What Is Conscience?

Conscience is making a comeback among Christians. Over the past few years, the term conscience has been increasingly referenced in debates occurring both in our churches (e.g., appeals to conscience on moral issues) and the public square (e.g., defending the right of conscience). We hear a lot about conscience, but what exactly does it mean?

The general concept of conscience can be found in almost every human culture, but it has a unique and distinctive meaning for Christians. The Greek term for conscience (suneidesis) occurs more than two dozen times, and serves an important concept, particularly in the Pauline epistles. If we examine the way Scripture talks about conscience we uncover five general themes:

1. Conscience is an internal rational capacity that bears witness to our value system

A few decades ago, a common trope in comedies and cartoons was the shoulder angel/devil. A person's inner turmoil was personified by having an angel, representing conscience, on the right shoulder and a devil, representing temptation, on the left shoulder. This type of folklore imagery gave people the false impression that the conscience was like an inner listening room in which a person could hear the voice of God (a "good conscience") or the devil (a "bad conscience). A more Biblical view is to consider the shoulder angel/devil as representing witnesses to our inner value system.    Continue at Joe Carter