Conscience is God's presence in man

Outline;
· The inner law works through the voice of conscience; The voice of God.
· Role of conscience.
· Written law and inner law both mandatory.
· Conscious compelling acts and Dostoyevsky’s protagonist.
· Spontaneity of Conscious.
· Pushkin;s depiction of the guilty conscious.
· Conscience playing its role since antiquity.
· Pagan’s judgments based on conscience
· Conscience a driving force behind human actions. Adam Eve, Cain and David’s examples.
· God’s check upon His creation.
· God’s whispers in the time of strong passion, fear and turmoil.
· Hardships, clear conscience and hope.
· ‘Shipwreck of his faith’ due to recurring sins.
· Materialism and naturalism’s inadequacy defining the exintence of God’s inspirations in the heart.
· Philosophy and eithic’s answers
· Conscience, God’s presence and psychological evidence.
· Relation of conscience to God in the words of In the words of St. Maximos the Confessor and St. John Chrysostom
· Shakesperean perspective in Richard III and Hamlet
· Conscience common to all if same conditions prevail;Harun Yahya
· Qur'an, in Surat ash-Shams a witness
· Conscience works on God’s commandments thus an integral part of religion.
· In eternal life people will confess that their Creator had been advising them but they did not listen.
· Just a way of God’s advising with no compulsion, conscience uncovers the awareness of free will and responsibility.
· conscience influences the reason.
· conscience is an independent and superior characteristic which directs man's reason, will and heart with divine Law.
· Indeed , ‘conscience is a sacred sanctuary where God alone may enter as judge’.






Holy scriptures, revealed books tell people what God wants from His beings. However, the revelations have come to end with the last prophet, so there has to be a way where God connects with His pupil so that they don’t go astray. Laws, morals, principles, holy words indeed guide mankind towards righteousness, yet they cannot pen down each and every single detail of what how and when one has to do. Here, the all time instructor plays the key role, the conscience of the man tells them things even if a person apparently denies them. Be it the decisions , actions of one’s free will compelled by reason, morals, customs or socio-religious laws, through the conscience, as through a clear crystal, God's light enters the soul and permeates its every corner. As long as this light remains in a human, it guides the thoughts, elevates feelings, strengthens the will, and helps in every good undertaking. Through this blessed illumination, people become instruments of God's providence. When this happens, a person not only enjoys spiritual blessings, but also gets pleasure form the contented soul, which otherwise would have punished the wrong doer on God’s behalf.

This inner voice is a universal phenomenon, which draws man toward everything that is morally good and averts him from everything that is morally evil. This inner law works through the voice of conscience, which justly is called the voice of God in man. Because it is an integral part of human nature, it is active in all people, regardless of their age, race, education, or brought up.
Every person is familiar with his inner voice which on occasion accuses and oppresses him, and on occasion brings him joy. This small subtle voice, an inborn feeling, is called conscience. Conscience by its nature is a spiritual instinct, which more clearly and quickly differentiates between good and evil than does the mind. He who listens to the voice of his conscience never regrets or gets ashamed of his behavior. The skeptics and non-believers refer to this inner voice as the ‘heart’.
In general, conscience is a very sensitive moral evaluator, especially in children and adolescents, who are still pure and innocent. If humans were not stained by sin, they would not have needed any external guidance, and conscience alone could precisely direct their behavior. The necessity for written law arose from original sin when man, dimmed by passion, failed to hear clearly the inner voice. In the present condition, both the written law and the inner natural law of conscience are needed; and they both speak of the same; justice, truth, respect and love of humanity.

Emanuel SwedenborgSwedish mystic & scientist discusses the occurrences that are very common, where an impoverished woman stole something in a store and carried it away. No one saw her. On her way home a disturbing feeling gnawed at her peace of mind. She had to return to the store and replace the stolen item, after which she returned home feeling relieved. There are countless similar examples of people being compelled to do not what they want but what is right. This invisible feeling telling and compelling a person is none other then the power of the Unseen, who dwells in every one’s souls. Because of which Dostoyevsky’s protagonist gets caught in Crime and Punishment.

Our personal experience convinces us that this inner voice, called conscience, is not under our control but expresses itself spontaneously in spite of our will. In addition, just as we cannot persuade ourselves that we are full when we are hungry or that we are rested when we are tired, similarly we cannot convince ourselves that our behavior is correct when our conscience tells us otherwise. ‘Conscience is a soft whispers of the God in man’ is a beautiful depiction of the inter relation of conscience and God by Edward Young.
All the revealed or the unrevealed religions tell their followers that the guilty conscience will be punished in the after life. The Russian poet A. S. Pushkin very vividly described these torments in his dramatic play "Miserly Knight:" "Conscience -/ A sharp clawed animal, which scrapes the heart;/ Conscience - an uninvited guest, annoying discourser,/A rude creditor; and a witch,/Which dims the moon and graves." For the same reason that the wrong doer’s conscience wont let them have peace in the eternal life. In a another drama, Boris Godunov, Pushkin again recreated the sufferings of a guilty conscience, placing in the mouth of the king Boris the following words, "...Yes, pitiful is the one in whom conscience is foul!"
Indeed, studying the culture and customs of past and present nations, one notes that all people, even the most primitive tribes, distinguish between what is good and what is bad, between good man and evil man, between virtue and vice. They all agreed on this: that the good is worth striving for, that evil be shunned, and that the one deserves praise, the other, blame. Though in individual cases they may not be one in denominating the same thing good or evil, they are nevertheless agreed as to the general principle that good is to be done and evil avoided. The occasional discrepancy in labeling some actions as good or evil seems to come from the particular circumstances in which a given nation develops. It is a universally recognized principle that one should not do to others what he would not wish them to do to him. Vice everywhere seeks to hide itself or at least to put on the mask of virtue because God does not allow the guilty conscious to establish himself contentedly when He knows his crime.
Likewise, the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans explains in some detail how moral law of God works in man. The Apostle reproaches those who know the written Law of God but willfully violate it. He contrasts them with the pagans who "not having a written Law, naturally observe the prescriptions of the Law. By this they show that the process of the Law is written in their hearts which is witnessed by their conscience and thoughts, which either punish or justify one another"
In daily relationships, people subconsciously trust the conscience more than written laws and regulations. Indeed, it is impossible to have laws for every imaginable situation and to foresee how to preclude any attempts at breaking them. After all, shrewd people manage to twist and manipulate even the clearest of laws. So people hope that conscience, which works inside every person, will compel the person they are dealing with to do what is morally good and just.
One can see that unkind behavior evokes in man shame, fear, suffering, feelings of guilt and even acts of desperation, even when no one is there to judge or punish them. For example, Adam and Eve, having tasted the forbidden fruit, felt ashamed and attempted to hide from God. Cain, killing his younger brother Abel out of envy, subsequently began to fear for his own life, because his conscious told him he would be punished for the wong he did . King Saul, persecuting innocent David, later wept in shame when he found out that instead of retaliation for evil, David spared his life.
Sometimes the pangs of conscience become so intolerable that man prefers to end his own life. One can see the most vivid example of accusations of conscience in Judas Iscariot, the traitor, who hanged himself after betraying Christ to the high priests . In every day life one hears about an unjust vicious person who committed suicide because he could not bear the burden of his conscious. "Beowulf".shows that conscience is the only beacon of hope for man when surrounded by evil forces. In general, all sinners, believers as well as unbelievers, feel responsibility for their behavior which comes through God’s check upon the acts of His creation.
It happens sometimes that a man in turmoil, caught in the swirl of strong passion or overwhelmed by fear, appears not to hear the voice of his conscience. But later, he feels the pangs of conscience doubly strong. When the brothers of Joseph came upon trouble, they remembered their sin of selling their younger brother into slavery and understood that they were now justly punished for their cruelty.
On the other hand, when man is aware of his innocence, his clear conscience strengthens his hope in God. For example, the righteous prophets, companions of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, while suffering, knew that the reason for this was not because of any sins they had committed, but that it was in God's plan, and they hoped for God's mercy.
For a sinner, in the punishment, there is no greater relief and happiness than to receive forgiveness and peace of conscience. On the other hand, a disregard of conscience along with recurring sins, darkens the soul to such a degree that man can undergo, ‘shipwreck of his faith’ so that he can irrevocably sink into evil. That’s when looking at a wrong doer with no remorse what so ever one wonders , if his or her conscience lets them live in peace.
Neither naturalism nor materialism can give an adequate explanation of mental events like consciousness. Consequently, divine and supernatural explanations are needed to explain why people are conscious and how the brains work. Richard Swineburne is a well known apologist who gives argument, stating that it is impossible to reduce mental events or properties to physical events or properties and that any attempt to do so would face serious problems. His conclusion is that certain psychological and physical events correlate with each other simply because God chose for them to correlate — nothing more, nothing less.
Sense of moral awareness or of right and wrong, the concept has been variously explained by moralists and philosophers. In the history of ethics, the conscience has been looked upon as the will of a divine power expressing itself in man's judgments, an innate sense of right and wrong resulting from man's unity with the universe, an inherited intuitive sense evolved in the long history of the human race, and a set of values derived from the experience of the individual.
Psychologists also differ in their analyses of the nature of conscience. It is variously believed to be an expression of values differing from other expressions of value only in the subject matter involved, a feeling of guilt for known or unknown actions done or not done, the manifestation of a special set of values interjected from the example and instruction of parents and teachers, and the value structure that essentially defines the personality of the individual. As a practical matter, the consciences of different people within a society or from different societies may vary widely.
The study of the relationship of conscience to the spiritual attributes of man is the domain of psychology. Psychologists attempt to clarify issue, Is conscience an attribute of man with which he is born, or is it the result of learning and encountering life's experiences in the environment in which he develops? Closer examination of man's conscience convinces us that it is not the result of learned attitude or physical instinct in man, but has an unexplainable higher source. For example, children develop conscience before any adult teaching or modeling takes place. If physical instinct dictated to conscience, then it would induce man to behave in a profitable or pleasurable way. However, conscience often induces man to do that which is unprofitable or unpleasant. In spite of the appearance that evildoers enjoy the good life and virtuous people suffer, conscience tells them that a higher justice must exist. Eventually all have to receive their just reward. The universal presence of conscience for many people is the most convincing argument for God's existence and the immortality of the soul.
In the words of St. Maximos the Confessor;
Do not treat your conscience with contempt,
for it always advises you to do what is best. It
sets before you the will of God and the angels;
it frees you from the secret defilements of the
heart; and when you depart this life it grants
you the gift of intimacy with God.
And yet again eloquently portrayed by St. John Chrysostom as;
The conscience should not be evaded, since it
tells us inwardly how to live in conformity to
Gods will, and by severely censuring the soul
when the mind has been infected by sins, and
by admonishing the erring heart to repent, it
provides welcome counsel as to how our defective
state can be cured.
Shakespeare in Richard III creates five distinct ways of relating to this basic question of conscience in the presence of evil, his celebrated protagonist Hamlet echoes the conflict between the conscience and his acts which eventually cost him life of all his family and loved ones as Gladstone declares, The disease of an evil conscience is beyond the practice of all the physicians in the world’. Conscience is a spiritual quality bestowed upon man by God that bids man good attitude and thought, and helps him think straight and tell right from wrong.
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Harun Yahya puts it as,‘One of the important aspects of conscience is that it is common to all people. In other words, what feels right to the conscience of a man also feels right to the conscience of all others provided that the same conditions prevail. The conscience of one man never falls out with that of another. The reason lies in the source of conscience: it is the inspiration of God. Through the conscience, God lets us know the best and the most beautiful behaviour and manners which it will please Him for us to adopt.’

Conscience is an inspiration from God is mentioned in the Qur'an, in Surat ash-Shams, ‘And the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or taqwa, he who purifies it has succeeded, he who covers it up has failed’. (Surat ash-Shams: 7-10)
*In the verses, God declares that He has inspired mankind with this very conscience that makes man guard against evil deeds and finds the right way.
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One of the most important aspects of conscience is that it helps man to find what is right of his own accord. Conscience will surely show man what is right, even if nobody else will. So, what matters for man is to take recourse to his own conscience, listen to what it says, and act upon it. For this reason, one can say that conscience is the main component of religion. If someone does not follow his conscience or use it fully, when he meets the angels of death, he will be plunged into an agony of remorse and hopelessness, which he will suffer for eternity.
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Whatever a person does, the conscience will not leave them until he dies. Conscience is a power that works totally out of the will. It is God's voice. The short story "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe focuses on the same theme. Every one will continue to hear this voice until they die, but those who do not follow this voice will taste the intense regret of it after they die. Accordingly, in the Qur'an, many examples are given from the conversations in the hereafter in which those in hell confess what they failed to do in life, though inwardly they knew what right was.Therefore, in truth, everyone knows what he must and must not do and evading the conscience does no good. Quran portrays it in these words;
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'What caused you to enter into Hell Fire?'
They will say, 'We were not among those who prayed, and we did not feed the poor. We plunged with those who plunged, and denied the Day of Judgement, until the Certain came to us.'
The intercession of the interceders will not help them. What is the matter with them that they run from the Reminder like panicked donkeys fleeing from a lion?
In fact each one of them wants to be given an unfurled scroll.
No indeed! The truth is they do not fear the Hereafter.
No indeed! It is truly a reminder to which anyone who wills may pay heed. (Surat al-Muddaththir: 42-55)
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Then is conscience a result of the way the mind, feelings, and will operate or is it an independent characteristic. Regarding the relationship of conscience to other spiritual attributes of man with his mind, feelings, and free will, one observe that conscience not only speaks of that which is theoretically good or evil, but it also obliges man to do good deeds and shun evil. Good deeds are followed by feelings of joy and satisfaction, whereas deeds of evil produce shame, fear, and spiritual unrest. In all of these manifestations, conscience uncovers the awareness of free will and responsibility.
Of course, reason alone cannot decide what is morally good or evil. It bases its judgment on the observation of something logical or illogical, wise or foolish, useful or useless. It is a property of reason to select useful opportunities over deeds of kindness. Nevertheless, something in man compels his reason to not only search for profit, as an abstract mathematical computation, but also to evaluate the moral value of his intentions. Doesn't it follow then that, if conscience influences the reason, then it is independent or even above it?
Considering how conscience works through free will, one observes that free will can desire anything, but this ability does not dictate to man what he must do. Human will, as every one knows it, often battles with demands of morality and attempts to free itself from its bondage. If conscience were a product of the free will, then no battle would take place, no conflict. But the voice of conscience attempts to guide man's decisions. He may not always fulfill its demands, being free to choose, but he cannot ignore its voice, and when he does that, he does not escape an inner punishment.
Finally, conscience cannot be viewed as the product of feelings in the human heart. The heart craves pleasant sensations and avoids the unpleasant. But the rejection of moral demands often brings with it a strong spiritual conflict, which tears the human heart apart. One cannot escape the outcome in spite of the desire and effort. Therefore, in spite of being enclosed and dwelling within man, shouldn't one concede that conscience is an independent and superior characteristic which directs man's reason, will and heart with divine Law?
Thus, a clear conscience is a well-spring of all Divine blessings. People with clean hearts enjoy inner peace; they are gentle and benevolent. It seems that already in this temporary life, filled with trials and turmoil, God gives them a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven. Felicite R. Lamennais believes, ‘conscience is a sacred sanctuary where God alone may enter as judge’.