Eric Lampe
Theology/ Morality 07
3/2/07 Conscience
In the Catholic Catechism, conscience is defined as a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing or has already performed. We are to form it into an upright and moral conscience which is informed, truthful and makes judgments according to reason and in conformity with the will of the Creator. Conscience is a power. It is the place where a person is most truly and purely themselves. Therefore, to go against your conscience is to go against yourself. It is a place where God dwells because we are given the gift of possessing and using a conscience by God. Conscience is the power of reason. It gives us the ability to judge the different principles that we know to lead to a happy and truly free life. Conscience is also a process. It is a process in that it puts into action the power of the conscience. It is the actual act of judging the different guides for a happy life and then the actual choice of choosing which guide you would like to pursue. Sorting through these decisions also demands a rational component of reasoning through decisions. It is every human’s obligation to correctly form their own consciences which involves establishing moral principles which will determine the norms of decision making. This involves pursuing accurate knowledge and understanding of facts with a spiritual basis. For a Catholic this comes from scripture, church teaching, and principles of Divine Revelation. Finally Conscience is a process in that it is the actual choice of doing what one believes is good and avoiding that which one knows is bad and doing this all with the confidence and assistance of God. Conscience is not a feeling.
8 steps
I am going to explore the choice teens have to make concerning the use of alcohol in light of the 8 step method of determining a moral decision.
1. Pray
We are asked to pray and I think this a great thing in making moral decisions because when faced with a truly tough situation there has been nothing better to help me then to just have some alone time to talk to God and just ask him to help me out. When it comes to alcohol you should know going into the situation a general stance on what you believe and through prayer you can take time out to reflect on situations like these. You don’t even have to ultimately decide just think and pray to God that he will do his will.
2. Analyze the situation or problem
This is the time to really clear up what the situation is and why it is even a situation to begin with. Why is teenage use of alcohol such a big deal? What is the problem with alcohol? What are its advantages? What bad could arise out of the situation? What should I do when I get the chance to use alcohol?
3. Evaluate the facts
You need to look at the facts. Alcohol is illegal for people under the age of 21. It has been and will continue to be the cause of deaths. Continued use can lead to dependency and alcoholism. If not used in moderation it can impair judgment. Alcohol is widely used throughout most of the world. Many people enjoy using alcohol.
4. List your options or choices
When faced with the situation of drinking at a party or any other place there are several different choices you can make and it is important to at least know the options. You could drink and keep drinking until you die. You could drink until you are drunk. You could drink in moderation and not get drunk. You could drink and drive.
You could drink and not drive. You could not drink at all. You could prevent others from drinking. After listing the choices we should take each choice and look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.
5. Listen to others
You should be open to other people’s advice or opinions on the situation. What do your parents think? What would the church say? What would your teachers say? What about your friends? All probably have some validity in their arguments however it is important to think about why the people say what they say and if your best interest is really in mind. Many teens use alcohol and most of their parents probably do not condone them using alcohol. There has to be some level of truth to the argument from other peers. This being said do we really give what our parents or church says a chance and really think and listen to what they have to say on the issue?
6. Pray some more
Now the prayer should be less asking God to help you to make the right decisions and more of examining yourself and reflecting on yourself. We should still ask for God’s guidance in our decision making but we should focus more on listening to ourselves and searching for what we really think and truly reason through the different options and not just go for the easiest one.
7. Make a decision based on knowledge
You have to make a decision. You don’t want to overly rush it however you can’t delay it forever as well. It must be your decision and not based on someone else. As far as alcohol use, you should know your stance on drinking and it what situations.
8. Evaluate your decision
It is important to not just be set on your one decision. As you put your decision into action you should keep evaluating it in your mind. How did you feel after your choice to drink or not drink? If you don’t feel right about your decision it is completely necessary and important that you go back and make adjustments and change your decision in some way and then repeat the process until the decision has undergone revision and until you are happy with the decision you have made.