The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1876-11-30
MORALITY OF THE CONSCIENCE

A Sermon by Rev. l.. II. SanbOrD
Preached in Occidental Hall, No
Vember 10, Iss6.
A GOOD CoNsCIENCE-TIMorHY,l Is.
Are you and / moral when we do wha
We believe to be our duty and the truth
III we obey our solemn convictions, do w
do right? The two questions unite in ont
do We do right when we obey our consci,
ence? These are the questions am to I'm
dertake to answer tonight, and in order tc
answer them intelligently, 1 want to Civ,
you first fair understanding of the mean
ing Of the words l am using.
The word moral is a term used to mean
that which it is mans duty to do or no
TO do. That which it is right to do or no
TO do. That which il is virtuous to do Of
not to do. The word conscience means tn,
knowledge of things together, /. C., the
knowledge of relations. So you see, a man
cannot be moral unless he does his duty
does right, does virtuously. And you SCI
too, that a man cannot act in accordance
with his conscience until there is somethint
known to act upon. There is no still
small voice until there is something t.
sly. Men speak of the moral sense, bu
conscience is not a sense. A sense car
discern only one thing at a time. Con
science discerns several. The activity O.
conscience, is a comparing, and choosing
one out Of many. The decision OF consci
ence is choice, a preference of over an
other. Men have said the conscience is the
reason, but reason knows only two di
visions of things, the true and the false
But conscience has many divisions. Il
looks upon things as good, better, best, bad
worse, worst, and 60 on TO still finer de,
grees. So the conscience is that appropri-
alton OF all that the senses and faculties OF
the being bring and striking balance OF
result from what is known. The decision
that a persons knows. Amy other decision
is not conscientious.
Is it right then, to obey conscience? j
say yes. 1t is the only thing one can do.
1t must be right, for to do what ones con-
science tells him not to do, is wrong: it is
TO do what he knows 10 be wrong, and
Socrates says, ito do what one knows to be
wrong is immoral" Whoever does that acts
a lie, and lie Is immoral"
Now il has been said that to tell men to
follow the dictates of the conscience Is
immoral. Why? Because conscience is
not safe guide. Because conscience may
sometimes be wrong, and in following a
wrong conscience men and women may
bring anarchy, degradation and woe. This
is the point to which l turn.
There are usually but two sides to q
question. There are three TO this. man
must always do what he believes to be his
duty, or he must always do what he does
not believe his duty, or he must sometimes
do what he believes is duty, and sometimes
do what he believes is not his duty. He
must always obey the conscience, or he
must always ignore the conscience, or he
must sometimes obey, and sometimes
ignore. Which side will you take? As
for me, will follow the conscience al
ways.
/ believe in the supremacy OF the con-
science. 1t is the only authority a human
soul can have in the action Of his daily life.
i believe that when nan follows his con-
science, he does right. What, one says,
right Why right is something that can
never be wrong. 1t is right forever. But
you may do things to-day in obedience &c
your conscience, which you will contra
dict, perhaps, tomorrow. You may preach
now, in conscience, what a year from now,
you may denounce as error, and still fol-
low conscience. \ man may in conscience
call you immoral. Then you may in con-
science, call him a retailer of falsehoods.
Both cannot be right. Right does not con-
iiict with right. Yet conscience is arrayed
against conscience. Garrison followed
conscience in his onslaught upon slavery
And the Southern Gov. did the same when
fe set a price on Garrison's head. Could
both be right? The conscience of the
whole North went into fearful battle, and
stood for years in the flood of war. Against
il the Southern conscience was as fearlessly
.,rrayed, and fought to the death. Were
both right? The Arab Mohammedan
believes it right to plumber and murder
tie Christian. lie it right? The Greeks
believed il right TO expose their children to
wild beasts. Was it right? There is only
one answer. To you and me they may not
right. To the people who did these things.
they were right. And if they had done
differently, they would have acted q lie,
and that would have been wrong, i'm
moral. But was it right? you still de-
mand. What do You mean by right, /
ask. Why you say, 1 mean the eternal
right. The right of God. The right of the
Infinite, with whom there can be no wrong.
Well, say do not know much about the
thoughts of God. Ionly know the thoughts
he has given me. l read and hear the
thoughts he has given other men, but what
is his thoughts cannot tell. Can you? /
believe the thought he has given me is
just as near his right, as the thought he
has given another man. l call my idea of
right, the right of God. You have differ
ent idea from me, and yet you call yours
the right OF God. Can you tell me how We
can decide which one lie nearest the right OF
God /? Icannot. Why. yes, you say You can. |
1t is found in the Law Of God. But where |
is all the law of God written down 80 that |
no man need 90 wrong in the creates: or
the smallest action of his life? Is it in the |
Bible? If it is, why are there so many
different secta, all taking the Bible As the
truth of God that can never be changed |
and all damning each other eternally be-
cause they cannot agree on what is the |
truth the Bible teaches? Don't you zee |
that in taking the Bible as the guide and |
the conscience to the winde, |
every churchman follows his conscience |
alone? He follows what his conscience |
tells him the Bible teaches. You know |
that on this very point that the whole |
Protss tant church came into existence. 1t
was the right to follow conscience in its |
understanding of the Bible. Luther said, |
no one can be compelled to act against his |
conscience. Here 1 stand, God help me, / |
cannot do otherwise. Every mans con-
science is to tell him what Is the right of |
God. He cannot know it in anv other
way. Mark you, l am not speaking of |
passions, emotions, impulses i am speak
ing of the conscience, which makes il its |
business to know, and having found out, |
commands the person to act in accordance |
with the knowledge it has obtained, as
Theodore Parker said, We must find out |
what is the absolute right, or the right of
God, and then the only remaining duty is |
to do it. Suppose you have found out as
best as you can, what is the absolute right, |
and you then act, will you do right? IL
think 90. Now that is what every one
does Who acts conscientiously. Tha. was
the case with North and the South: with |
Garrison and the Governor of Georgia
With the ancient Greeks, and the Modern
Mohammedans. Why then is ther. con-
hict, Why change, why wan, and immola-
tons OF humanity on the altar of the CON.