The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1902-08-30
ura interests
3UAe. Va. SATURDAY.. AUGUST 60 1902 SECOND PART=
PRESIDENT DENNY ON CONSCIENCE.
Rev. Dr. iIowisO8 Discusses an Interesting
Question

Question
To TnE FREE Lance:
some kind hand. from lexington. Nir
gina. has lately sent to me copy of the
we'll printed aud beautifully illustrated
buile tins oi Washington and Lee Uni
Ncrsity relating to the special celehra-
uons Of 1902. have read it all careful
" and With interest and pleasure. The
inaugural address of the lately elected
PRESIDENT. George Hutchinson Denny gave
me very special satisfaction. as "A whole
because IL indicated personality of
body, soul aud spirit 20 high and SO
thoroughly in accord with all that Will
tend TO the best standard Of sound edu
cation in the University over which he is
to preside, that we may all look for the
substantial realization OF our best hopes
but II Is apparent. from two brief pas
sages ON page - OF tue pamphlet Of
Bulletins that President Denny is yet
under the obsolete and dangerous delu-
sion Of the old theOlOgians ns to the ma
ture and power OF Conscience" In his
words OF strong denunciatiOn OF modern
religious and ethical errors. he uses these
words. 1t Il being denied that con
science Is the divine voice OF the human
soul. And a few lines further down
on the same page the supremacy of con
science Is declared as ixed belief of tue
teachers OF the highest truths known to
man, either by revelation. right reason.
or science
President Denny. though COMPARE
lively young man, y oil enough to nave
had iun opportunity iur learning that
the question. what is the place and what
the authority of conscience" in the hu
man soul. has been a subject of very re
cent and very thorough investigation
that Prof. ssor Hermann Cremer. Of the
University of GreisWald. in Germany.
has made this question a subject of ex.
haustive investigation, ard in bis great
Ork entitled The BiblicO-TheOlopica
Lexicon OF New Testament Greek has
SHOWN how uniOunded are the old ideas
AMI theories. And others have coutin.
uci 10 push the analysis OF "conscieuce''
to its final conditions. The result has
been 10 disclose the following facts which
annihilate the old beliefs as to what j.
called conscience in the human race.
lrSt. the word conscience il not found
any " here in the inspired scriptures of
the Old Testament. nor * any word of
TIE same meaning there found. Second.
words meaning ali of the essential fun
damental and indestructible faculties
and exercics of the human soul are iouud
Ia the Oh Iestament-such words as OK
press the ideas mind, soul "iudp-
nent, memory imagination"
heart. will .thoueht. " ..meditn-
ton, reelection. repentance. faith.
Third. the word ''cunscirnce" never AN
pearcd III any language until it was in
truduced or first used in Greek bv
Mosenes Laertius about BOO years be
lore the advent OF Christ Fourth. the
word 'sanseidesis, which means con.
science. means simply knowledge. or
what - believed To be knowledge consii-
cred with or placed with something else.
and this Is precisely what the Latin
word "cOnscienta,' and the English
word "consciencc' mean. Fifth. chat nj
though this word was known and was
used 20 convey the idea of moral de-
cision Of the soul for several hundred
years before Christ was born into this
world. Vet lie never used the word nor
gave IT any weight whatever in all His
words recorded in Holy Scripture.
sixth. that the most scathing and terri
ble words uttered by Christ on earth
were against the Scribes. Pharisees and
other traditiOnalists who claimed to act
ana did act conscientiously in their
worst deeds. seventh that though the
word 'suneidesis.' meaning conscience
IL used 20 times in the New Testament /
). ~ ~ teAi ~ ohi AttttuiuS the voice OF God ]
IN the soul il declared in many cases tn I
Toe weak conscience which is ALWAYS
wrong, an evil conscience, a defiled con 1
science, and that most horrible of incep- /
tves 10 stu and crime "A conscience scared /
as with "A hot iron. Eighth. that mil. /
mons on millions of people in this world /
nave acted consciCntiOusly when they /
were casting their own innocent babes to /
the crocodiles OF the Ganges. or persecut-
Ing TO imprisonments, bonds and death
their helpless victims. or burning alive or
burying alive in millions those whom
they called heretics. Ninth, that millions
added to millions Of the most atrocious-
" wicked and cruel people in this world
have been people who acted conscien-
tiously all the time These facts have
overthrOwn the doctrines that con
science has been The voice of God i'm
the soul oil man. Ever since the fall
conscience has been rather the voice of |
Satan than the voice of God. The only |
conscience that is good is the conscience /
void oil offence" President Denny will 4
1t is to be hoped, discard these obsolete |
theories, and teach the students at Wash 1
lugton and Lee the same sublime canon
OF action taught by Robert +. Lee |
Duty, gentlemen, is the polar-stAr OF /
our lives and conduct" A perverted /
conscience always antagonizes duty.
X. X. HowIsON.