--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your god must once have stood at a dawn…" description: "\"Your god must once have stood at a dawn of infinite possibilities, and this is what he's made of it. You tell me that I want God's love? I don't. Perha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb3/cormac-mccarthy-181_dawn_your-god-must-once-have-stood-at-a-dawn_2857364.jpg" --- # Your god must once have stood at a dawn of infinite… ![“Your god must once have stood at a dawn of infinite possibilities, and this is what he's made of it. You tell me that I want God's love? I don't. Perhaps I want forgiveness, but there's no-one to ask it of. And there's no going back, there's no setting things right, there's only the hope of…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb3/cormac-mccarthy-181_dawn_your-god-must-once-have-stood-at-a-dawn_2857364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb3/cormac-mccarthy-181_dawn_your-god-must-once-have-stood-at-a-dawn_2857364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb3/cormac-mccarthy-181_dawn_your-god-must-once-have-stood-at-a-dawn_2857364.jpg) > “Your god must once have stood at a dawn of infinite possibilities, and this is what he's made of it. You tell me that I want God's love? I don't. Perhaps I want forgiveness, but there's no-one to ask it of. And there's no going back, there's no setting things right, there's only the hope of nothingness.” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine potential is limitless, yet yearning for love or forgiveness may feel impossible without a deity to appeal to; only emptiness remains. **In simple terms:** God’s possibilities are endless, but love feels unreachable. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond divine. Themes faith existence hope Mood somber contemplative Type existential poetic When to use this quote - spiritual crisis - artistic creation - personal loss - philosophical debate Key Concepts theology existentialism loneliness Questions to Reflect On - Can hope exist without a god? - What fills the void of unanswered prayer? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiveness Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness-ask-1149941/) [God love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-love/) [God'S Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-love/) [God-s-love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-love-2/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Infinite possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-possibilities/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-forgiveness-1515393/) [Want God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-god/) ## Related quotes > [“My dear, do you want forgiveness … or an explanation?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/my-dear-do-you-want-forgiveness-or-an-explanation/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [And what if I don't want forgiveness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/and-what-if-i-don-t-want-forgiveness/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“What you call the history of mankind is the history of my escape plan. I don’t want ‘love.’ I don’t want forgiveness. All I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-you-call-the-history-of-mankind-is-the-history-of-my-escape-plan/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“My name is on the first leaf. If you can ever write under my name, "I forgive her," though ever so long after my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-name-is-on-the-first-leaf-if-you-can-ever-write-under-my-name-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The forgiveness of God is one thing, but the proof that we want that forgiveness is the energy we expend to make amends for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-forgiveness-of-god-is-one-thing-but-the-proof-that-we-want-that/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“He doesn’t pick and choose who is worthy of redemption, Anna. All He does is wait for those who want His forgiveness to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-west/he-doesn-t-pick-and-choose-who-is-worthy-of-redemption-anna-all-he/) [S.J. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-west/) > [If you want forgiveness from people,forgive them first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/if-you-want-forgiveness-from-people-forgive-them-first/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [There's forgiveness if you ask forgiveness, you truly repent, and you do make an honest effort not to do that anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-travis/there-s-forgiveness-if-you-ask-forgiveness-you-truly-repent-and-you/) [Randy Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-travis/) > [It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-hopper/it-is-often-easier-to-ask-for-forgiveness-than-to-ask-for-permission/) [Grace Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-hopper/) > [Love me, then, or hate me, as you will," I said at last, "you have my full and free forgiveness: ask now for God's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-me-then-or-hate-me-as-you-will-i-said-at-last-you-have-my-full/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Father, I have much to be grateful for tonight and I thank you. I have much to regret and I ask your forgiveness. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avery-brooks/father-i-have-much-to-be-grateful-for-tonight-and-i-thank-you-i-have/) [Avery Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avery-brooks/) > [“It is better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-murray-hopper/it-is-better-to-beg-forgiveness-than-ask-permission/) [Grace Murray Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-murray-hopper/) > [Is screwing up and asking for forgiveness to much to ask for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/is-screwing-up-and-asking-for-forgiveness-to-much-to-ask-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And as I ask for your forgiveness, I also ask for your support to keep all things in perspective and keep all things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-as-i-ask-for-your-forgiveness-i-also-ask-for-your-support-to-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are many ways that I have hurt and harmed others, have betrayed or abandoned them, caused them suffering, knowingly or unknowingly, out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/there-are-many-ways-that-i-have-hurt-and-harmed-others-have-betrayed/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Dawn quotes > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [May dawn, as the proverb goes, bring happy tidings coming from her mother night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/may-dawn-as-the-proverb-goes-bring-happy-tidings-coming-from-her/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/slow-buds-the-pink-dawn-like-a-rose-from-out-night-s-gray-and-cloudy/) [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [When there's doom and gloom, don't forget there's darkness before dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/when-there-s-doom-and-gloom-don-t-forget-there-s-darkness-before-dawn/) [Rakesh Jhunjhunwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/) > [I just wanna stay weird till dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozavzi-jason-trespect/i-just-wanna-stay-weird-till-dawn/) [Ozavzi Jason Trespect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozavzi-jason-trespect/) > [After my final Breaking Dawn scene, I felt like I could shoot up into the night sky and every pore of my body would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/after-my-final-breaking-dawn-scene-i-felt-like-i-could-shoot-up-into/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid. When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-feller/my-father-kept-me-busy-from-dawn-to-dusk-when-i-was-a-kid-when-i-wasn/) [Bob Feller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-feller/) > [Don't you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought, and spring and summer follow winter? Then, have hope! Hope forever, for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/don-t-you-know-that-day-dawns-after-night-showers-displace-drought/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [In the beginning, people prayed to the Creatress of Life, the Mistress of Heaven. At the very dawn of religion, God was a woman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-stone/in-the-beginning-people-prayed-to-the-creatress-of-life-the-mistress/) [Merlin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-stone/) > [You've reached your 60th birthday, Bill To the year, the day, the hour You've been a lifelong country boy Along with Lily, your flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/you-ve-reached-your-60th-birthday-bill-to-the-year-the-day-the-hour/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [J. Budziszewski is perhaps the clearest and most eloquent natural lawyer writing today. When reading his works I often find myself amazed by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-j-beckwith/j-budziszewski-is-perhaps-the-clearest-and-most-eloquent-natural/) [Francis J. Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) [Browse all 1,500 Dawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your god must once have stood at a dawn of infinite possibilities, and this is what he's made of it. You tell me that I want God's love? I don't. Perhaps I want forgiveness, but there's no-one to ask it of. 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