Lately, I've been thinking about the apparent 'lack' of conscience that I've seen and heard of. A 3rd grade teacher told me that the thing that bothers her the most in recent years is that the kids seem to have no conscience. This is not a 'Christian' woman who made this statement. It was a simple observation of her students, after teaching for many years. Recently, in the news, there were two stories about kids who exhibited no conscience. In one, a girl was beaten in a locker room, and later, when the abusers were arrested, they showed no remorse. In the other, 3rd grade (did you hear me say 3RD GRADE?) students plotted to kill, or at least hurt, their teacher. A whole group of them had different assignments, one to tie her up, one to close the classroom curtains, etc. Why? Because the teacher had reprimanded one of their friends. (I'll see if I can pull up these stories and post them here.)
So what is it that is changing in our society? Why is this apparent lack of ability to understand the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our actions increasing?
Sorry, no answers yet. But I'll be looking at this. It seems to me that we must first understand what conscience is, how it operates, how it is hindered or damaged (assuming it can be).
Another question has arisen due to a thread on a forum that I frequent. A young man whose threads I watch posted the idea that man cannot reason to morality. Hm. Interesting topic and it will be included in this discussion of conscience.
But before I go on, I must study. This is not a subject to be taken lightly.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
How to Correct a Wrong, Part 2
How then, do we correct a wrong in society?
Many would say (and recently I have heard a number of Christians say) that we NEED someone, i.e. the government, to regulate us. This, by definition of the terms, says that we need external government, not being capable of internal self-government.
I disagree. There is a perfect example in the Pilgrims of Plimoth who agreed by mutual consent to govern themselves, first by conscience. John Locke's assessment of the state of man was clearly understood by these people, that all men are in a state of perfect freedom, but not license. The Law of Nature sets boundaries for us in how we conduct ourselves in community with others. Locke understood our need for society. It is the nature of man - even God said, "it is not good for man to be alone." (It makes sense, since God Himself is not alone, and we are created in His Image.)
Since we are by nature drawn to society, we must have a standard of conduct for how to operate within that society. An examination of the East Coast from 1621 to 1776 is a very enlightening study in the understanding of liberty of conscience. Everywhere you look, from the Pilgrims forward, there are covenants, compacts and constitutions that demonstrate an understanding of 1. liberty of conscience, 2. government by the consent of the governed, and 3. that all men are accountable to God. These societies had no outside force telling them how to behave, UNLESS they failed to operate within the Law of Nature. Often the Scriptures were used to correct those who had misunderstood. An example of this is Virginia Colony. In Virginia, the majority of the men were 'gentlemen.' In England, this meant that they had a station higher than some others. In other words, some men were created more equal than others, in their understanding. This, not being a biblical viewpoint, lead to wrong conclusions about what was expected of each individual. These gentlemen believed that their position exempted them from work. The Scriptures, however, declare that 'if a man will not work, let him not eat.' It doesn't take too much examination to discover that this is the Law of Nature as well.
There are a couple of things that, by the Law of Nature, we learn in examining how wrongs are made right in society. First, the self-governed individual can educate his family and his church community. The Scriptures and history both are resplendent with examples of both self-government and the lack of it and the consequences for both. Education is the key idea here. How can they follow the Scripture if they have not heard it, and how can they hear it if someone doesn't put the Scriptures in their hands? The Reformation began because of the Scriptures. In reading the Scripture for themselves, the people understood their liberty in Christ and began to throw off un-needed restrictions of external law (which, btw, was no longer needed in the face of education in truth). The unchained Bible lead to unchained hearts! They apparently did not need credentialed instructors to tell them what the Scripture meant - go figure!
A recent country song, by Randy Travis, Three Wooden Crosses, expresses this idea quite well.
Another thing we can learn from the Law of Nature, is the idea of virtue. A virtuous individual will, by nature, tend to make his decisions based upon Scripture (or allow for Scripture to show him his errors). In the face of this virtue, external law will have no footing. You don't have to reprimand an individual for something he already knows is wrong. You don't have to regulate an individual in something he already knows is right. (How did he know? By education [often SELF-education] in the Scriptures - see Abraham Lincoln for a very good example.) Simply put, if we move forward in Christian Character, building the next generation, we can create a society that simply does not NEED a law for every little thing. The more self-government that is present, the less external government of self is needed. Create the means to eliminate the need for government intervention. If we are responsible and self-governed, they will have nothing to do. (This raises a question for another post - What is the purpose of government? And another one - What is the purpose of the Church?)
This, of course, is a slower process than many, in our microwave society, are willing to accept, hence, the statement, 'there ought ta be a law.' It is interesting, however, to examine the early Church, and see that, in one generation, 'the world was turned upside down.' They understood this principle and masses were educated in the Scriptures, despite the opposition. Many of them were taught by Paul, who spoke often of conscience before God. It is a main theme of the New Testament.
Simply put, Virtue and Education is the means by which society is changed for the better.
Many would say (and recently I have heard a number of Christians say) that we NEED someone, i.e. the government, to regulate us. This, by definition of the terms, says that we need external government, not being capable of internal self-government.
I disagree. There is a perfect example in the Pilgrims of Plimoth who agreed by mutual consent to govern themselves, first by conscience. John Locke's assessment of the state of man was clearly understood by these people, that all men are in a state of perfect freedom, but not license. The Law of Nature sets boundaries for us in how we conduct ourselves in community with others. Locke understood our need for society. It is the nature of man - even God said, "it is not good for man to be alone." (It makes sense, since God Himself is not alone, and we are created in His Image.)
Since we are by nature drawn to society, we must have a standard of conduct for how to operate within that society. An examination of the East Coast from 1621 to 1776 is a very enlightening study in the understanding of liberty of conscience. Everywhere you look, from the Pilgrims forward, there are covenants, compacts and constitutions that demonstrate an understanding of 1. liberty of conscience, 2. government by the consent of the governed, and 3. that all men are accountable to God. These societies had no outside force telling them how to behave, UNLESS they failed to operate within the Law of Nature. Often the Scriptures were used to correct those who had misunderstood. An example of this is Virginia Colony. In Virginia, the majority of the men were 'gentlemen.' In England, this meant that they had a station higher than some others. In other words, some men were created more equal than others, in their understanding. This, not being a biblical viewpoint, lead to wrong conclusions about what was expected of each individual. These gentlemen believed that their position exempted them from work. The Scriptures, however, declare that 'if a man will not work, let him not eat.' It doesn't take too much examination to discover that this is the Law of Nature as well.
There are a couple of things that, by the Law of Nature, we learn in examining how wrongs are made right in society. First, the self-governed individual can educate his family and his church community. The Scriptures and history both are resplendent with examples of both self-government and the lack of it and the consequences for both. Education is the key idea here. How can they follow the Scripture if they have not heard it, and how can they hear it if someone doesn't put the Scriptures in their hands? The Reformation began because of the Scriptures. In reading the Scripture for themselves, the people understood their liberty in Christ and began to throw off un-needed restrictions of external law (which, btw, was no longer needed in the face of education in truth). The unchained Bible lead to unchained hearts! They apparently did not need credentialed instructors to tell them what the Scripture meant - go figure!
A recent country song, by Randy Travis, Three Wooden Crosses, expresses this idea quite well.
Another thing we can learn from the Law of Nature, is the idea of virtue. A virtuous individual will, by nature, tend to make his decisions based upon Scripture (or allow for Scripture to show him his errors). In the face of this virtue, external law will have no footing. You don't have to reprimand an individual for something he already knows is wrong. You don't have to regulate an individual in something he already knows is right. (How did he know? By education [often SELF-education] in the Scriptures - see Abraham Lincoln for a very good example.) Simply put, if we move forward in Christian Character, building the next generation, we can create a society that simply does not NEED a law for every little thing. The more self-government that is present, the less external government of self is needed. Create the means to eliminate the need for government intervention. If we are responsible and self-governed, they will have nothing to do. (This raises a question for another post - What is the purpose of government? And another one - What is the purpose of the Church?)
This, of course, is a slower process than many, in our microwave society, are willing to accept, hence, the statement, 'there ought ta be a law.' It is interesting, however, to examine the early Church, and see that, in one generation, 'the world was turned upside down.' They understood this principle and masses were educated in the Scriptures, despite the opposition. Many of them were taught by Paul, who spoke often of conscience before God. It is a main theme of the New Testament.
Simply put, Virtue and Education is the means by which society is changed for the better.
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