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Is conscience a reliable guide in decision-making, as in “Let your conscience be your guide”?
Apparently Jesus, age 17, could not in clear conscience join a nationalist political party coming into existence at that time – the Zealots.
127:2:8 Something had to be done. He must state his position, and this he did bravely and diplomatically to the satisfaction of many, but not all. He adhered to the terms of his original plea, maintaining that his first duty was to his family, that a widowed mother and eight brothers and sisters needed something more than mere money could buy — the physical necessities of life — that they were entitled to a father’s watchcare and guidance, and that he could not in clear conscience release himself from the obligation which a cruel accident had thrust upon him. He paid compliment to his mother and eldest brother for being willing to release him but reiterated that loyalty to a dead father forbade his leaving the family no matter how much money was forthcoming for their material support, making his never-to-be-forgotten statement that “money cannot love.” In the course of this address Jesus made several veiled references to his “life mission” but explained that, regardless of whether or not it might be inconsistent with the military idea, it, along with everything else in his life, had been given up in order that he might be able to discharge faithfully his obligation to his family. Everyone in Nazareth well knew he was a good father to his family, and this was a matter so near the heart of every noble Jew that Jesus’ plea found an appreciative response in the hearts of many of his hearers; and some of those who were not thus minded were disarmed by a speech made by James, which, while not on the program, was delivered at this time. That very day the chazan had rehearsed James in his speech, but that was their secret.Here is an example of being unbothered in conscience.185:0:4 Although these Jews were not at all bothered in conscience as they intrigued to effect the judicial murder of Jesus, they were nonetheless scrupulous regarding all these matters of ceremonial cleanness and traditional regularity. And these Jews have not been the only ones to fail in the recognition of high and holy obligations of a divine nature while giving meticulous attention to things of trifling importance to human welfare in both time and eternity.One more example of how the word is used in the UB.156:2:7 Said Jesus: “My disciples must not only cease to do evil but learn to do well; you must not only be cleansed from all conscious sin, but you must refuse to harbor even the feelings of guilt. If you confess your sins, they are forgiven; therefore must you maintain a conscience void of offense.”Conscience must be something, because it is to be kept void of offense once it is cleansed from all conscious sin.What do you think?I believe that somewhere in the revelation we are told that conscience is not God or other divine entity talking to us.
my guess it is something that is part of our evolving humanity.
my guess it is something that is part of our evolving humanity.
What is the purpose of conscience?
Mara,
I suspect it is related to the fact relationship with God is always present tense; we have past experience and future potential. Conscience is present awareness. We store experiences in sub-conscious mind and these can be recalled by thought, perhaps stimulated by an event, such as a new outside influence, or even another thought. Present decision-action on an idea, perhaps brought up from sub-conscious, must happen in present tense. Present tense awareness could be of a past decision-judgement stored in memory. Present tense conscious may include value, meanings, and hope while attributing desire for something. In Jesus’ case he could not in present tense conscious decide to accept the Zealots’ temptations to join while in conscious awareness he wanted something better for his family. His conscious present tense decisions were of the higher values he knew would be best. And he had time to consider multiple offers.
Remember, conscious is mind on active duty!
Does this help? This is a good question you have here and I’d like to see more input. You and others!!!!
my guess it is something that is part of our evolving humanity.
What is the purpose of conscience?
possibly conscience is more of a consequence as opposed to having purpose.
experience and decisions.
In Jesus’ case he could not in present tense conscious decide to accept the Zealots’ temptations to join while in conscious awareness he wanted something better for his family. His conscious present tense decisions were of the higher values he knew would be best.
I kinda like how you talk about present tense decisions. Jesus’ case is unique in “that he could not in clear conscience release himself from the obligation which a cruel accident had thrust upon him.” A “clear conscience” implies its opposite: a conscience that is not clear. I think one can be conscious of one’s conscience, but the conscious and conscience are not interchangeable.
possibly conscience is more of a consequence as opposed to having purpose.
Maybe so.
Maybe it’s an attitude of mind that can govern decisions and behavior.
The conscience is the place where we determine right and wrong based upon our experience, culture, social cues and education. It is the primary source of guilt. Conscience and some amount of guilt are necessary for the ego to function in society but it is not always the guiding motivation for soul growth because the conscience is our own mind judging our selves and suggesting solutions; it is not always God’s mind. God teaches us through spiritual insight which is much different.
The conscience deals with issues of morality and ethics. It is a function of the higher adjutants and the soil from which soul growth material is fostered. The conscience is part of the material mind which sets man aside from the lower animals. The conscience is where the struggles between right and wrong occur and the impetus to pray often arises. The angels are busy directing us into situations of conscience which is why they say the urge to pray most often arises out of angelic influence.
As part of the human psyche, the conscience also provides the fuel for movement in the psychic circles. It provides the choices necessary for the decisions that propel us forward. It’s an ingenious system. But in order for this to happen, conscience must be guided by higher spirit influences. Conscience itself is not divine, it is merely the workshop where conflicts between right and wrong are brought to awareness, or discovered. They must then be sent to a higher source for resolution, and the resolution is always God’s will.
Awareness, or discovery, of moral conflict is the beginning of developing spiritual insight. If you remember the three cosmic insights, morality is in the middle, it has to do with philosophical reasoning with the mind. The next level is spiritual insight, which is where the “voice of God” or the “pilot light” sheds light on the issues the moral conscience recognizes as needing a more spiritual solution. And this is how we shift dominance from the material, moral conscience, to the spiritual influence within the soul.
So anyway, that’s it in a nutshell, a pretty simplistic introduction. Do you folks want all the quotes? There are tons. Let me know.
Conscience?
Thanks Bonita. I was reminded of a mental scale where one might weigh the rightness or wrongness of a decision a priori. After the fact though, if a decision was unwise and regret ensues, the experiential memory can linger on and the memory of it can add to one’s regrets in life. The stupid thing is to make the same error over and over again. Maybe a better saying would be, “Let wisdom be your guide.”
Conscience is present awareness.
I think it develops over time and can be refined by learning. The stinging prick of conscience, as in “. .. Judas was pricked in his conscience about his traitorous conduct. . .” might only be learned after experience.
As it appears conscience is a material thing, mental defects or other traumas can explain why some people appear to be without it.
Here’s an interesting quote which shows the relationship between conscience and revelation.
95:3.2 Moral evolution is not wholly dependent on revelation. High moral concepts can be derived from man’s own experience. Man can even evolve spiritual values and derive cosmic insight from his personal experiential living because a divine spirit indwells him. Such natural evolutions of conscience and character were also augmented by the periodic arrival of teachers of truth, in ancient times from the second Eden, later on from Melchizedek’s headquarters at Salem.
It appears that conscience evolves, not unlike wisdom, which is also augmented by revelation.
Gene wrote: As it appears conscience is a material thing, mental defects or other traumas can explain why some people appear to be without it.That’s a good observation Gene. I’ve often wondered how it is that some people seem to have so little conscience, immoral bordering on amoral. I think they are the antisocial, defectives TUB tells us to round up and put in their place.
I don’t know what causes it though. Some might be due to physical problems with the brain or trauma, but not all. There are many people who delight in being immoral, who get a sick kind of pleasure from being naughty. (My ex-husband comes to mind.) It could be that the adjutants of spirit and wisdom have trouble making contact with some of these folks. Either that or they deliberately ignore or inhibit them for some kind of emotional gain, warped or otherwise. I would love it if everyone in this world had a healthy conscience, but alas, it is not so. Far from it. There are far too many with either over developed, or under developed consciences.
The moral issues we have in today’s society are very trying to the conscience. No one knows what to do when it comes to some dilemmas of morality which used to be controlled by religion. Now religion is the victim and people feel as though there should be no moral standards because they’re too limiting. That makes for troubling times. The conscience does have to evolve, individually and collectively. It really has to be dealt with regardless of the cause.
BTW, I think Freud called the conscience the Superego.
Moral codes were developed to focus people collectively on what was relatively right and wrong at the time.
66:7:8 Hap presented the early races with a moral law. This code was known as “The Father’s Way” and consisted of the following seven commands:93:4:6 The seven commandments promulgated by Melchizedek were patterned along the lines of the ancient Dalamatian supreme law and very much resembled the seven commands taught in the first and second Edens. These commands of the Salem religion were:But other codes, the early Hebrews for example, permitted discrimination in their dealings with the gentiles. (69:4:3) I think it has to do with the in-group vs the out-group. The out-group could be discriminated against with so-called impunity. I noted one example in my first post – 185:0:4 . The conscience of the Sanhedrin vacated the group-think when they murdered Jesus. Their conscience, as a group, was not aroused according to what we know. But Jesus lead a unique out-group..I think the golden rule is a personal and group aspirational code, and by living it gets us another step toward light and life. I suppose a person could use the golden rule as a standard by which to measure the development of one’s conscience. Or not, and just let tradition or current public opinion define one’s standards of conscience. Maybe the golden rule as revealed to us in the book is the gold standard of conscience for the era of the fifth epochal..Perhaps when Jesus released the animals in the temple yard and turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple yard, he experienced a powerful arousal of conscience in the wrongness of what was taking place there, and afterwards said, “. . .’My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.’”Bonita, thanks for your refreshing “description-in-a-nutshell”. You wrote:
[B] “Conscience itself is not divine, it is merely the workshop where conflicts between right and wrong are brought to awareness, or discovered.”
In relation to our larger “mind arena of choice“, I think your workshop notion puts “human conscience” in its proper place.
[B] “I would love it if everyone in this world had a healthy conscience, but alas, it is not so. Far from it. There are far too many with either over developed, or under developed consciences.”
“… with either over developed, or under developed consciences”? So not only can a workshop be untidy, it can be too tidy? Brings to mind (1021.4, 93:6.8): while Abraham was thoroughly sincere, “he was not overly pious“.
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