RELIGION: LESSON 3

“The locus for dialogue with God”

The Old Testament has no specific word for conscience. Instead, it employs the
Hebrew word leb, which is literally translated as heart. It stands for the core of
the human person from where thoughts and plans, feelings and emotions come.
The kind of heart a person has determined his or her moral standing. A person
with a good heart is a good person; someone with an evil heart is a bad person.

The New Testament has the Greek word syneidesis for conscience. It was St. Paul
who used it more than the other New Testament authors. In his First Letter to the
Corinthians, he employed the term in the Corinthian controversy regarding eating
food offered to idols

There were two groups of Corinthian Christian: (1) the veteran Christian or the
disciples of strong conscience; (2) the neophyte Christian or the disciple of weak
conscience. The Veterans sufficiently grasped that food offered to idols was food
offered to no one, since there was no other god but the Lord. So they found no
trouble in eating food offered in the pagan temples. The Neophytes were still new
belief in the existence of the pagan gods and goddesses. Thus, they felt eating
food offered in sacrifice at the pagan temples was sinful-it was tantamount to
coming into communion with the pagan deities. St. Paul enjoined the disciples of
strong conscience to have some consideration for the weak consciences of their
neophyte brothers and sister. He asked them not to eat food offered to idols so as
not to cause troubles of conscience to these new members of the Christian
community.

The Dignity of the human Conscience

- The word conscience from the Latin word conscientia, which is derived from
two Latin words: cum + scientia. Cum means with and scientia means
knowledge. Conscience, therefore, means knowledge with, or the knowledge
one has with the concrete circumstances of life. It is the knowledge that
comes into play in handling a concrete situation of daily life. Vatican ll, in its
 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes,
no. 16 teaches the dignity of conscience.
- In the depths of his or her conscience, the human person detects a law which
he or she does not impose upon himself, but which holds him or her
obedience
- Conscience the most secret core and sanctuary of the human person. There
he or she is alone with God, whose voice echoes in or her depths. In a
wonderful way conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God
and neighbour. In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of
humanity in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the
numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals and from social
relationships. Hence, the more that a correct conscience holds sway
- Conscience frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity.
The same not be said of a human being who care but little for truth and
goodness, or of a conscience which by degrees grows practically sightless as a
result of habitual sin.

Vatican II teaches a host of things about conscience:

•Conscience is where moral law is recognized.

•Conscience has a basic function, consisting in urging the person to do good and
to shun evil.

•Conscience has a concrete function, consisting in showing the person which

good to pursue and which evil to avoid in a concrete life situation.

•Conscience is a sacred locus for human dialogue with God.

•Conscience is a common heritage of humanity.

•The dictates of conscience must always be obeyed since it is the most intimate
and ultimate guide to human behavior.Every human person has the duty to grow
in maturity of conscience.
Types of Conscience

The contemporary approach to the understanding of human conscience views it

as threefold: (1) synderesis (2) moral science; (3) syneidesis.

1. Synderesis is not really a Greek word, but one that has entered the Medieval
religious books as a term for conscience. It is the general sense of value found in
all human beings. It urge one to do good and to avoid evil, but without specifying
the good that must be done and the evil that must be avoided. It is infallible-
meaning incapable of error-and is a sure guide to human behavior.

2. Moral Science is conscience in search for truth. According to Vatican II in its

Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis humanae,no. 1, conscience
recognizes only one master-the truth. In other words, the human conscience
does not bend to any kind authority, except to the authority of the truth. Thus,
parents, educators, and the like can influence conscience only a convincing
presentation of the truth. Moral Science is therefore, the locus for the formation
of conscience. Authentic formation of conscience comes about with a deeper
immersion in the truth, aided by the able assistance of others, leads to maturing
in conscience.

The America psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg lists 7 motives in an increasing

hierarchy of authenticity:

a.Fear of Physical Punishment

b.Desire for Mental Reward

c.Acceptance by Persons considered Significant

d.Need for Law and Order

e.Defense of Human Rights

f.Quest for Justice

g.Love
Conscience as Moral Science, however, is fallible. It is very open to error. In one’s
personal efforts at finding the truth, one can arrive at some erroneous
conclusions. In the assistance provided by others, their personal biases and
mistaken positions can creep in. Hence, Moral Science, holding on to wrong
notions, can be in error. This used to be called in traditional Church teachings as
erroneous conscience.

3. Syneidesisis the real Greek word for conscience. It isconscience deciding on a

concrete course of action. Its basis is the conclusion reached by conscience as
Moral Science.

St. Augustine calls conscience (sedesDei), meaning God’s throne. He refers to it

as that innermost chamber at the core of the human person accessible only to
God and to the person himself or herself. It is here that moral decisions are made.
This means to say that the human person can never relinquish responsibility for
his or her conduct.

The mode of acting of conscience as syneidesis can be either antecedent or

consequent.

 Antecedent conscience- refers to a dictate prior to the deed. It shows the

concrete good to be done or the concrete evil to be avoided.
 Consequent conscience- on the other hand, refers the reaction of
conscience as syneidesis to a person’s behavior.

If the individual complied with the dictate of antecedent conscience, he or she

earns praise. If, on the contrary, the person disobeyed the dictate of antecedent
conscience, he or she is plagued with remorse

Moral Form

 Norms- comes from the Greek word nomos–meaning a rule to live by or a

standard by which to measures things. A norm becomes binding or
obligatory if conscience recognizes it be such.

There are different kinds of norms laws:

1. Eternal Moral- is the whole extent of the saving plan of God. It is something
dynamic because it refers to plan to be realized. In reality no human person can
grasp it fully because it takes a Divine Intellect to know it in its fullness.

2. Natural Law-refers to the demands of creation. It is the path toward human

fulfilment. Natural Law is the direction that must be taken by all in order to bring
about the fulfilment of humanity.

3. Positive Law-is a demand of the Eternal Law and of the Natural Law that has
been made explicit by God or by some human authority. Thus, there is Divine
Positive Law and there is Human Positive Law, too. Human Positive Law is
defined as an ordinance of reason for the common good promulgated by one who
has the care of the community. Human Positive Law may take any of these two
firms:

 Affirmative Positive Law- commands that something good be performed.

 Negative Positive Law- prohibits the doing of something evil.

Epikeika is a virtue that allows an individual to interpret the law properly in

borderline cases.

Things to remember:

What is dilemma?

-A dilemma is a situation which normally offers two course of action and either
solution entails unpleasant consequences.

What is conscience?

-Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of the human person. It is the
ultimate guide to human behavior and the final arbiter of what we are to do and
how we can abide by the Divine Will.

What are the types of understanding of the human conscience according to a

contemporary approach?

1.Synderesis-the general sense of value found in all human beings.

2.Moral Science-the conscience in search for the truth.

3.Syneidesis-the conscience deciding on the concrete course of action.

Different Kinds of Laws:

1.Eternal law-the whole extent of the saving plan of God. It is something dynamic
because it refers to the plan to be realized.

2.Natural law-refers to the demand of action, it is the path towards human

fulfilment and the direction that must be taken by all in order to bring about the
fulfilment of humanity.

3. Positive law-a demand of Eternal law and of the Divine law that has been made
explicit by God or by some human authority.