before I was a Christian I washed many stupid decisions through my "conscience".
Got ya beat, I've made stupid ones after my conversion.
But I don't think it is my conscience that's at fault, more a lack of properly formed conscience. Conscience isn't an on/off, either/or thing. It is more like a seed (or sometimes like a pebble in our shoe). But, if we are following Satan's voice, it's definitely not our conscience, more likely it is pride.
I was taught that the key to proper formation of conscience is love. If conscience is lacking, love is lacking. Perhaps this is what you and I experienced in our stupid decisions that we attributed to "conscience" before we came closer to Christ; the absence of love that comes through us, if we refrain from pride and allow it, love the ultimate source of which is God. As soon as we try to possess it or control it, it is lost; like trying to grab water.
So conscience is from love, not Satan, we know this since even before Shakespeare ("Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?")
And when we are completely lacking in love, or worse filled with hate, or trapped in remorse without forgiveness, we lose our consciousness of the presence of God and cast ourselves out of Paradise - how do we know?: "O Conscience, into what abyss of fears and horrors hast thou driven me, out of which I find no way, from deep to deeper plunged."
It's pure Hell - the absence of love.
I was taught that the key to proper formation of conscience is love. If conscience is lacking, love is lacking.
Yes, absolutely. No wonder Holy Spirit uses it as a conduit.
So conscience is from love, not Satan, we know this since even before Shakespeare ("Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?")
Sure, when we are weak we quash the conscience through rationalization or other means. I can go with that. I'm not sure how all the mechanics work (conscience from love, or love from conscience), but since I think that Holy Spirit uses conscience, I could understand why He wouldn't share it with anyone else. How do you see this?
1 Tim 1:5 : The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.