new church life: jan uary/february 2015
7. “The Formation of Conscience.”
A seventh way of viewing New Church education regards the intrinsic
motivation of each child. Yes parents, teachers and others provide useful
boundaries for children as they grow. “No, you are not allowed to walk home
after dark by yourself.” “You need to say sorry for what you just said.” “It would
be really great if you took better care of your things.” But isn’t the goal not to
have to say these kinds of things as often? We rejoice when children choose to
do the right things without being asked or corrected.
The word that the Word uses for this process is conscience. Conscience
is that “still small voice” in our minds where the Lord speaks to us, letting us
know what is good and what is bad. (See 1 Kings 19:12) It is formed “from
knowledges of goodness and truth which children have taken in from parents
and teachers and later on from their own devotion to doctrine and the Word.”
(Arcana Coelestia 2831)
Since “conscience is formed from things revealed in the Word” (Ibid. 371),
it is important that information from the Word is shared with children as they
grow. Distinguishing good from evil, and coaching in what works and doesn’t,
gives the Lord the tools to form that voice of conscience within a person.
But conscience is also strengthened by the use of it, and weakened
by the ignoring of it. We learn that people who act in accordance with
conscience,experience “the quiet of peace and internal blessedness,” whereas
those who act against conscience “experience disturbance and pain.” (Heavenly
Doctrine 133) A wise parent or teacher might say to a child, “If you feel
bad about it, it’s probably a good thing”; or “The best way to avoid a guilty
conscience is to be honest”; or “Notice how good it feels to do something that
really helps someone else.”
Another beautiful teaching says that “those who possess conscience speak
from the heart what they speak, and do from the heart what they do.” (Heavenly
Doctrine 131) It’s not someone else making them behave; it d oesn’t even have
to do so much with correction; it’s about helping people to experience the joy
of doing things that work.
8. “Fostering Innocence.”
A final way we could define the use of New Church education is as an effort
to foster innocence. Innocence is a fascinating word. To most of us, it calls
to mind childhood purity and naïveté. It invites us to
think about sheltering children from what is harmful
or disorderly about society.
While it is certainly true that parents, teachers
and others may choose to steer their children away
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