Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
First Page - Now launched! All the stories are true, or based on real events. Unlimited reading for $4.99 / month. No downloads. Read on your phone, tablet or computer.
La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.
First Page - ¡Ya está en marcha! Todas las historias son verídicas, o están basadas en hechos reales. Lectura ilimitada por $4.99 / mes. No hay que descargar nada. Lea en su teléfono, tableta u ordenador.
Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.
Manna Minutes en español:
Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.
Manna Minutes Podcast auf Deutsch:
Augenöffnendes Bibelstudium in weniger als fünf Minuten! Alle Episoden finden Sie hier.
Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?
The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!
View Content By Specific Category
¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
Are Some People Born Without A Conscience? What Does The Christian Bible Say?
The average person understands the conscience to be the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. In other words, it's having a sense of morals. According to criminal psychopathology, it's possible some people are born without a conscience. Therefore, we should not hold them responsible for their deeds, no matter how heinous they might be. In other words, the only thing we should do is prescribe or administer drugs to them, or admit them to an insane asylum. But--according to many psychologists--it's not okay to incarcerate, execute, or punish them, because they're not really culpable.
Born Without A Conscience: The Biblical Point Of View
It would appear that the Christian Bible is in agreement with the notion that some people are born without a conscience. We read: "The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." (Psalm 58:3).
Let's look at the above passage. Although we agree with the Moody Bible Commentary that the passage is "the lamentation of someone angry over the injustice in the world", there's more to it than that. Every passage of the Bible offers us God's truth (2 Timothy 3:16). That said, let's look at the truth in this Psalm 58:3 passage, because it's crucial in learning how the Bible answers the question of whether some people are born without a conscience, that is, without the capability of having a sense of guilt.
The author of the Psalm 58:3 passage says the wicked are estranged from the womb, and that liars go astray as soon as they're born. We know that a fetus and a newborn are innocent in God's eyes, whatever their thoughts might be. What the author is trying to get across is that some people become corrupt at an extremely young age. Some children are liars. And no matter how much parents or guardians follow the passage of Proverbs 13:24, which tells them to correct their little children through punishment, some children will continue to be corrupt. Does that mean some people are born without a conscience? Absolutely not.
Let's take a closer look at Psalm 58:3, and read a little more there. "Estranged from the womb", and "go astray as soon as they be born" do NOT equate to saying those people were born without a conscience. On the contrary, verses four and five of the passage let us know they chose to be the way they are, because they're compared to an adder. We read, "They are like the deaf adder that STOPPETH her ear." (Psalm 58:4-5). And we read, "Their poison is like the poison of a serpent. They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." (Psalm 58:4-5).
Stopping up our ears is a voluntary and free will act. "Stoppeth her ear" refers to the fact that they made themselves deaf. They made themselves deaf to "the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." (Psalm 58:4-5). And for what reason do we stop up our ears? Answer: Because we don't like what we're hearing. We stop up our ears, so we don't have to hear any more of what we don't like. When it's our conscience, we stop up our ears to prevent it from bothering us. If we didn't have a conscience, there would be no need to try to quiet its voice. The fact that those people stopped up their ears tells us they were born WITH a conscience.
"The voice of charmers" refers to those who try to control and manipulate for good. Think about it. A snake charmer controls and manipulates a snake whose venom could prove fatal. Likewise, a counselor, symbolized by "the voice of charmers", tries to control the evil, that is, the "venom" inside a person of any age. However, if the serpent will not hear the charmer's music, he will not be controlled. Likewise, a person of any age stops up his ears when he doesn't want to hear the "music" of his conscience.
There's no doubt that in Psalm 58:3-5 the serpent and the snake charmer symbolize people. We know this, because a serpent acts on instinct. Therefore, he cannot go astray. Unlike the conscience, acting on instinct is not sin nor is it free will.
Notice also that the passage of Psalm 58:3-5 speaks of those people stopping up their ears even to charmers "charming never so wisely." "Never so wisely" means ever so skillfully. In other words, those people refuse to listen to the best counselors in the world. They will not even listen to the one with the greatest of skill, and who knows how to counsel, warn, teach, encourage and correct.
This is part of the undeniable proof that EVERYONE is born WITH a conscience, and with free will, which allows anyone to ignore his conscience. The Bible teaches us that our conscience is the voice of God that accuses or excuses us. We read: "...The word of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." (Romans 2:15).
People who refuse to allow their conscience to continue to disturb them stop up their ears to quiet the voice that accuses. It's not that they were born without a conscience. They just persist in their ways. In their wickedness until they end up with a seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), having rejected truth and correction. It's one thing to have a seared conscience; it's another to have been born without one.
More Proof That We Are Indeed Born With A Conscience
Let's go to two other passages that refute the theory that some people were born without a conscience. They are St. John 16:8 and Jude 14 and 15. We read: "And when he is come, he will reprove the WORLD of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (St. John 16:8). Notice He says He will reprove the WORLD of sin. He doesn't say he will reprove those who have a conscience. He says he will reprove the world of sin. The world means everybody. "Reprove" has the meaning of "convince", as in convince them of their sin. We know it means "convince", because the passage also says the Lord will reprove the world of righteousness and judgment. Reprove cannot mean "rebuke" here, as the Lord does not rebuke anyone for being righteous. He convinces, or convicts them of sin. He convinces people of righteousness when they follow His Word. And he convinces them that judgment is coming. This is even reflected in the vast majority of movies. The evil forces are destroyed in the end. And why did Hitler and many of the SS plan for an escape if they believed they would truly go unpunished? When you are convinced of sin, you are convicted. This proves that no one in the world was born without a conscience, unless he was born without the ability to think and reason...a vegetable. If you don't think, it's impossible to convict you of anything. But the Bible tells us the Lord convicts the world of sin. This means that at least at one point every person who has ever lived has been convicted of his sin. We reiterate. It would be impossible to convict of sin if you didn't have a conscience.
So-called pathological criminals prove they were born WITH a conscience, because they have the ability to think, plan, reason, and even plot. They know how to fake being good people. They know how to escape the police, and even how to deceive members of a jury. St. John 16:8 also says that everyone (the world) who does evil will be judged by the eternal Judge, if they don't repent.
Jude 14 and 15 say, "...Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon ALL, and to convince ALL that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed...
The above passage applies to the entire world. There's no special message there to people who supposedly were born without a conscience, because there are no such people. Again, notice that the passage says, "...and to convince ALL that are ungodly." You must have a conscience for the Lord to convince (convict) you. So, if you think, you were born WITH a conscience, even though it might be seared, because you stopped up your ears to truth and correction. Man's justice systems might declare the pathological criminal innocent, because he was born "without a conscience." The Lord's law, however, does NOT label him innocent. God's Word says he was indeed born with a conscience, and that he will be judged by the eternal Judge who has the last word.
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
Copyright notice: This website and its content is copyright of © Heavenly Manna (HeavenlyManna.net) 2002-2016.
Comments/Comentarios:
My daughter often quotes a man by the name of Cloud Townsend and says there are some born with no conscience. She says the bible proves that also. I disagree with her but she believes this man and doesn't listen. She puts labels on everyone. Thank for your sharing these truths and confirming what I believe to be truth.
by: Claudette Cramp
Posted on 2022-08-20 15:03:10
Dear Ms. Cramp:
Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know the article was helpful. Please note that soon we will be releasing a podcast (Manna Minutes), to deal with many topics and questions based on the Bible. Visitors will be able to freely download all episodes. They are all under five minutes to accommodate the busy lifestyle.
by: Heavenly Manna
Posted on 2022-08-22 22:00:23
Send Comments or a Private Message about One of Our Services / Envíe Comentarios o un Mensaje Privado acerca de nuestros servicios
Once comments reach 10, they close. IF YOU USE PROFANITY, WE WILL REJECT YOUR COMMENT AUTOMATICALLY.
We're a small team, please be patient as we review comments.
©2003 - 2013 Heavenly Manna Ministries
Images: courtesy of Free Digital Photos, openstockphotography.org, FreeFoto.com, Wikimedia Commons. Multiple crosses image - Wikimedia Commons - C.G.P Grey - Animation by Heavenly Manna