“The Conscience: Inner Land, a Guide into the Heart of the Gospel, Volume 2“ by Eberhard Arnold is a book about the healing and restoration of the troubled conscience.

The conscience, or the inner moral compass, is sensitive and can be corrupted pretty easily. Before we know it, we can be guided by an askew judgment. In this book, we learn that only through the forgiveness of Jesus can our conscience be made true.

This work along with the others in the series were packed in metal boxes and buried at night from the Nazis. The author was no fan of the Nazis and the discovery of his books and ideas could have been the end of his life. The works have a bit of a dated quality to them but I’ve enjoyed reading them.

A fascinating treatise on what sets the conscience apart from the soul, how original sin affects our moral sensibilities, and how union with Christ rehabilitates our moral conscience.

Eberhard Arnold, a German who helped begin The Bruderhauf community in 1920, gives readers his treatise on The Conscience in this part of his overall writings. It is not a book to be quickly read though it is a physically short one. Much Eberhard requires much thought.

The conscience within each of us is meant to serve as our moral guide, leading us towards good, and away from the tenets of evil. Per Eberhard, "The conscience wants to be the divine voice within us." Yet he recognizes that just as there are battles to gain our souls, there are also battles to rule our conscience and it is only when the Holy Spirit unites with our conscience that we can hope to live the life that God ordained for us. This unity with the Holy Spirit restores the conscience to the ability to keep us in the way of God.

Certainty in the fact that we are truly listening to our conscience that the Holy Spirit, and giving our all to live under God's rule in peace and love, also gives us the certainty to go against the rules of man, to defy the Fuhrers and seek out communities of fellow believers.

Another interesting read from a man who defied Naziism and helped found an international commune (The Brudenhauf) which still exists to this day.

My thanks to NetGalley and Plough Publications for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Like the previous book The Inner Land, I found The Conscience was harder to read than I expected. At times, I would look and wonder if I was reading the actual Bible or a devotional book. The content is substantial and requires intense thought to comprehend. As such, it is a book to be read slowly and meditated on. While a small book, do not expect to read it quickly. I suspect I will return to this title again and will re-read it many times in order to gain the fullness of its pages.

This book identifies itself as a ‘call to action’. Although written in the early 20th Century, the points made by the author are extremely relevant today. The author states: “…The conscience is the spirit’s sensitive organ of response. It has the task of warning the character against degeneration and destruction, because the character is meant to preserve moral order….”

With the challenges being encountered today, this book may be seen as a timeless piece of literature to remind or instruct readers of what is needed in our relationships and decision-making.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book that was provided by the publisher through Net Galley. However, the thoughts and opinions presented here are my own