Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Theological perspectives



(H. P. Lovecraft, age 9)

There seem to be as many definitions of theology as there are perspectives about it.  Wikipedia presents quite a few of these definitions - beginning with the more standard ones such as Augustine of Hippo’s “reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity” – and proceeding with the more expansive ones such as Varro’s inclusion of mythology, rational philosophy, and civil observances into the theological mix.

Lovecraft’s preoccupation with pretty much all of the above seems to huddle  beneath theological umbrellas of sorts.  His theological stance has been dubbed “cosmicism,” which has been described by Wikipedia as the absence of a “recognizable divine presence” in the universe, coupled with a strong belief that humans are relatively insignificant “in the larger scheme

of intergalactic existence.”  By today’s standards, this seems less the product of literary imagination than it does the product of scientific inquiry.

Lovecraft himself was greatly fascinated with and influenced by science.  One of his foremost biographers, Sunand Tryambak Joshi, discussed Lovecraft’s early wish to become an astronomer.  Although Lovecraft was a literary prodigy, he had a great deal of difficulty with the study of higher mathematics.  His love of cosmic science was therefore predominantly expressed within the themes of his literary works.

Many have called these themes “pessimistic” - since those who believe in cosmic indifference to humankind are often thought of as “misotheistic” (rejecting the divine), “dystheistic” (deeming the divine to be a mixture of benevolence, hostility, and indifference), “maltheistic” (deeming the divine to be malevolent), “antitheistic”

(not believing in the existence of a deity per se), “post-theistic” (seeing humans as being morally past the point of needing a deity), and/or “dualistic” (believing the deity that is commonly worshipped is a lower god that masks the true God from human knowledge and experience).

Lovecraft may not have believed in religion per se, but this quote from the beginning of The Call of Cthulhu indicates that he was in sync with the Genesis prohibition against eating too much “cosmic fruit”:  The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misotheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos

Copyright August 20, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved