A Split Conscience Can Lead Easily to a
God-Disconnected Branded Conscience
Saint Paul warns Timothy against heretics:
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from
the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic
instructions through the hypocrisy of liars with branded consciences.
— 1 Timothy 4:1-2
The New American Bible 1986
A “Go Along to Get Along” Paradigm
If one consistently and knowingly disintegrates words and actions by splitting them apart, consciences can become ones that are branded in place and disconnected from God.
For example, a “go along to get along” love without life as primordial paradigm is one that supports a political candidate with a vote that aids and abets abortion, infanticide, and sexual abuse of children even though Catholics and Christians know that these acts are grave sins. To create this split that “allows” a human mind to be a “practicing believer”, the promptings of The Holy Spirit — the earthly partner that Jesus sent to us as a life-navigating aid in successfully seeking Heaven — must be ignored.
Branded/Seared Consciences
“Now the Spirit manifestly saith that in the last times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils.
Speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared.”
— 1 Timothy 4:1-2
The Douay Bible 1941
The words branded and seared paint the mental picture of fixed, finished, final, no new thinking or seeking more information required. It is what it is — just like a branded product. How does this directly relate to voting and the political processes?
Once a conscience is branded/seared through the continuous adoption solely of the “…spirits of error and doctrines of devils”, the person has successfully foreclosed the promptings of The Holy Spirit and becomes an automatic follower of these spirits of error and doctrines of devils leading to deeper sin as time goes on; and, eventually to the destruction of souls, foreclosing salvation.
When a person who claims to be a devout/dedicated/practicing Catholic or Christian but insists on life practices that the Catholic and Christian faiths openly condemn as grave sins, the person has successfully developed a branded/seared conscience and has become an active hypocrite.
As Saint Paul makes clear in his First Epistle to Timothy — the bishop of Ephesus — good morals must prevail and false asceticism must be condemned. It is also clear that speaking lies in hypocrisy which cause branded/seared consciences must be recognized for what they are — lies — identified as false, and condemned.
Of the First Order, Life is Primordial
—Anthony R. Souza, M.T.S.
Master of Theological Studies, Pontifical Lateran University in Rome
Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family,
Catholic University of America
Copyright © 2020-2021 Anthony R. Souza. All rights reserved.