Conscience
Some Christians believe that the conscienceAn inner sense (or 'voice') which communicates what is right or wrong in one's behaviour. is the voice of God. God is speaking to individuals, guiding them to do the right thing in a given situation.
Conscience can be described as a moral sense of right and wrong. A conscience must be educated, as an uneducated conscience can make a wrong decision. An individual can educate their conscience through prayer, scripture and experience. Indeed the scriptures state that even those who do not have faith to follow still have their conscience.
Reason
Some Christians believe that the human ability to make sense of situations is given by God, and that God reveals himself to Christians through their own sense of reasonThe ability to think and to work things out..
What is learned about God in these revelations?
Christians may learn many things through these types of revelations:
- God teaches people through his word
- God cares about people (design of the world)
- God communicates with people as individuals
- God knows and understands what it is like to be human
Problems for the believer of different views about God
Different views of the Bible cause problems for some believers. They may not understand what appear to be obvious contradictions, or teachings that don't appear to uphold Christian values, eg slavery. LeviticusThe third book in the Hebrew Bible, it contains God's laws for the ancient Israelites. states that:
The concept of the conscience and reason can also cause problems for Christians. They may be unsure how to interpret the voice of God. They may also doubt whether their sense of reason is given by God or is something humans have acquired or developed. Some Christians may question God's nature when believers understand God in different ways.