After the war, a number of top Nazis were put on trial for crimes against humanity. In their defence, they sometimes cited their conscience as the reason for carrying out their heinous crimes. They argued that, since they had taken an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer, their conscience dictated that they should obey any order given, no matter how criminal it was.

Anyone who has visited a former concentration camp is necessarily confronted with a question: how could, just a few decades ago, human beings carry out on fellow human beings cruelties that are unique because of the systematic manner in which they were scientifically programmed? It is sad to note that some of the commandants of these camps had their families living with them in comfortable quarters, just a short distance away from such horrors and, apparently, leading happy and serene lives.

How could conscience be cited as the main reason for carrying out such atrocities? The answer, at least to the believer, is one. When we harbour a false conscience, when we arrogate to ourselves the right to decide what is right or wrong, there is no abyss that we cannot descend into. When God is altogether missing from our life or we embrace a caricature of God that conforms to our whims and desires, no matter how wrong, then we are at the mercy of all sorts of evil that can sully our life.

There is the erroneous idea that we can live in sin, and sometimes even be flippant about it, and at the same time be joyful and at peace with ourselves.

This might appear to be so until suffering comes knocking on our door, especially that befalling a loved one.

When this occurs, our defences are down and to whom do we turn to in our helplessness?

The answer that the believer gives is only one: the crucified Christ, who sinless and blameless, chose willingly to undergo an ignominious death to redeem us from our sins and to give meaning to all the unanswered questions in our lives.