WJEC Eduqas
WJEC Eduqas

Religious Studies

Ping pong - Conscience

Sort the cards into argument and counter argument.

“The only authority we should follow is our own conscience.”

Discuss this statement showing that you have considered more than one point of view. You must refer to religion and belief in your answer.

Argument

Counter argument

  • 'Because conscience tells us right from wrong and helps us lead good, moral lives.'
  • 'For religious people, that's not totally convincing though because God made us 'in His image' (Imago Dei) and, unlike the other animals, gave us a conscience, but He also gave us free will to use that conscience well and some people just don't or can't. Catholics believe that, through prayer, God guides our conscience.'
  • 'These are fair points and Catholic Christians would say that we should also use Bible and church teachings to inform our conscience. In fact St. Paul also said we should 'obey the authorities', so civil laws and the authority of the state are also important sources of authority.'
  • 'These points are reasonable but arguable. Like most Christians I think that a conscience that has been informed by prayer, Bible and church teachings can usually be relied on to make the best moral decisions, even if that sometimes means breaking civil law.'
  • 'What makes you say that, then?'
  • 'That's a weak argument though because lots of people don't follow their conscience and make immoral decisions. In fact, some people, like murderers, paedophiles and rapists, don't really seem to have a conscience, and some people are too young or are mentally ill and, therefore can't use their conscience properly.'
  • 'Those arguments are not totally valid though because many people do not believe in God and don't think conscience is God-given. Atheists and humanists would argue that using just conscience can be dangerous because people disagree e.g. some people's conscience tells them that all war is wrong, whilst others' conscience causes them to commit terror attacks! Society wouldn't be safe if we just relied on conscience.
  • 'These views are flawed though in that sometimes the authority of conscience and the authority of the state conflict with each other. Examples include conscientious objection (Muhammed Ali refused to fight in vietnam), abortion laws, divorce laws etc. Jesus said 'give to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's' but sometimes you can't please both, you have to 'pick a side': conscience or civil law.'

Highlight the statements that show evaluation/ reaching judgements - AO2

“The only authority we should follow is our own conscience.”

Discuss this statement showing that you have considered more than one point of view. You must refer to religion and belief in your answer.

Argument

Counter argument

  • 'Because conscience tells us right from wrong and helps us lead good, moral lives.'
  • 'For religious people, that's not totally convincing though because God made us 'in His image' (Imago Dei) and, unlike the other animals, gave us a conscience, but He also gave us free will to use that conscience well and some people just don't or can't. Catholics believe that, through prayer, God guides our conscience.'
  • 'These are fair points and Catholic Christians would say that we should also use Bible and church teachings to inform our conscience. In fact St. Paul also said we should 'obey the authorities', so civil laws and the authority of the state are also important sources of authority.'
  • 'These points are reasonable but arguable. Like most Christians I think that a conscience that has been informed by prayer, Bible and church teachings can usually be relied on to make the best moral decisions, even if that sometimes means breaking civil law.'
  • 'What makes you say that, then?'
  • 'That's a weak argument though because lots of people don't follow their conscience and make immoral decisions. In fact, some people, like murderers, paedophiles and rapists, don't really seem to have a conscience, and some people are too young or are mentally ill and, therefore can't use their conscience properly.'
  • 'Those arguments are not totally valid though because many people do not believe in God and don't think conscience is God-given. Atheists and humanists would argue that using just conscience can be dangerous because people disagree e.g. some people's conscience tells them that all war is wrong, whilst others' conscience causes them to commit terror attacks! Society wouldn't be safe if we just relied on conscience.
  • 'These views are flawed though in that sometimes the authority of conscience and the authority of the state conflict with each other. Examples include conscientious objection (Muhammed Ali refused to fight in vietnam), abortion laws, divorce laws etc. Jesus said 'give to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's' but sometimes you can't please both, you have to 'pick a side': conscience or civil law.'

Argument

Counter argument

  • 'Because conscience tells us right from wrong and helps us lead good, moral lives.'
  • 'For religious people, that's not totally convincing though because God made us 'in His image' (Imago Dei) and, unlike the other animals, gave us a conscience, but He also gave us free will to use that conscience well and some people just don't or can't. Catholics believe that, through prayer, God guides our conscience.'
  • 'These are fair points and Catholic Christians would say that we should also use Bible and church teachings to inform our conscience. In fact St. Paul also said we should 'obey the authorities', so civil laws and the authority of the state are also important sources of authority.'
  • 'These points are reasonable but arguable. Like most Christians I think that a conscience that has been informed by prayer, Bible and church teachings can usually be relied on to make the best moral decisions, even if that sometimes means breaking civil law.'
  • 'What makes you say that, then?'
  • 'That's a weak argument though because lots of people don't follow their conscience and make immoral decisions. In fact, some people, like murderers, paedophiles and rapists, don't really seem to have a conscience, and some people are too young or are mentally ill and, therefore can't use their conscience properly.'
  • 'Those arguments are not totally valid though because many people do not believe in God and don't think conscience is God-given. Atheists and humanists would argue that using just conscience can be dangerous because people disagree e.g. some people's conscience tells them that all war is wrong, whilst others' conscience causes them to commit terror attacks! Society wouldn't be safe if we just relied on conscience.
  • 'These views are flawed though in that sometimes the authority of conscience and the authority of the state conflict with each other. Examples include conscientious objection (Muhammed Ali refused to fight in vietnam), abortion laws, divorce laws etc. Jesus said 'give to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's' but sometimes you can't please both, you have to 'pick a side': conscience or civil law.'