While I believe that divine Providence ensured that at some point in the
evolutionary process creatures with moral consciences would emerge, I think
it is also true that the conscience is formed by the culture in which one
lives, and in particular by authority figures (parents, religious
authorities, etc.). St. Thomas noted this when in one of his writings on
the conscience (I'm not certain where), he stated that if going to
prostitutes was a good in some culture and conscience told a man that this
was a good, then to refuse to go to prostitutes would be a violation of
conscience. We all learn about things people do in foreign cultures that we
personally might find distasteful or repellent but are perfectly acceptable
in those cultures. So, the issue, it seems to me, is not of conscience, but
who forms it.
Bob Schneider
----- Original Message -----
From: <MikeSatterlee@cs.com>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 2:16 PM
Subject: Re: Adam and Eve
> Since Dick's post is on the list, I'll respond to a couple of things.
>
> In response to my pointing out that Paul's words in Romans 2: 14,15 are
> understood by most Christians and explained in most Bible commentaries to
> mean that God has given moral consciences to all people, Dick wrote: "We
all
> sin and come short of the glory of God, both the redeemed and the
> unredeemed." And "Jer. 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and
> desperately wicked: who can know it?"
>
> The fact that we all sin and have hearts inclined towards unrighteousness
> does not show that we do not all have God given moral consciences. Any
boat
> will quite naturally drift in the direction the wind is blowing or that
the
> water's current is moving. Knowing this, boat makers always give their
boats
> rudders to help keep them moving in the right direction. God created us as
> free people, and with a necessary instinct for self preservation. Having
done
> so, He knew that our selfish interests would often make the prospect of
> harming others for our own gain a very attractive prospect. In this way,
God
> created us all as "sinful" people with "wicked" hearts. Fortunately, like
the
> boat maker who always adds rudders to his boats to help keep them moving
in
> the right direction, I believe Paul's words clearly indicate that God
gives
> moral consciences to all people to help keep all of us "in line."
>
> Dick wrote: if all mankind from let's say 1 million years ago had this
> spirit, it would seem pointless to wait until only 6,000 years ago to give
> them any means of redemption.
>
> I responded: No more pointless than to give all people from the time of
Adam
> "a spirit
> capable of redemption or condemnation," [while informing very few of them
> since then of His means of redemption.]
>
> Dick responded: Of course it is more pointless, it is a much, much longer
> period of time.
>
> Time is not what would be the determining factor here. The number of
people
> who have not been informed of God's provision for their salvation is what
> would be. Since the time God created the human race until the time He
created
> Adam, I doubt there were any more people who lived on this earth who were
not
> informed of His means for their salvation than there have been since the
time
> He created Adam.
>
> You wrote: I don't know when "God began giving all people souls." It
isn't
> spelled out in Scripture.
>
> As you know, I think it is. At the time He first created preadamic man in
His
> image. (Gen. 1:26,27) If you do not at least say that God began giving all
> people souls from the time of Adam (though as you point out, according to
> your apologetic method, the Bible does not say when He did) you leave open
> the possibility that some people even now may not have souls. Certainly
you
> realize this is a problem for your method of explaining the scriptures.
>
> You asked: So what would be your assumption for men with souls who lived
for
> a hundred thousand years before Adam, thumb up or thumb down?
>
> The same as my assumption for all the billions of men who have never heard
of
> God's means for our salvation who have lived in the thousands of years
since
> Adam, Christ will judge them based upon their works and their hearts.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
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