--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The modern world, which denies personal…" description: "\"“The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal repentance but only public reforms, has d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg" --- # The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits… ![“The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal repentance but only public reforms, has divorced Christ from His Cross; the Bridegroom and Bride have been pulled apart. What God hath joined together, men have torn asunder. As a result…” quote by Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg) > ““The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal repentance but only public reforms, has divorced Christ from His Cross; the Bridegroom and Bride have been pulled apart. What God hath joined together, men have torn asunder. As a result, to the left is the Cross; to the right is Christ. Each has awaited new partners who will pick them up in a kind of second and adulterous union. Communism comes along and picks up the meaningless Cross; Western post-Christian civilization chooses the unscarred Christ. Communism has chosen the Cross in the sense that it has brought back to an egotistic world a sense of discipline, self-abnegation, surrender, hard work, study, and dedication to supra-individual goals. But the Cross without Christ is sacrifice without love. Hence, Communism has produced a society that is authoritarian, cruel, oppressive of human freedom, filled with concentration camps, firing squads, and brain-washings. The Western post-Christian civilization has picked up the Christ without His Cross. But a Christ without a sacrifice that reconciles the world to God is a cheap, feminized, colourless, itinerant preacher who deserves to be popular for His great Sermon on the Mount, but also merits unpopularity for what He said about His Divinity on the one hand, and divorce, judgment, and hell on the other. This sentimental Christ is patched together with a thousand commonplaces, sustained sometimes by academic etymologists who cannot see the Word for the letters, or distorted beyond personal recognition by a dogmatic principle that anything which is Divine must necessarily be a myth. Without His Cross, He becomes nothing more than a sultry precursor of democracy or a humanitarian who taught brotherhood without tears.”” [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sheen argues that modern ideologies separate the symbol of sacrifice (the Cross) from its meaning (Christ), leading to authoritarianism or diluted spirituality. **In simple terms:** Separating symbol from meaning weakens faith. Key Takeaway Seek integrated belief. Themes religion politics symbolism Mood contemplative critical Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - faith communities - ethical debates - personal worship Key Concepts theology authoritarianism secularism Questions to Reflect On - Can symbols exist without meaning? - How should faith engage with modern politics? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on symbols can ignore deeper spiritual truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Catholicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholicism/) [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Concentration camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) [Concentration Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camps/) [Human freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-freedom/) [Modern world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-world/) [Sermon on the mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermon-on-the-mount/) [The-cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-cross/) [The-west](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-west/) ## Related quotes > [“The Western post-Christian civilization has picked up the Christ without His Cross. But a Christ without a sacrifice that reconciles the world to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-western-post-christian-civilization-has-picked-up-the-christ/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-buchman/i-thank-heaven-for-a-man-like-adolf-hitler-who-built-a-front-line-of/) Frank Buchman > [“The more He loved those for whom He was the ransom, the more His anguish would increase, as it is the faults of friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-more-he-loved-those-for-whom-he-was-the-ransom-the-more-his/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The Book of Numbers relates that when the people murmured rebelliously against God, they were punished with a plague of fiery serpents, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-book-of-numbers-relates-that-when-the-people-murmured/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“A dying man asked a dying man for eternal life; a man without possessions asked a poor man for a Kingdom; a thief at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/a-dying-man-asked-a-dying-man-for-eternal-life-a-man-without/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Love is a vicarious principle. A mother suffers for and with her sick child, as a patriot suffers for his country. No wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-a-vicarious-principle-a-mother-suffers-for-and-with-her-sick/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“It was not enough that the Son of God should come down from the heavens and appear as the Son of Man, for then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-was-not-enough-that-the-son-of-god-should-come-down-from-the/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The deaf who deny they are deaf will never hear; the sinners who deny there is sin deny thereby the remedy of sin, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-deaf-who-deny-they-are-deaf-will-never-hear-the-sinners-who-deny/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The good repent on knowing their sin; the evil become angry when discovered. Ignorance is not the cause of evil, as Plato held; neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-good-repent-on-knowing-their-sin-the-evil-become-angry-when/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Even though Christ Himself would not deliver us from the power of the Totalitarian State, as He did not deliver Himself, we must see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/even-though-christ-himself-would-not-deliver-us-from-the-power-of-the/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The family tree of earthly ancestors was really not important; what was important was the family tree of the children of God He planted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-family-tree-of-earthly-ancestors-was-really-not-important-what/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Some religions draw by force of arms; He would draw by force of love. The attraction would not be His words, but Himself. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/some-religions-draw-by-force-of-arms-he-would-draw-by-force-of-love/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Skeptics always want miracles such as stepping down from the Cross, but never the greater miracle of forgiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/skeptics-always-want-miracles-such-as-stepping-down-from-the-cross/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“If, in his pride, he considers God as a challenge, he will deny Him; and if God becomes man and therefore makes Himself vulnerable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/if-in-his-pride-he-considers-god-as-a-challenge-he-will-deny-him-and/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“To those who rejected Him, righteousness would one day appear as a terrible justice; to the sinful men who accepted Him and allied themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/to-those-who-rejected-him-righteousness-would-one-day-appear-as-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## More by Fulton J. Sheen > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [There are 200 million poor in the world who would gladly take the vow of poverty if they could eat, dress and have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/there-are-200-million-poor-in-the-world-who-would-gladly-take-the-vow/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-the-key-to-the-mystery-love-by-its-very-nature-is-not-selfish/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“This is what Aristotle meant when he said that the object of science is the necessary and the universal; man and not this man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/this-is-what-aristotle-meant-when-he-said-that-the-object-of-science/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/pride-is-an-admission-of-weakness-it-secretly-fears-all-competition/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. We may become better in a calamity but it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/calamity-war-famine-plague-death-adversity-disease-injury-do-not/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is a mutual self-giving which ends in self-recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-a-mutual-self-giving-which-ends-in-self-recovery/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The Soviet Union is like the Cross without Christ, while American culture is like Christ without the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soviet-union-is-like-the-cross-without-christ-while-american/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The 'fullness of reality' in the second sense of the term is perceived by a combination of both intellect and sense, the senses knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-fullness-of-reality-in-the-second-sense-of-the-term-is-perceived/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The mathematical method is disinterested in the efficient cause and the final cause or the goodness of a thing and it should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-mathematical-method-is-disinterested-in-the-efficient-cause-and/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The Church makes no man less free than he was before. But we chiefly value freedom in order to give it away; every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-church-makes-no-man-less-free-than-he-was-before-but-we-chiefly/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“To those who rejected Him, righteousness would one day appear as a terrible justice; to the sinful men who accepted Him and allied themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/to-those-who-rejected-him-righteousness-would-one-day-appear-as-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [It is easy to find truth, though it is hard to face it, and harder still to follow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-easy-to-find-truth-though-it-is-hard-to-face-it-and-harder/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [One function of the angels is illumination, and the other function is that of being a guardian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/one-function-of-the-angels-is-illumination-and-the-other-function-is/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) [Explore all 414 Fulton J. Sheen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## More Catholic quotes > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I'm the daughter of a Kenyan Catholic father and a Mauritian Hindu mother, and I have a Jewish husband who was born in South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suella-braverman/i-m-the-daughter-of-a-kenyan-catholic-father-and-a-mauritian-hindu/) [Suella Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suella-braverman/) > [The reason I went to an all-boys Catholic school was because they had the best football team. We won the state championship my junior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-rossi/the-reason-i-went-to-an-all-boys-catholic-school-was-because-they-had/) [Theo Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-rossi/) > [I grew up with a religious background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-caruso/i-grew-up-with-a-religious-background/) [Alex Caruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-caruso/) > [ Girded with faith and the performance of good works, let us follow in his \[Jesus\] paths by the guidance of the Gospel. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-of-nursia/girded-with-faith-and-the-performance-of-good-works-let-us-follow-in/) [Benedict of Nursia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-of-nursia/) > [“Even at the tender age of twelve, when I knelt in front of the bishop for my confirmation, I had the sneaking suspicion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-edwards/even-at-the-tender-age-of-twelve-when-i-knelt-in-front-of-the-bishop/) Megan Edwards > [Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-and-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [My grandmother was a minister as well, which was not that common in the 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/my-grandmother-was-a-minister-as-well-which-was-not-that-common-in/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [My grandmother made sure that I went to church every Sunday. And she'd come over and pick us boys up, and we would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/my-grandmother-made-sure-that-i-went-to-church-every-sunday-and-she-d/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [I think being raised within a Mexican Catholic family made magical realism a very natural part of who I am as a person and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-olivas/i-think-being-raised-within-a-mexican-catholic-family-made-magical/) [Daniel Olivas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-olivas/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [You can never completely get it - being a Christian - but I think I really got it when my first son was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/you-can-never-completely-get-it-being-a-christian-but-i-think-i/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) [Browse all 4,027 Catholic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal repentance but only public reforms, has divorced Christ from His Cross; the Bridegroom and Bride have been pulled apart. What God hath joined together, men have torn asunder. As a result, to the left is the Cross; to the right is Christ. Each has awaited new partners who will pick them up in a kind of second and adulterous union. Communism comes along and picks up the meaningless Cross; Western post-Christian civilization chooses the unscarred Christ. Communism has chosen the Cross in the sense that it has brought back to an egotistic world a sense of discipline, self-abnegation, surrender, hard work, study, and dedication to supra-individual goals. But the Cross without Christ is sacrifice without love. Hence, Communism has produced a society that is authoritarian, cruel, oppressive of human freedom, filled with concentration camps, firing squads, and brain-washings. The Western post-Christian civilization has picked up the Christ without His Cross. But a Christ without a sacrifice that reconciles the world to God is a cheap, feminized, colourless, itinerant preacher who deserves to be popular for His great Sermon on the Mount, but also merits unpopularity for what He said about His Divinity on the one hand, and divorce, judgment, and hell on the other. This sentimental Christ is patched together with a thousand commonplaces, sustained sometimes by academic etymologists who cannot see the Word for the letters, or distorted beyond personal recognition by a dogmatic principle that anything which is Divine must necessarily be a myth. Without His Cross, He becomes nothing more than a sultry precursor of democracy or a humanitarian who taught brotherhood without tears.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fulton J. Sheen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-guilt-and-admits-only-social/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Catholic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-guilt-and-admits-only-social/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/fulton-j-sheen-675_catholic_the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-g_932039.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal…” — Fulton J. Sheen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fulton J. Sheen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The modern world, which denies personal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-guilt-and-admits-only-social/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-modern-world-which-denies-personal-guilt-and-admits-only-social/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```