Developing a Well-informed Conscience

Answer 1

A:

by learning what is right and what is wrong

B:

The fastest way I think, is to live by yourself only and see how you come out. You'll either die by yourself or come out with a developed conscience for yourself and others.

Answer 2

righteous path with moral and ethical behavior is aautomatic self governor.

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Catholic AnswerMost Catholics use some kind of Examen of Conscience or the Ten Commandments, the Five (Six, or Seven depending on your age) Commandments of the Church, and the Deadly Sins as way to examine their conscience. I have attached a link below to Fr. Hardon's recommended examen, and below is a list for the second. You set some time apart at the end of the day, after saying your evening prayers, you say a prayer to the Holy Spirit to inspire you to know your sins of the past day, to be sorry for them, and to list them. Then you go through the day looking to see where you have fallen. This is called General Examen. Particular Examen is when you find one glaring fault, and you make a specific resolution: At 10 a.m. tomorrow, when my neighbor comes in, I am not going to be short and sarcistic with her. Your particular examen is right before lunch when you ask yourself if you succeeded or not. And again right before supper.

Sins against the Holy Ghost

Presumption of God's mercy

Despair

Impugning the known truth

Envy at another's spiritual good

Obstinacy in sin

Final impenitence

Ten Commandments of God

Exodus XX

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

3. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shalt not commit adultery.

7. You shalt not steal.

8. You shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shalt not covet your neighbor's wife.

10. You shalt not covet your neighbor's goods.

Seven Precepts of the Church

1. To assist at Mass and rest from servile work on all Sundays and holidays of obligation.

2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed by the Church;

3. To go to confession at least once a year;

4. To receive the Blessed Sacrament at least once a year, and that about Easter time;

5. To contribute to the support of our pastors according to our means;

6. Not to marry within certain degrees of kindred, nor to marry with solemnity at forbidden times.

7. To join in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church.

Seven Deadly Sins and their opposite virtues

Pride Humility

Greed Liberality

Lust Chastity

Anger Meekness

Gluttony Temperance

Envy Brotherly love

Sloth Diligence

Answer 3

Training the Conscience toMake Right Decisions Although we inherit the faculty of conscience, that endowment is unfortunately flawed. Though mankind was given a perfect start, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Because we are marred by sin and imperfection, our conscience may be warped and may no longer function fully in the ways originally intended. (Romans 7:18-23) In addition, external factors can affect our conscience. It can be influenced by our upbringing or by local customs, beliefs, and environment. Surely the degraded morals and the falling standards of the world cannot be the standard of a good conscience. A Christian, therefore, must have the additional assistance of the firm and righteous standards found in God's Word, The Bible. These can guide our conscience to assess matters correctly and set them straight. (2 Timothy 3:16) When our conscience is enlightened according to God's standards, it can better serve as a moral safety device, enabling us "to distinguish both right and wrong." (Hebrews 5:14) Without God's standards, our conscience may give us no warning when we stray into a bad course. "There exists a way that is upright before a man," says the Bible, "but the ways of death are the end of it afterward."-Proverbs 16:25; 17:20. In some areas of life, God's Word sets out explicit guidelines and directions, and we do well to follow them. On the other hand, there are many situations for which there are no specific instructions in the Bible. These may involve choices in employment, health matters, recreation, dress and grooming, and other areas. It is not easy to know what to do in each case and make the right decision. For that reason we should have the attitude of David, who prayed: "Make me know your own ways, O Jehovah; teach me your own paths. Make me walk in your truth and teach me, for you are my God of salvation." (Psalm 25:4, 5) The better we understand God's views and ways, the more we will be able to evaluate our circumstances accurately and make decisions with a clean conscience. Hence, when faced with a question or a decision, we should first reflect on Bible principles that may apply. Some of these may be: respect for headship (Colossians 3:18, 20); honesty in all things (Hebrews 13:18); hatred of what is bad (Psalm 97:10); pursuing peace (Romans 14:19); obedience to established authorities (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-7); exclusive devotion to God (Matthew 4:10); being no part of the world (John 17:14); avoiding bad associations (1 Corinthians 15:33); modesty in dress and grooming (1 Timothy 2:9, 10); and not causing others to stumble (Philippians 1:10). Identifying the relevant Bible principle can thus strengthen our conscience and help us make the right decision.

Answer 4

Wikipedia defines conscience as an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgement that assists in distinguishing right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms (principles and rules). In psychological terms conscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms.

Most formal religions have attempted to define the formation of conscience. Religions associated with Zoroastrianism, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, believe that people are induced to do what is right by the promise of reward in heaven or punishment below. Buddhism links conscience with compassion. Of these, the Buddhist version probably comes closest to understanding what conscience is, since conscience seems to be more than just a response to anticipated reward or punishment.

Charles Darwin believed that conscience evolved in humans to resolve conflicts between natural impulses - some about self-preservation but others about safety of a family or community; the claim of conscience to moral authority emerged from the "greater duration of impression of social instincts" in the struggle for survival. Michel Glautier argues that conscience is one of the instincts and drives which enable people to form societies: groups of humans without these drives or in whom they are insufficient cannot form societies and do not reproduce their kind as successfully as those that do. This tells us why we have a conscience, but perhaps not how a conscience develops in each individual.

The word 'conscience' implies a knowledge of an appropriate moral standard and an awareness concerning the quality of our motives, as well as a consciousness of our own actions. The first two attributes are knowledge gained by experience, example and training; the third is innate. So, a young child develops a conscience by watching the actions of those around him or her, by developing an understanding of his motives when choosing to do a right or wrong action, experiencing feelings of rejection when caught out in wrongdoing, listening to and learning from those in authority, and perhaps experiencing the 'naughty corner' when necessary. Philosophers will continue to debate the finer points of conscience development, but this is the heart of it.

Answer 5

conscience