The Fall and Redemption of Conscience

We welcome Andrea Ferrari to discuss his book The Fall and Redemption of Conscience: A Reformed Biblical Theology. Ferrari, pastor of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia in Italy, explains why conscience has received comparatively little attention in modern Protestant theology and considers the influence of psychology, Karl Barth, John Webster, and John Calvin on contemporary accounts of conscience.

The conversation develops a biblical and theological account of conscience from creation to new creation. Ferrari addresses whether Adam possessed a conscience before the fall, the Old Testament vocabulary of heart, kidneys, and clean hands, Calvin’s sensus divini judicii, the Trinitarian basis of human self-awareness, and the effects of justification and sanctification upon a guilty conscience. The episode concludes with practical implications for preaching, counseling, and the Christian life, along with an update on Ferrari’s ministry in Perugia.

Links

• Episode page
• The Fall and Redemption of Conscience
• Chiesa Riformata di Perugia

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 03:12 Andrea Ferrari’s Ministry in Perugia
• 12:43 A New Study Center near the University
• 19:11 The Fall and Redemption of Conscience
• 24:33 Why Conscience Disappeared from Modern Theology
• 28:41 Karl Barth and General Revelation
• 32:12 Did Adam Have a Conscience before the Fall?
• 49:27 Conscience in the Old Testament
• 58:53 Defining Conscience as Perceptual Awareness
• 64:23 Calvin’s Sensus Divini Judicii
• 65:27 The Trinitarian Context of Conscience
• 74:23 The Fallen Conscience and the Imagination
• 80:10 Training the Senses in Hebrews 5:14
• 81:47 The Justified Conscience
• 86:43 Sanctification and the Healing of Conscience
• 93:23 Pastoral Counseling and Preaching to the Conscience
• 100:02 Ministry Reflections and Conclusion