to the Biblical teachings to God and other people. In addition, conscience aims to help people conduct an assessment on their own. All the values of people are said to be incorporated in ones conscience. Both wrongs and rights are determined by the conscience of a person and their actions and utterances occur in view of their values. If an individual has a weak conscience that only indicates possession of poor values that would harm the people around him. For instance, a thief steals and adds up insecurity in a society due to the poor conscience. The actions of a thief portray lack of care and other good values. Through peoples conscience their values and virtues are portrayed. According to the Bible, it is possible to strengthen the conscience of Christians through the scriptures. The Bible is the only guide of Christian living and abiding by the teachings and commandments of God gives them a strong conscience. This is a conscience that can easily recognize wrong and manage to avoid acting on it hence doing the right thing. The ability to determine wrong from right is stronger especially to those with a stronger conscience. A weak conscience is portrayed where people have a difficult time differentiating wrong and right and consequently weighing their options on whether to do the right thing or not. A strong conscience is mainly possessed by those who are mature in their Christian faith. Natural law seems to tag along with the existence of conscience. The theory on natural law attempts to explain the reasons that bring about morality in human beings. (Newman 145) The theory is clear that conscience exists naturally in people and their ability to determine the wrong and right things depends on that small percentage of natural law which happens to be a positive law. People through the natural law tend to do and speak well towards each other. The natural law of morality explains the knowledge that human beings are born with to establish between right and wrong. The basis of morality is therefore associated with natural law in that people reason in a way that does not harm anyone thus the positive nature of the theory on natural law. People are born with the ability to reason properly and this knowledge brings out the clear conscience of most people. The natural law cannot be altered as these are the basic moral values that everybody recognizes globally. However, the conscience of a human being can be altered depending on the behaviors and upbringing of a person hence the Biblical description of existence of a weak conscience and a strong conscience. A weak conscience is one that is aware of the natural law but does not have the power to control going against the moral values. The natural law theory explains the intuitive sense of people whereby they logically connect with their values and decide what is right and what is wrong. The intuitive character of people followed by the existence of natural law is similar to conscience as one conducts a self evaluation in order to choose whether to do right or wrong. Conscience is a form of personal judgment while natural law is the basic universal view of certain matters. For instance, the natural law globally portrays similar laws of the land like people must not kill. However, people with a weak conscience will commit murder by going against that natural law. The connection between natural law and conscience is that people’s consciences are judged by how they react to the natural law which is the form of basic morality. The natural law is applied in some of the common laws which are laws governing the legal issues. The basic morality must be followed and failure to, the common law which supports the positive outlook of natural condemns the individuals conscience which has caused the person from obeying both the natural and common laws. Biblical teachings and description of a clear conscience depict following the natural law and the laws of the land. Nonetheless, it must be noted that natural law is the people’s natural reasoning or the conscience that they are born with. (Theron 79) Therefore, not only Christians are able to exercise a strong conscience in their daily living, this is because conscience is automatic and exists naturally in people. Moral values exist everywhere and not only with the Christians. It is for that reason that people are able to be morally upright even without Biblical teachings and guidance. The work of religion is to maintain a good conscience then instill a strong conscience in people whereby they can resist doing the wrong things in terms of disobeying God or the laws of the land. In conclusion, conscience is the sense of morality that exists in people that is induced when one chooses between evil and good. The natural law theory gives a clear picture of the natural conscience which is neither created nor invented but it is the moral knowledge that people apply in their lives universally. On the other hand conscience is enhanced through Biblical teachings where people are able to self analyze their morals. Therefore, natural law is the basic reasoning in people that guides their conscience. Work Cited Newman, Jeremiah. Conscience Versus Law: Reflections on the Evolution of Natural Law. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1971. Print. Smith, Janet E. Freedom, Conscience & Natural Law. Irving, TX: St. Michael Productions, 1990. Sound recording. Theron, Stephen. Morals As Founded on Natural Law: The Existence of Moral Truths and What Is Required for This Existence. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1987. Print. chab123.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/where-is-your-conscience/ Read More