Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 38
formation of the divine image within us, so far at least is certain, that, by
information external to ourselves, as time goes on, it admits of being
strengthened and improved. It is certain too, that, whether it grows brighter
and stronger, or, on the other hand, is dimmed, distorted, or obliterated,
depends on each of us individually, and on his circumstances. It is more that,
in the event, from neglect, from the temptations of life, from bad
companions, or from the urgency of secular occupations, the light of the soul
will fade away and die out. (105)
How does this conscience develop and grow? Newman speaks of the divine image being
strengthened and developed by ―information external to ourselves.‖ In John Henry‘s mind,
this world of ―nature and of man‖ is a mirror that enables the child to attain these first
truths of conscience. In his own case, certain ―information external‖ to himself will shed
light on his future decisions in conscience as they evolved. Hence, the individual
circumstances surrounding the life of Newman and every child become part of either a
brightening and strengthening, or a distortion and death. Nonetheless, God and our duty
are both intertwined in a manner ―singularly congenial to the mind,‖ due to the fact that the
growing infant initially goes beyond the mere shapes and aspects of goodness. The child
knows things, persons and actions, but naturally has a conscience with a sense of the divine
(103-05).
As he looked back at this life and noticed surprise after surprise, these truths had held firm.
So, for Newman, no event in a life is indifferent or purposeless. Indeed, unforeseen and
unusual circumstances can force untold influence on the development of each life and
conscience. His autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, would never have been born without
Kingsley‘s attack on his sincerity the ‖Letter to the Duke of Norfolk‖ without Gladstone‘s
critique of Catholic freedom An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine without his
exile from the Anglican Church. The world of ―nature and man‖ is the scaffolding on which
each person walks his path. These ideas are clearly expressed in the whole thrust of the
Apologia. Newman's secretum meum mihi—‗my personal secret‘—made him ―rest in the
thought of two and two only absolute and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my
Creator‖ (Apologia Pro Vita Sua 16). The meaning he gave to his life came from the central
truth of his teaching on conscience as knowing God as a self-evident Being from childhood.
To illustrate this philosophy of conscience, natural, personal and dependent on influences
external to itself, let us now contrast the teenagers Newman and Unamuno as they
understood and lived supremacy of conscience over religious authorities.
Adolescence brought Newman and Unamuno to the experience of a religious crisis. What will
be interesting in our analysis of this phenomenon will be to see how their concepts of
conscience reacted to a personal experience of religion in a revered adult. The key task will
be to see how Newman's and Unamuno's changes in thought were not purely subjective as
an emotional phenomenon, empty of all objective reality, but rather a reference to a definite
thought system, a questioning of authority, and a personal responsibility towards one‘s
future.
This question should set the stage to answer a deeper concern about conscience vis-à-vis
authority. If the authority of conscience is supreme as present from the beginning of human
conscience, as stated in Newman's philosophy of conscience, and lived in both his and
Unamuno's lives, can we consider this ethical philosophy as a foundation stone to avoid the
trap of mind manipulation and cult control for youth?
Immediately, we notice their first religious crisis as teenagers to be those of typical
adolescents with limited maturity and boundless idealism. Both youths combined religious
fervor and intellectual independence. Nevertheless, Newman himself attributed life-long
importance to this moment of religious conversion. After he became a Cardinal, he confided
formation of the divine image within us, so far at least is certain, that, by
information external to ourselves, as time goes on, it admits of being
strengthened and improved. It is certain too, that, whether it grows brighter
and stronger, or, on the other hand, is dimmed, distorted, or obliterated,
depends on each of us individually, and on his circumstances. It is more that,
in the event, from neglect, from the temptations of life, from bad
companions, or from the urgency of secular occupations, the light of the soul
will fade away and die out. (105)
How does this conscience develop and grow? Newman speaks of the divine image being
strengthened and developed by ―information external to ourselves.‖ In John Henry‘s mind,
this world of ―nature and of man‖ is a mirror that enables the child to attain these first
truths of conscience. In his own case, certain ―information external‖ to himself will shed
light on his future decisions in conscience as they evolved. Hence, the individual
circumstances surrounding the life of Newman and every child become part of either a
brightening and strengthening, or a distortion and death. Nonetheless, God and our duty
are both intertwined in a manner ―singularly congenial to the mind,‖ due to the fact that the
growing infant initially goes beyond the mere shapes and aspects of goodness. The child
knows things, persons and actions, but naturally has a conscience with a sense of the divine
(103-05).
As he looked back at this life and noticed surprise after surprise, these truths had held firm.
So, for Newman, no event in a life is indifferent or purposeless. Indeed, unforeseen and
unusual circumstances can force untold influence on the development of each life and
conscience. His autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, would never have been born without
Kingsley‘s attack on his sincerity the ‖Letter to the Duke of Norfolk‖ without Gladstone‘s
critique of Catholic freedom An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine without his
exile from the Anglican Church. The world of ―nature and man‖ is the scaffolding on which
each person walks his path. These ideas are clearly expressed in the whole thrust of the
Apologia. Newman's secretum meum mihi—‗my personal secret‘—made him ―rest in the
thought of two and two only absolute and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my
Creator‖ (Apologia Pro Vita Sua 16). The meaning he gave to his life came from the central
truth of his teaching on conscience as knowing God as a self-evident Being from childhood.
To illustrate this philosophy of conscience, natural, personal and dependent on influences
external to itself, let us now contrast the teenagers Newman and Unamuno as they
understood and lived supremacy of conscience over religious authorities.
Adolescence brought Newman and Unamuno to the experience of a religious crisis. What will
be interesting in our analysis of this phenomenon will be to see how their concepts of
conscience reacted to a personal experience of religion in a revered adult. The key task will
be to see how Newman's and Unamuno's changes in thought were not purely subjective as
an emotional phenomenon, empty of all objective reality, but rather a reference to a definite
thought system, a questioning of authority, and a personal responsibility towards one‘s
future.
This question should set the stage to answer a deeper concern about conscience vis-à-vis
authority. If the authority of conscience is supreme as present from the beginning of human
conscience, as stated in Newman's philosophy of conscience, and lived in both his and
Unamuno's lives, can we consider this ethical philosophy as a foundation stone to avoid the
trap of mind manipulation and cult control for youth?
Immediately, we notice their first religious crisis as teenagers to be those of typical
adolescents with limited maturity and boundless idealism. Both youths combined religious
fervor and intellectual independence. Nevertheless, Newman himself attributed life-long
importance to this moment of religious conversion. After he became a Cardinal, he confided
