--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: modern Western culture, you’ve been…" description: "\"“modern Western culture, you’ve been brainwashed by what is called “the secular worldview.” In this view of the world, what’s real, or at least what’s ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/gregory-a-boyd-9424_believe-in-god_modern-western-culture-you-ve-been-brain_852210.jpg" --- # modern Western culture, you’ve been brainwashed by what is… ![“modern Western culture, you’ve been brainwashed by what is called “the secular worldview.” In this view of the world, what’s real, or at least what’s important, is the physical here-and-now. When we’re brainwashed by this worldview, we experience the world as though God did not exist, for we…” quote by Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/gregory-a-boyd-9424_believe-in-god_modern-western-culture-you-ve-been-brain_852210.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/gregory-a-boyd-9424_believe-in-god_modern-western-culture-you-ve-been-brain_852210.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/gregory-a-boyd-9424_believe-in-god_modern-western-culture-you-ve-been-brain_852210.jpg) > ““modern Western culture, you’ve been brainwashed by what is called “the secular worldview.” In this view of the world, what’s real, or at least what’s important, is the physical here-and-now. When we’re brainwashed by this worldview, we experience the world as though God did not exist, for we habitually exclude him from our awareness. We may still believe in God, of course, but he’s not real to us most of the time. Because of this we go about our day-to-day lives as functional atheists. We may pray and worship God on occasion, but these are “special times,” isolated from our “normal,” secular day-to-day life. So thoroughly are we brainwashed by the secular mind-set that the very suggestion that we could routinely experience the world in a way that includes God strikes us as impossible.”” [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Secular worldview treats the physical present as ultimate, marginalizing God, leading many to live as functional atheists despite occasional worship. **In simple terms:** Secular focus makes God seem absent in daily life. Key Takeaway Consider how belief shapes everyday perception. Themes theology secularism spirituality mindset cultural critique Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - public discourse - educational settings - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts secular worldview functional atheism cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - Can secular and sacred coexist daily? - What practices integrate faith into daily life? A Different Perspective The view may ignore sincere religious experiences within secular societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-god/) [Special times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-times/) [Western culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-culture/) ## Related quotes > [I can only display what I've been nurtured with, which is this worldview which has become my view. If I displayed anything different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/i-can-only-display-what-i-ve-been-nurtured-with-which-is-this/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [“Human autonomy is the great idolatrous first principle of the modern secular worldview.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-mohler/human-autonomy-is-the-great-idolatrous-first-principle-of-the-modern/) [Albert Mohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-mohler/) > [A secular worldview hostile to biblical values has overrun our culture and permeated our government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/a-secular-worldview-hostile-to-biblical-values-has-overrun-our/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) > [“Steam coming off the planet, clouds of fleecy steam as boy and girl populations clash in religious riots, hot and whistling like a graveyard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/steam-coming-off-the-planet-clouds-of-fleecy-steam-as-boy-and-girl/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [In a society where rationality has ruled so long, the church frequently fails to see that in forsaking the weekly pursuit of the transcendent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macdonald/in-a-society-where-rationality-has-ruled-so-long-the-church/) [James MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macdonald/) > [The secular mind and heart, however gifted and personally charming, has no place in the leadership of the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-secular-mind-and-heart-however-gifted-and-personally-charming-has/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [“I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/i-am-wired-by-nature-to-love-the-same-toys-that-the-world-loves-i/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [We live in a very special time right now. At no other time in history has there been such mass disillusionment in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/we-live-in-a-very-special-time-right-now-at-no-other-time-in-history/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“The most special times in a person's life are not meant to last forever. They're like bubbles rising from a plastic ring dipped into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-thompson/the-most-special-times-in-a-person-s-life-are-not-meant-to-last/) Julius Thompson > [There must be some deep psychological reason why we turn so instinctively toward home at this special time. . . . A place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-holmes/there-must-be-some-deep-psychological-reason-why-we-turn-so/) [Marjorie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-holmes/) > [I apologize for my terrible interview skills. I wasn't prepared to expose stories about something so special and wonderfully private that is happening in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-ledger/i-apologize-for-my-terrible-interview-skills-i-wasn-t-prepared-to/) [Heath Ledger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-ledger/) > [I have made a career out of arguing that we shouldn't be criminalizing political differences. I've made a career out of arguing that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-have-made-a-career-out-of-arguing-that-we-shouldn-t-be/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [“The practice of the presence of God, though we begin it at special times of prayer, is designed to spill out and over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-practice-of-the-presence-of-god-though-we-begin-it-at-special/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“The Lessons of the Past  Ancient strategists provide us with modes of thinking and practical guidance that we can use in the present.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lessons-of-the-past-ancient-strategists-provide-us-with-modes-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's when civil liberty suffers - when we think special times justify the diminution of civil liberties. And I'm not going to accept that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/that-s-when-civil-liberty-suffers-when-we-think-special-times-justify/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) ## More by Gregory A. Boyd > [“Consider these questions: Did Jesus ever suggest by word of example that we should aspire to acquire, let alone take over, the power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/consider-these-questions-did-jesus-ever-suggest-by-word-of-example/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God as a radical alternative to all versions of the kingdom of the world, whether they declare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/jesus-came-to-establish-the-kingdom-of-god-as-a-radical-alternative/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“God took on our humanity, our sin, and the just punishment that sin deserves, dying a God-forsaken, hellish death on the cross, because only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/god-took-on-our-humanity-our-sin-and-the-just-punishment-that-sin/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [The holiness of the kingdom of God must be preserved. If Jesus refused to acknowledge and fight for Israel as God's favored nation- even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/the-holiness-of-the-kingdom-of-god-must-be-preserved-if-jesus-refused/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“Coming under others has a power to do what laws and bullets and bombs can never do—namely, bring about transformation in an enemy’s heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/coming-under-others-has-a-power-to-do-what-laws-and-bullets-and-bombs/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“Jesus’ life and ministry consistently reveal the humble character of a servant. Though he rightfully owned the entire cosmos, he, by choice, had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/jesus-life-and-ministry-consistently-reveal-the-humble-character-of-a/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“Why would these people do this for us?” This is the question the church ought to be continually raising in people’s minds by its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/why-would-these-people-do-this-for-us-this-is-the-question-the-church/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“The question that wins the world is not, how can we get our “morally superior” way enforced in the world? The question that wins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/the-question-that-wins-the-world-is-not-how-can-we-get-our-morally/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [Accommodation is a central aspect of the cross-centered interpretation of violent portraits of God that I'm advocating. Like everything else in Cross Vision, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/accommodation-is-a-central-aspect-of-the-cross-centered/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [Second, if you disbelieve in the reality of good and evil spirit agents, you fundamentally change the narrative of Scripture. The motif of spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/second-if-you-disbelieve-in-the-reality-of-good-and-evil-spirit/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“many people have trouble passionately loving and living for God because they have a mental picture of him that inspires anything but passion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/many-people-have-trouble-passionately-loving-and-living-for-god/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“I believe a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry. To a frightful degree, I think, evangelicals fuse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/i-believe-a-significant-segment-of-american-evangelicalism-is-guilty/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [Our central job is not to solve the world’s problems. Our job is to draw our entire life from Christ and manifest that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/our-central-job-is-not-to-solve-the-world-s-problems-our-job-is-to/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“So too, since Christ has in principle defeated the fallen "gods" (principalities and powers) who have for ages inspired injustice, cruelty and apathy toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/so-too-since-christ-has-in-principle-defeated-the-fallen-gods/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“the reason God now calls kingdom people to remain separate from the ways of the kingdom-of-the-world is not to isolate them from their culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/the-reason-god-now-calls-kingdom-people-to-remain-separate-from-the/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) [Explore all 73 Gregory A. Boyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) ## More Believe in god quotes > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. 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They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [I don't believe in angels and I have trouble with the whole God thing. I don't want to say I don't believe in God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/i-don-t-believe-in-angels-and-i-have-trouble-with-the-whole-god-thing/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“if I asked people whether they believed in life, they’d never understand what I meant. It’s a bad question. It can mean so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-asked-people-whether-they-believed-in-life-they-d-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you believe in GOD you should never fear death. If human fears death then hill be easily enslaved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadair-desmar/if-you-believe-in-god-you-should-never-fear-death-if-human-fears/) [Nadair Desmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadair-desmar/) > [I have never come to know God, to see God, to believe in God through doing science. 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When we’re brainwashed by this worldview, we experience the world as though God did not exist, for we habitually exclude him from our awareness. We may still believe in God, of course, but he’s not real to us most of the time. Because of this we go about our day-to-day lives as functional atheists. We may pray and worship God on occasion, but these are “special times,” isolated from our “normal,” secular day-to-day life. So thoroughly are we brainwashed by the secular mind-set that the very suggestion that we could routinely experience the world in a way that includes God strikes us as impossible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory A. 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