For whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, these people, although not having law, are a law to themselves.
In some aspects, they are. But what is the higher purpose, living by the law of True Nature or living by the law of man?
They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written “in their hearts” (within) while their conscience is bearing witness with them, and between their own thoughts they are being ‘accused’ or even ‘excused’.
So a conscience can either excuse actions or accuse actions.
You describe the sublime relationship here, whether or not you chose to. We all have the “law” (as you put it) written in our hearts. It is our True Nature not associated with any one religion or faith but in the unity of each of them. In order for that “law” to be manifested physically it has to have a bridge from the spirit to the physical world…and that bridge is what we can call “conscience” if we like.
However, our conscience has a man-made component that is both egoic and counter to this higher vision of self we are all born with. That is the first voice you hear in all matters, the one that judges, the one that blames, the one that believes it is right and that others are wrong. It is NOT the voice that seeks a higher purpose, it is the voice that ensures we do NOT achieve it. It is, in the figurative sense, the voice Eve heard in the Garden and the voice Adam listened to as he ate the apple. It is the voice the separates us from our higher selves – that part of us that is of the Absolute – that part of us called Being (or God).
No, if we wish to be our True Natures and to find and attain that higher vision of our selves we first must stop listening to the voice of ego. Instead, we must find our conscience. Again, this takes much practice and focus…which is usually too much work for most of us to undertake. Yet, for the seekers, it is an imperative activity to which all others depend. Our conscience is that voice that leads us to a higher purpose…the one we rarely hear let alone listen to…the one that is God.
Therefore a conscience cannot accuse or excuse, it cannot judge right from wrong because it only knows one side of the equation necessary for judgment. If it judges it is ego, not conscience, you are listening to. Rather, your conscience will lead you to “heaven” if you listen to it, which means you simply cannot judge the actions of others as right or wrong because you cannot tell the difference between the two. A nice lead in to:
Who’d want the conscience, or the voice within, of a serial killer?
We all have the voice. It’s just that some egos are associated with the “good” of not killing, while others are associated with the “bad” of killing over and over again. Still, neither is listening to their conscience as described above. If they were, there would be no such thing as serial killing and we simply would not know ourselves as “good” for not killing or “bad” for doing it. Now you can see the purpose for the “bad”, it allows the “good” to exist.
Wasn’t Jesus conscience trained by Scriptural teaching and learning?
Perhaps, but perhaps not in the way you think. There are two things important in the “training”. First, there is knowledge. That is what we learn in our schools, our churches, our faiths and our reading. The second, and equally important is wisdom. This is often overlooked. This allows the knower to employ the knowledge. One reason our schools suck so bad is that we attempt to teach knowledge without imparting wisdom. Therefore, most don’t know what to do with the knowledge they have gained.
It would seem Jesus used the knowledge of scripture to impart wisdom on those he touched. He truly followed his conscience which at times seemed to go against what knowledge others took from their scriptural education. That is why he was at odds with them, and what may have led to his death. Wisdom would cause us all to listen to conscience.
If conscience was formed through the training you described, it would be egoic and not Divine. It could be said that his training, assuming he had much, led him to his conscience but it cannot be said that his training created his conscience.
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