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Chapter 4

Chapter 4. The Moral Conscience . Questions to Ponder . What is conscience? How does conscience aid the person who seeks to live a truly Christ-like life? How does a person develop his conscience so that he can be confident of its judgments ?. The History of Conscience . The Conscience .

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Chapter 4

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  1. Chapter 4 The Moral Conscience

  2. Questions to Ponder • What is conscience? • How does conscience aid the person who seeks to live a truly Christ-like life? • How does a person develop his conscience so that he can be confident of its judgments?

  3. The History of Conscience

  4. The Conscience • A person’s sense of right and wrong • Secular/non-Christian concept • Faculty by which God’s moral Laws are known by human beings • Christian concept

  5. Ancient Greek Philosophy • Not found in Ancient Greek writings • Plato and Aristotle • Soul • Possesses a reasoning faculty • Can choose right from wrong

  6. Church Fathers • Question: • How can pagans, who had not come to know God’s Revelation, can be justly deprived Salvation? • Answer: • They have the capacity to know God’s Law through their conscience

  7. St. Thomas Aquinas • Most basic principle of human conduct • To do good and avoid evil • Synderesis • “Do good eschew evil” (Summa Theologiae) • Which actions are good/evil? • Conscience “fills the gap”

  8. Introduction

  9. A Person Ought to… • Conform his conscience to the WILL of GOD!

  10. Conscience • A natural facility of our reason • Does Three Things: • Reminds us always to do good and avoid evil. • Makes a judgment about the good and evil of particular choices in a specific situation • Bears witness after the fact to the good or evil that we have done. (I.e., having a guilty conscience.) • It is a powerful and remarkable facility that is distinctly human

  11. “He/she has no Conscience” • Most negative judgment on a person • “he/she has a perverted conscience” • What does this mean? • Conflicting thoughts

  12. Our Conscience • Referred to on a DAILY basis: • “My conscience told me to…” • Your conscience may say this is wrong, but my consciences says that its right” • “My gut says to do…” • Because of this emphasis –we work to protect our conscience

  13. Our Conscience –In the Christian Tradition • Fathers of the Church • “Spark of the Holy Spirit” • “the Sacredness of man” • “the Sanctuary of God” • God is speaking to us

  14. Our Conscience –In the Christian Tradition • Fathers of the Church • Origen • “The soul of the soul is the conscience”

  15. Section 1 What is Conscience?

  16. Conscience • It is NOT a feeling • It is NOT a theoretical judgment on whether something is good/evil • Do you agree/disagree?

  17. Conscience is… • Particular Judgment • Judges whether an act is right/wrong from an ethical point of view • The judgment of Concrete Acts • Moral or immoral situations • Judgment of Reason • Must be made w/intellect

  18. Section 2 Conscience and Truth

  19. Conscience is… • Rooted in Truth • Truth is prior to conscience • Conscience MUST respect Truth • What does this mean?

  20. When Fundamental Truths are Ignored… • Error in practical judgments occur • The conscience will make false judgments • There is an OBLIGATION to follow our judgment when the Truth is present • Why? • B/c God gave us this light!

  21. Section 3 The Formation of Conscience

  22. Every Human Person… • Has the OBLIGATION to form their conscience • Agree/disagree? • Are born WITHOUT knowledge of good/evil • Must be taught to them • Parents, personal experiences, Church, Teachers, theoretical reflection/intellectual life • Agree/disagree?

  23. Section 4 Means to the Formation of Conscience

  24. The 5 Keys to Conscience Formation • Acceptance of Moral teaching • Knowledge of the Christian life and doctrine • Prayer and Meditation • Personal Examination • Spiritual Direction

  25. Section 5 Divisions of Conscience

  26. The 7 Divisions of Conscience • Antecedent • Concomitant • Consequent • True Correct Conscience • Erroneous Conscience • Vincible Ignorance • Invincible Ignorance • Scrupulous Conscience • Lax Conscience

  27. Micro Lab: Conscience • Do NOT speak unless you are the one speaking. • You have TWO minutes to respond to the question –once you are done, everyone should be sitting in silence. • Do NOT comment on what is being said –you are just a listening partner • After the micro-lab is completely finished –you then will have a minute or two to convey and discuss your thoughts on what was said.

  28. Micro Lab: Conscience • Some of the causes of the moral crisis facing Christians in the world today are materialism, pornography, the “culture of death”, and sexual promiscuity. Give specific examples to explain how Christians can act as a counter-force to these false cultural icons. • Reflect on instances in your own life in which conscience played a role in determining your response to a specific situation or problem, and describe how you responded in each situation.

  29. Section 6 Acting Always with Right Conscience

  30. When a Person is in Error… • Their personal freedom to choose MUST be acknowledged • Why? • Places responsibility on them

  31. Right Conscience • What is needed to overcome ignorance? • Conduct molded on right principles • A person may NEVER act when their conscience is in ….? • Doubt • Only in RARE cases is a person required to act immediately • Act according to God’s Will • Examples?

  32. To Act Rightly, You MUST be Conscious of the Following • Evil means never justify good ends • Anti-Machavelli • Love for God and neighbor overrides any other consideration • Love thy enemy • We should act toward others as we would like them to act towards us • The Golden Rule

  33. Section 7 The Bible’s Appeal to Our Conscience

  34. Existence of Conscience is Found in Revelation • OT: God seeks our Conscience • “He searches out the abyss, and the hearts of man” (Sir 42:18) • The wicked person “distressed by conscience…has always exaggerated difficulties” (Wis 17:11)

  35. Existence of Conscience is Found in Revelation • NT: The term conscience is mentioned THIRTY times in reference to behavior • Pagans are blamed for their bad behavior, “their conscience also bears witness” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 2:15) • Christians are encouraged to carry out good conduct, “not only to avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of conscience” (Rom 13:5)

  36. Section 8 Arguments for the Existence of Conscience

  37. A Person’s Capacity of Reflection • Expressed in Three Ways: • Sense Experience • Rational Discernment • Moral Reflection

  38. Section 9 Conscience and Law

  39. Confrontations Between Conscience and Law • Normative Ethics • Mortal Subjectivism • Autonomous Morality • Heteronomous Morality • Conscience • Is the immediate norm for moral actions • Takes the law as its guide

  40. Section 10 Distortion and Degradation of Personal Conscience

  41. Distortion of Conscience • The MOST common causes (CCC): • Ignorance of Christ and His Gospel • Bad example(s) given by others • Enslavements to one’s passions • Assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience • Rejection of the Church’s authority and her teaching • Lack of Conversation and Charity

  42. Conclusion

  43. Concluding Thoughts • The greatest happiness, according to classical thought is to have a… CLEAR CONSCIENCE!

  44. Gaudium et Spes#16 “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience when necessary speaks to his heart: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor. In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships. Hence the more right conscience holds sway, the more persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and strive to be guided by the objective norms of morality. Conscience frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity. The same cannot be said for a man who cares but little for truth and goodness, or for a conscience which by degrees grows practically sightless as a result of habitual sin.”

  45. Works Cited • Aquinas, T. 1266-73. Summa Theologiae (Synopsis of Theology), ed. T. Gilby. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970, vol. 11, Ia.79.11-13; 1966, vol. 18, IaIIae.19.5-8. • Beginningcatholic.com. "Conscience: A Key To Salvation." The Beginning Catholic's Guide to the Roman Catholic Church. http://www.beginningcatholic.com/conscience.html (accessed September 25, 2011). • Davies, Brian. 1992. The Thought of Thomas Aquinas. Clarendon Press, Oxford. • Potts, Timothy C. 1980. Conscience in Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. • Our Moral Life in Christ . United States : Midwestern Theological Seminary , 2006.

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