it would be better to say the conscience inflicts moral pain. (2) Pierce’s view forces him toward a strained interpretation of the good, pure, cleansed, and void-of-offense conscience. A good conscience, according to Pierce, is an absent conscience!31 Accordingly, his explanations of Romans 9:1 and 2 Corinthians 1:12, in which the conscience is referred to as a witness, appear exegetically weak.32 Why do some people say they can follow a certain course of action