[lbo-talk] Not A Very Nice Man

B. docile_body at yahoo.com
Wed Apr 4 09:54:28 PDT 2007


ST Joshi's _Atheism: A Reader_ has selections in it from Bertrand Russell, Robert Ingersoll, Emma Goldman, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Carl Sagan, Nietzsche, mencken, and -- yep, HP Love craft.

Lovecraft's isn't one of the stronger selections in the book. It's titled "A Letter on Religion" from 1918. It's from his massive correspondence.

A quote:

"So far I have seen nothing which could possibly give me the notion that ... a potent and purposeful consciousness which deals individually and directly with the miserable denizens of a wretched little flyspeck on the back door of a microscopic universe, and which singles this putrid excrescence out as the one spot whereto to send an only-begotten Son, whose mission is to redeem those accursed flyspeck-inhabiting lice which we call human beings --- bah!! Pardon the 'bah!' I feel several 'bahs!,' but out of courtesy I only say one. But it is all so very childish. I cannot help taking exception to a philosophy which would force this rubbish down my throat. 'What have I against religion?' That is what I have against it!"

And earlier he just flat out declares "the Judeao-Christian mythology is NOT TRUE." [sic]

Of course, I can't type out the whole 1200 word or so letter/essay here.

Bah,

-B.

Chris Doss wrote:
> --- "B." <docile_body at yahoo.com> wrote:
> HP Lovecraft was horribly
>> anti-Semitic and racist, but I still like his
horror
>> fiction and he even has an essay on atheism in ST
>> Joshi's _Atheism_ anthology.
>>
>> -B.
>> ___________________________________
>>
>
> He does? What's HPL say?



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