Should-a, Would-a, Could-a! Oh, Conscience!

In this election year, various questions of values are brought forward by politicians, pundits and voters at every level. This is perhaps one of the finest moments of any democracy.

In every community, questions of conscience arise. The community, and especially the Church, must wrestle with these. Some would argue that these questions are irrelevant to Christianity. It is my belief that these questions are at the heart of Jesus' mission.

The great witness to this perception is Jesus' statements in the Sermon on the Mount, and especially in the Beatitudes. These statements are specific guides for the human conscience as it guides the person through life. Conscience in Community

The community is able to see both the good and the evil that come from its Vision, its labor and its patterns. It can see what changes are needed in its value system to deal with the realities of today and tomorrow. Justice is integrated into the Vision, the strategy and the tactics.

Revelation 18:1-10 Come out of (Babylon), my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so you do not share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities; ... and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn for her, since no one buys her wares any more, cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense and myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves and human lives.... The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud.(NRSV)

The ancient Hebrews seem to have had as much struggle with conscience as have any people. The Lord brought the deluge to the people because of their refusal to live justly and faithfully. Noah and his family were the only survivors of the flood.

Moses and Aaron were accused of "lording it over" the common people among the refugees. (Numbers 16) They eventually seem to have had their accusers, Korah and his people, killed for making this accusation. Amos pointed out that other peoples were being destroyed for their injustices and that the Hebrews would reap the same harvest.

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