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The Vanishing Conscience

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As a child, adolescent, young man, and, yes, even as an adult, there stood ever before me one whose teachings and opinions guided my life. Although short in physical stature and of limited formal education, this man was and always will remain a giant in my eyes. In fact, my admiration and respect for him and that for which he stood grows greater with each passing day. That man was my Dad.

In his book, The Vanishing Conscience, John MacArthur, Jr. reiterates those teachings which I have both loved and hated throughout the majority of my life. My Dad, from my earliest recollection, taught my brother and I that regardless of what those around us might say or do, we were always, always to do that which we knew to be the right thing to do. We were instructed that we were, as individuals, personally responsible for that which we spoke, did, even thought and felt. There was made no mention of self-esteem, of political correctness, of compromise, of shades of gray; the moral rainbow consisted solely of two colors: white and black (right and wrong). That truth exists today as it has always existed, despite mankind's attempts to philosophize it into oblivion.

In this, the latter portion of the twentieth century, it has become fashionable to preach the gospel of self-esteem while eschewing the principle of personal responsibility. Psychology and Science appear to be able to place the blame for any deviant, aberrant, bizarre and/or socially unacceptable behavior on virtually anything or anyone excepting, and thereby pardoning, the individual who commits the breach of what was once considered reasonable behavior. Nothing and no one is safe from the finger of reproach with the single exception of the perpetrator. Perhaps the individual in question was abused as a child, was reared in poverty, deprived of love, and so on and so forth, ad infinitum. Blame, guilt, and retribution have given way to pity, leniency, and forgiveness.

Where there were once credible norms, there now flutters in the societal winds an increasing tendency toward latitude and acceptance, regardless of the malignity of the act and the resulting impact on society as a whole. It seems that no behavior is to be demonstrated that is worthy of personal blame or public condemnation. The perpetrator of a crime has now become the victim while, alas, the true victim receives but cursory and transient empathy with no attendant justice nor equitable recompense.

Has this policy of moral liberality proven of benefit to society? One has but to peruse the daily newspapers to be made painfully aware that this standard of personal blamelessness has, to the contrary, proven empirically to be an abject and abysmal failure. Personal bankruptcies rise each year in a society where per capita income and personal standards of living have also risen. Murders, rapes, tortures, muggings, arsons, drug usage have increased at an alarming rate during this same period of improved self-esteem and public acceptance, liberality, and forgiveness.

In The Vanishing Conscience, MacArthur addresses, from a biblical perspective, the issues of self-esteem, personal guilt, and individual responsibility. How does modern psychology's obsession with personal forgiveness, high self-esteem, and the love of self stand in the light of Holy Scripture? What became of the little word sin with all of its grave implications, ramifications, and negative connotations? In an age of self-absolution, it would appear that Jesus Christ suffered and died in vain, for, if we are to believe the modern self-proclaimed and self-ordained prophets of the "feel good" philosophy, we are to forgive, each his or her own, transgressions and iniquities by blaming our environment, our genetic predisposition, our parents, our teachers, our political leaders, our role models, anything or anyone but our individual selves.

The Vanishing Conscience is an extraordinarily germane work in that MacArthur not only elucidates the church's adoption and endorsement of this secular abomination as well as the inherent dangers of this heretical philosophy, but does so in such a manner that the reader is made knowledgeable of that which a just God demands of His children. Of far greater importance than self-esteem is our relationship to a God who will hold you and I accountable for each act, thought, word, and deed.

On that Great and Terrible Day, conscience may be either a dear friend or a damning foe, but it will not claim neutrality. Self-esteem, that placebo of modern psychology, will not be a factor.

John MacArthur's 'The Vanishing Conscience' is a pivotal work exposing the insidious sham of modern psychology's band-aid approach to the metastasizing cancer of sin. It belongs on the top shelf of every discerning Christian's library, alongside Dave Hunt's 'The Seduction of Christianity.'

I believe one of the authors concerns in writing this book was to asess how the Church and individual Christians both view and deal with sin,and then to look at how the maintenance of a good conscience can help the Church of Christ have a greater influence in the world. The author sees one of the Church's weaknesses (not being a lack of effort and involvement in our society)but that the Church often becomes more influenced by the world's values than the reverse. The Church must not get sidetracked into thinking its purpose is to reform society. The Church should be salt and light but its purpose and commission Pastor MacArthur points out in the intoduction is to proclaim the gospel, God's message of salvation to save those who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. How our society deals with guilt and the Biblical remedy are quite different. If we are thinking Biblically guilt exists because of sin. Our society wants to rid people of guilt but not by dealing with sin God's way,that is repentance. Our culture's way is to remove personal responsibility and accountability by promulgating a victim mentality. Another way our society deals with guilt P.23 "is by classifying every human failing as some kind of disease."This seeks to remove guilt (by getting rid of personal responsibility)by making sin to be sickness. Pastor MacArthur has so much insight as to what ails our society and how that can be remedied.
In Chapters 2 and 3,what the conscience is and how it functions is an invaluable part of the book. A weak and seared and healthy(or strong)conscience are very clearly distinguished. Chapters 5 through 10 are concerned with various aspects of sanctification(The believer being set apart for God and how to Biblically deal with sin).Some of the specific areas which are addressed are:Temptation(Chap.8), Mortification of sin(Chap.7) and keeping the mind pure(Chap.9). There is an abundance of practical help to enable Christians(by God's grace) to live a more godly life.
John MacArthur gives the best definition of the conscience that I have seen on p.37"The conscience entreats us to do what we believe is right and restrains us from doing what we believe is wrong...It is a human faculty that judges our actions and thoughts by the light of the highest standard we perceive."
The conscience is an important gift that God has given to man. The reality is that the conscience in the thinking of modern man is given very little thought or relevance.To better understand what it is and how it works is of great significance to individual believers,the Church and society at large. Having said that, there are relatively few books in our day that deal with the conscience specifically(or the devastating effects of its diminished influence,as this book does) and this elevates the importance of Pastor John MarArthur's valuable contribution on this subject.

John MacArthur pinpoints a terrifying tendency of American society. Today, no one is guilty. Everyone is a victim of his environment, his upbringing or his DNA. Thus, no matter what you do, there is always someone else to blame. The author demonstrates the insidious nature of this problem both for society and for the spiritual welfare of individuals. If there is no guilt, there is no need for repentance. Without repentance and faith, there is no salvation.

MacArthur gives many examples of the victim mentality. Some would be humorous if the subject were not so serious. He also thoroughly debunks the victim syndrome and shows that a sense of guilt over sin is healthy and helpful. It's like the oil light that comes on. The light isn't the problem. It's a signal that you better stop the car and fix the engine. A sense of guilt serves the same purpose as the oil light.

John Macarthur makes a very good case against the horrible turn western society has taken in the last century towards heathenism. This problem is not a laughing matter, and John obviously agrees. He takes a serious stance against sin. He shows a powerful comparison between the spiral of moralty shown in Romans 1 and the spiral of morality the United States has been rapidly taking.
He doesn't just point to the world, but he also looks at the church, who is supposed to bring light into a dark work, and exposes the many dangerous doctrines floating around concerning sin. (i.e. we should get over our guilty feelings rather than repenting of sin)
This is a good book that really exposes a bad problem. Whatever your denominational preference, this book is for you - as long as you don't have a problem with sin being called by its true name!

John MacArthur does a remarkable job of closely examining the cancer of the U.S. society losing its ability to recognize sin and to differentiate right from wrong. He examines that sin has been relagated to a problem of having too much guilt, being a victim, an attack to one's self-esteem, etc., rather than something that one is accountable to. The author also examines that due to this lack of ability of society to properly recognize sin and be accountable and responsible for one's actions, society's conscience has been weakened to the point that there is no absolute right or absolute wrong, only moral relativism. As a result, there is rampant crime, business misconduct and scandals (Enron, Arthur Anderson, MCI-WorldCom, etc.), teenage pregnancy, rising rates of STD's and premarital sexual activities among teenagers, etc. After examining this cancer in society and its rammifications from a Biblical point of view, Mr. MacArthur offers very insightful solutions to this problem by addressing the nature of sin, how to handle sin, and the redemptive power of being freed and saved from the bondage of sin by the Power of God, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. I highly recommend this book to anyone (Christian or non Christian) who is concerned about the breakdown of moral standards and the chaos in our society. This book is a must read for any Christian, regardless of denomination, who is genuinely concerned about America's declining moral standards and the chaos that has been caused by it.

This is a challenging book about how so many people - including Christians - have become desensitized to sin. The "vanishing conscience" is a part of our entire culture. We make excuses for sin. We rationalize sin. Sadly, we even overlook some sin and don't even realize it is there. This book really hit home with me - because it has shocked me in the last few years how "open" sin has become even among Christian people.

Besides "theory", the book is also very practical with ideas on how to overcome sin in our lives and live a consistently holy life. There is danger in thinking we have reached a high plane in the Christian life, and won't sin. Be suspicious of your own spirituality! Maturing Christians should never become smug or satisfied with their progress. (It is precisely then that we will likely fall!) It is the paradox of true holiness: the more we put away sin, the more we notice sinful tendencies that still need to be put away. The holier we become, the more frustrated we are by the stubborn remnants of sin that still remain in our life.

MacArthur is Calvinistic, and unfortunately in one part of the book he makes some extreme Calvinistic statements which I simply can not agree with... Other than this, I recommend this book.

I am 65 and have read many books. the vanishing conscience is one of the top five in my list. the world tends to harden hearts and this book has softened mine.

Just to inform: Kindle Edition contains indeed three books from same author: "The Vanishing Conscience", "The Gospel According to the Apostles" and "Twelve Ordinary Men".
There's no clue about this in the table of contents, I started to wonder why progress was so low (20%) even close to 8th (from 10) chapter, so I went to last appendix and just realized that there was another book after. And a third one....
I'm not sure if is it a mistake, but it's a true bargain.
Oh, well, I'm appreciating the books by the way.

This book is not on the level of MacArthur's other books. He starts to repeat
himself near the end of the first chapter.
The rest of the book gives basic information--not much new after chapter one.
I don't recommend buying this book.