--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the course of experience made me see…" description: "\"When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond the human, that pain is to be endured and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg" --- # When the course of experience made me see that there is no… ![“When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond the human, that pain is to be endured and fades, if it fades, only with time, then God became nothing to me but a dyslexic dog, with neither bark nor bite.” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg) > “When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond the human, that pain is to be endured and fades, if it fades, only with time, then God became nothing to me but a dyslexic dog, with neither bark nor bite.” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator rejects divine rescue, viewing suffering as human and temporal, reducing God to an ineffective concept. **In simple terms:** God feels useless when pain persists. Key Takeaway Accept human limits, seek meaning in resilience. Themes suffering faith humanism existential time divine Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - terminal illness - war trauma - personal loss - spiritual crisis Key Concepts philosophy atheism resilience Questions to Reflect On - What gives you hope beyond divine intervention? - How do you find purpose in suffering? A Different Perspective May alienate believers, oversimplify complex faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Bark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bark/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dyslexic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexic/) [Dyslexic Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexic-dog-2953034/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Dyslexic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-dyslexic-2953033/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Endured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-endured-528164/) [Remission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remission/) [Saviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saviour/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Special Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-grace-722912/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [On the path of love we feel that if we love today, it's only because God is loving through us, because there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/on-the-path-of-love-we-feel-that-if-we-love-today-it-s-only-because/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Some of my academic friends think Ive fallen from a very special grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/some-of-my-academic-friends-think-ive-fallen-from-a-very-special-grace/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [I believe God gives us special grace to help us in moments of persecution. But I also believe he often uses his own words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-moore-jr/i-believe-god-gives-us-special-grace-to-help-us-in-moments-of/) [Johnnie Moore, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-moore-jr/) > [“The amount of sanctifying and special grace bestowed by a Sacrament depends chiefly on the disposition of the recipient.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/the-amount-of-sanctifying-and-special-grace-bestowed-by-a-sacrament/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [Some of my academic friends think I've fallen from a very special grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/some-of-my-academic-friends-think-i-ve-fallen-from-a-very-special/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [Free will does not enable any man to perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace which the elect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/free-will-does-not-enable-any-man-to-perform-good-works-unless-he-is/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Pain is to be endured. It ends or it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/pain-is-to-be-endured-it-ends-or-it-does-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > ['When I look back on my life , I can see the pain, I have endured, the mistakes I have made and the hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-look-back-on-my-life-i-can-see-the-pain-i-have-endured-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have felt pain, I have endured hardship, I have suffered loss of loved ones and I have memories I want to forget. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-felt-pain-i-have-endured-hardship-i-have-suffered-loss-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pain can be endured and defeated only if it is embraced. Denied or feared, it grows in perception if not in reality. The best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/pain-can-be-endured-and-defeated-only-if-it-is-embraced-denied-or-2/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Good pain is pain in the service of a purpose. Bad pain is pain endured because we are resisting a needed growth step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/good-pain-is-pain-in-the-service-of-a-purpose-bad-pain-is-pain/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [...What torments of pain have you endured that haven't as yet arrived? and may never!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-torments-of-pain-have-you-endured-that-haven-t-as-yet-arrived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Pain can be endured and defeated only if it is embraced. Denied or feared, it grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/pain-can-be-endured-and-defeated-only-if-it-is-embraced-denied-or/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Sometimes I wonder if we don't see Christ's love as much in the people he tolerated as in the pain he endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/sometimes-i-wonder-if-we-don-t-see-christ-s-love-as-much-in-the/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [The pride in finishing a marathon is much greater than all the pain endured during the marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-higdon/the-pride-in-finishing-a-marathon-is-much-greater-than-all-the-pain/) [Hal Higdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-higdon/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-must-say-a-word-about-fear-it-s-is-life-s-only-true-opponent-only/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [High calls low and low calls high. I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/high-calls-low-and-low-calls-high-i-tell-you-if-you-were-in-such-dire/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Or rather, since Christians are so fond of capital letters, a Story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/or-rather-since-christians-are-so-fond-of-capital-letters-a-story/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Progress is unstoppable. It is a drumbeat to which we must all march. Technology helps and good ideas spread - these are two laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/progress-is-unstoppable-it-is-a-drumbeat-to-which-we-must-all-march/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-never-had-problems-with-my-fellow-scientists-scientists-are-a/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/for-evil-in-the-open-is-but-evil-from-within-that-has-been-let-out/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Books are something social - a writer speaking to a reader - so I think making the reading of a book the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/books-are-something-social-a-writer-speaking-to-a-reader-so-i-think/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-reason-death-sticks-so-closely-to-life-isn-t-biological-necessity/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) [Explore all 570 Yann Martel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [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/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond the human, that pain is to be endured and fades, if it fades, only with time, then God became nothing to me but a dyslexic dog, with neither bark nor bite.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yann Martel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-see-that-there-is-no-saviour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-see-that-there-is-no-saviour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/yann-martel-395_atheist_when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-se_1110075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond…” — Yann Martel", "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": "Yann Martel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the course of experience made...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-see-that-there-is-no-saviour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-see-that-there-is-no-saviour/#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 } } ] } ```