Consciousness

I've discussed the conscience earlier (http://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-conscience.html.) However, the conscious is an entirely different entity. It is not a faculty but awareness. The two are not interchangeable. However, the conscience does work in the milieu of the conscious because moral judgments (the conscience) requires awareness. To make this easier reading, as the psychologists do, we shall refer to conscience for moral judgments and consciousness for awareness.

Consciousness is a state of mind which, as mentioned before, is awareness. That implies that there is another state of mind. That is unconsciousness or the lack of awareness. Unconsciousness is when the subject fails to respond to outside stimuli. Of course, when the mind is unconscious there are still involuntary muscle functions and responses to stimuli which means that life still exists. Automatic functioning is of the unconscious mind. Being unconscious is called comatose.

As with most things, there are degrees of consciousness -  from fully conscious to unconscious. Between those extremes lies the sub-conscious where the subject is neither conscious nor comatose. Sub-consciousness is the ability to operate beyond the realm of awareness. It's operating without being focused on the task. The sub-conscious is a layer of the consciousness of which the person is not fully aware. Freudian slips are part of the sub-conscious because people mean things without focusing on the conversation, thus, the "slip".

In Christianity, moral decisions (the conscience) are made in full awareness. For instance, shall I steal or shall I not steal? The consciousness was aware that that the conscience was in a decision-making mode. On the other hand, when people routinely sin, a decision is not made each time. As they become acclimated to a habitat of sin, sinning becomes automatic.

James 1:12 " Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16  Do not err, my beloved brethren."

When a person yields to temptation for a particular kind of sin the first time, it is a conscious decision, done in full awareness (consciousness), and our God-given moral compass is our conscience or value metric. Incidentally, that metric is the Ten Commandments.

The conscious mind makes a judgment call: Is the pleasure worth the chance of damnation. Since Christians don't get damned by a just God for one sin, the penalty for disobedience is a lesser crown, or reward, in heaven. A person opens the door to apostasy when lust is conceived from temptation by a conscious decision, and lust brings forth sin. Since lust is sin, then sin begets sin, and the sinful person lives in awareness that he or she is living in sin.

In other words, sin is compounded as it moves from one instance to many instances, resulting in automatic and routine sinning. The first time or times, sin is of the conscious. However, unconscious sin is not even possible because comatose people are, well, comatose. Routine sin is of the sub-conscious. It's the layer of the conscious where the conscience is out of focus. Conscious evaluation is not done. Sin is done in a layer outside awareness. For instance, a person lusts so often, that it becomes a lifestyle. The thief steals so much that it is no longer stealing, and even the person eats so much automatically that it no longer is recognized as gluttony.

Sub-conscious sinning is being reprobate. It is no longer of the conscience because moral values are not weighed for those who sin sub-consciously. Our very nature is to sin. Hence, children sin without remorse because they are born that way. For sin to be evaluated by the conscience, it must be brought to the level of awareness, or consciousness. That is when God convicts people of their lifestyle.

Reprobateness is routine sinning without evaluation. Thus, the reprobate are those whose lifestyle is sinful and without remorse because they sin sub-consciously. The key word is willing: are people willing to obey or do they just sin without even willing. The flesh operates mostly in the sub-conscious layer, and the spirit in the conscious.

 Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Watch and pray -  be conscious and ask for assistance.

That you don't enter into temptation - make a judgment call to stay away from danger which requires conscious thought. This is being conscientious.

The spirit is willing - it is aware and knows because the conscience convicts using God's moral code.

The flesh is weak - the person's consciousness hands sin over to the sub-conscious where Satan wants it to operate in automatic mode. That's where people do what they want to do without evaluating God's will. That is a dangerous place to be!

Willing is in the consciousness because willingness is the decision to do God's will. To be willing we must stay aware - or be sober which is to operate with consciousness.

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour..."

I'm fully convinced that since drugs and alcohol removes inhibitions, they take the conscience out of consciousness, and this allows the flesh to do what it will in the sub-conscious. Being sober is being aware, always in consciousness. Vigilance is having a keen eye on the barbs of Satan. That is being on the watch for his deception. Satan's way is to avoid the conscience which is in the level of the conscious, and put behavior in the sub-conscious -  sin as a lifestyle and without aforethought.