The Benevolent Azathoth

In Lovecraftian lore, Azathoth, the "blind idiot god" and the "nuclear chaos," dreams other beings and the external world itself into existence as he slumbers, unaware of how he has intimately shaped reality outside of his mind.  If he was to awaken, the contingent objects and beings of the universe would cease to exist--even the great old ones, such as Cthulhu.  This fact contributes to the cosmic horror aspects of the literary universe's lore, as Lovecraft's deities and other exotic monsters represent the futility and insignificance of human existence.

The cosmic horror themes of Lovecraft's stories, including the ultimate triviality of human life and the fear of the unknown, might be perceived as present in seemingly unlikely places.  The concept of a deity like Yahweh might even come across to some in Lovecraftian manner: some might perceive the Biblical Yahweh to be wholly alien, cold towards humankind and monstrous in his treatment of his enemies.  To them, it might seem like worshipping Yahweh is no less nihilistic and horrifying than the worship of an entity like Azathoth or Cthulhu.

While the Biblical description of God is not one of a dreaming deity that is unaware of the universe sustained by his dreams (moreover, it is logically impossible for one consciousness to literally exist in the dream of another consciousness, for reasons I will explain in an upcoming article), Yahweh could easily reduce every other being to a state of total and permanent nonexistence.  All it would take is a whim, sadistic or otherwise.  Creation only exists because the mind of God has not willed otherwise.

The Biblical God, of course, is not said to have created humanity either unknowingly or for sadistic pleasure.  His immense power might be comparable to that of Azathoth, even if neither being could possibly be the metaphysical existent upon which all else hinges (logic is more metaphysically fundamental than God could be [1]), but his character differs enormously from that of Lovecraftian entities.  Yahweh wants humans to seek him as much as their epistemological limitations permit for their own sake (2 Peter 3:8-9).

In this regard, Yahweh is the "benevolent Azathoth," the cosmic being that possesses the ability to destroy or sustain the entirety of the cosmos and all of the sentient life within it and yet prefers for the spiritual flourishing of humanity.  Yahweh's described interactions with humanity in the Bible are not accidental on his part, nor do they in any way suggest an default apathy towards human affairs.  Rather, they are manifestations of affection, justice, or redemption.


[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-ramifications-of-axioms.html