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A review by the_weirdling
The Conscience: Inner Land--A Guide Into the Heart of the Gospel, Volume 2 by Eberhard Arnold
4.0
In this short volume, a reissue of a previously published work, the great Anabaptist theologian Eberhard Arnold offers an in-depth but concise treatment of the conscience, it's role in the greater understanding of the grace of God, and effects of clinging to conscience when rightly understood.
Arnold starts with the theological paradox of the conflict and mutual support of both law and spirit in the role of the Christian's life. He sees conscience as a God-given call to live a more just life as well as a vehicle through which God calls us to repentance. He details the ways in which the conscience is unreliable without a life lived in tandem with God, teaching that only a life lived with and dedicated to Jesus Christ as Lord will purify the conscience and make it reliable. He sees conscience as only being able to find it's true bearings when a person experiences the life of spiritual rebirth.
Arnold then spends some time discussing how modern society has turned it's back on the role of the conscience, denigrating it as out of step with our search of self-fulfillment. He takes task most especially with the Freud and modern psychoanalysis. Some of this section might been seen as dated by readers, but it is worth keeping in mind both that this work is somewhat older and Arnold was not a professional psychologist.
This work will probably be pretty daunting to many readers who haven't ventured much beyond sermons in their reading of formal Christian theology. That said, it is not insurmountable to any who are willing to give it a try. Arnold is not overly abstract or complicated, but he does refer to theological issues which often don't make it into the sermonic life of the local congregations.
Arnold was a paragon of the Christian life well-lived. He was considered a sort of living saint by many in his day. He should be heard on what he has to say, even if the reader may not always agree with him. He does an excellent job of making his writing compatible with most Christian theological traditions. Certainly, any Protestant or Evangelical Christians will find what he was to say illuminating and insightful. In all probability, most Catholic, Orthodox, and Pentecostal Christians will as well.
Arnold starts with the theological paradox of the conflict and mutual support of both law and spirit in the role of the Christian's life. He sees conscience as a God-given call to live a more just life as well as a vehicle through which God calls us to repentance. He details the ways in which the conscience is unreliable without a life lived in tandem with God, teaching that only a life lived with and dedicated to Jesus Christ as Lord will purify the conscience and make it reliable. He sees conscience as only being able to find it's true bearings when a person experiences the life of spiritual rebirth.
Arnold then spends some time discussing how modern society has turned it's back on the role of the conscience, denigrating it as out of step with our search of self-fulfillment. He takes task most especially with the Freud and modern psychoanalysis. Some of this section might been seen as dated by readers, but it is worth keeping in mind both that this work is somewhat older and Arnold was not a professional psychologist.
This work will probably be pretty daunting to many readers who haven't ventured much beyond sermons in their reading of formal Christian theology. That said, it is not insurmountable to any who are willing to give it a try. Arnold is not overly abstract or complicated, but he does refer to theological issues which often don't make it into the sermonic life of the local congregations.
Arnold was a paragon of the Christian life well-lived. He was considered a sort of living saint by many in his day. He should be heard on what he has to say, even if the reader may not always agree with him. He does an excellent job of making his writing compatible with most Christian theological traditions. Certainly, any Protestant or Evangelical Christians will find what he was to say illuminating and insightful. In all probability, most Catholic, Orthodox, and Pentecostal Christians will as well.