'Conscience doth make cowards of us all' is a word from Shakespeare and not from the Bible, but it certainly is biblical in its content. PT Forsyth never wrote a book on the conscience, but few seem to have understood it better than he did. He said that conscience makes us man, makes us one, and makes us eternal. He appears to he saying that of all creatures man is endowed the conscience, and without conscience he is not truly man. He is also saying that it is one of the most dynamic factors common to every human being, and that transcending class, language, race and creed it gives us that by which we can understand humanity-at least on the moral level. That is why Forsyth also said, 'That which goes deepest to the conscience goes widest to the world '. Nothing we do of right or wrong can relate only to this world, but to eternity, ie. sin and wrong-doing meets its judgement in the eternal sphere, and not just in this world.

Conscience then, is a powerful factor in human living. Some humans try to dull their conscience, or ignore them. Others become morbidly fixated on conscience, and so conscience exercises a tyranny, especially when a person is habitually legalistic. That is why we have entitled our book, 'The Conscience-Conquering or Conquered?' The question is most significant. A person's conscience which has received the revelation of God's justification through the Cross will help the person to live in rich freedom. The legalistic conscience can drive its owner (host), into frightening states of continual dread, and compulsive self-justifying works and labours.

This little book attempts to inform us regarding the dynamics of guilt and grace, ie. to help a person arrive at that state of heart and mind where it is free from fear and dread of death, and is able to live richly in life. Whilst one cannot actually conquer one's conscience, one can find it to be a friend, an aide, and a defender. I hope this minimal treatment  may bring maximal joy and release.

Geoffrey Bingham,

Coromandel, April 1987