Theology and H.P. Lovecraft

Theology and H.P. Lovecraft engages with the work of horror author H.P. Lovecraft from a theological perspective. With responses ranging from admiration to critique, the contributors explore the dark uncharted regions of Lovecraft’s dark mythology in the service of theological truth.

Introduction: The Stars Are Right
Austin M. Freeman
Part I: Lovecraft and Biblical Theology
1. Biblical Cosmicism? Religion and Cosmic Insignificance in Old Testament Wisdom Literature and H. P. Lovecraft
Eric Ortlund
2. Dagon and Idolatry: Lovecraft's Use of the Bible in "Dagon" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth"
Alexander P. Thompson
3. Concerning the Hidden God Who Surpasses All Understanding: Lovecraftian Meditations on Christian Theodicy
David K. Goodin
Part II: Lovecraft and Historical Theology
4. "A Dark Poem": Lovecraft's Puritan Aesthetics and the Vice of Curiosity
Geoffrey Reiter
5. August Derleth and the Christianization of the Cthulhu Mythos
J. S. Mackley
6. The Lurker at the Threshold of Interpretation: August Derleth and the Debate over Lovecraftian Dualism
Justin Mullis
Part III: Lovecraft and Systematic Theology
7. When God Goes Mad: Lovecraft, Von Balthasar, and the Split between Transcendence and Goodness
Lyle Enright and Nick Bennett
8. One God Further: Lovecraft and the Critique of Ontotheology
Ryan G. Duns
9. Mythos and Mythopoeia: Lovecraft and Tolkien on the Transcendent Function of Fantasy
Austin M. Freeman
Part IV: Lovecraft and Pastoral Theology
10. Haunted Steeples and Horrible Peoples: Church and Cult in Lovecraft
Neal Foster
11. Lovecraft's Gods: Cosmic Anxiety and Racist Hatred
Michael Spence
12. Sudden Onset Belief: The Brutality of Conversion in Lovecraft's Stories
Robert Grant Price
Part V: Lovecraft and Other Religions
13. Lovecraft the Pagan? : Lovecraft and Classical Religion
Katherine Kelaidis
14. Prophet of the Mythos: H. P. Lovecraft, Mü ammad, and Arabic Scriptures
Andrew J. O'Connor