Eldritch Abominations. Does Christianity Do Them Better?

Ironically, that's more accurate to the Bible than a Big Red Devil.

Yes, it sounds very similar to Azathoth, the crawling chaos at the center of the universe. It doesn't sound anything at all like Satan.

Generally speaking, Satan isn't a very good Eldritch Abomination—he possesses too many human qualities. That's his point as a racial archtype: he personifies human temptation to power, not an incomprehensible source of destruction.

Satan is a more personal villian, the one who whisper temptations or said there anything wrong it with, he is the dark side of mankind, so make him impersonal dosent really work in that regard.

Now, god?....yeah, he is closer to good nyarlothep than anything else.

and That description also is close to what Thomas Aquinas ended up deciding GOD was... from a philosophical point of view (Trying to reconcile an omnipotent, all seeing entity that intervenes and has a plan - essentially, God exists as a singular "moment" - during which he/she/it does EVERYTHING. Problem is, that then buggers up free will from our point of view.)

That's the BASIC theory anyway. The actual written one is a bit more complex. Oh, and GOD isn't in pain. Problem is, it reduces the deity to an event, barely capable of interacting, barely even having agency as far as we can understand it. A bit like Mrs Cake - it knows the answer before you've even spoken, but goes through the motions. But it does ALL of these things at once. As time isn't linear to it.

So, if you want Eldritch Abominations, technically the Christian God falls under that. From a certain point of view.

Well, no, because although God is incomprehensible and ineffable from our point of view, He/She/It understands us well enough, and cares for us deeply (at least, according to belief).

Still, the point about God being somewhat disengaged from the everyday nature of the universe is well taken. That's why so many religions have one or more human (and humane) companions/avatars who intercede on our behalf.

Angels are pretty eldritch in their descriptions before being portrayed as beautiful and perfect looking winged humanoids.

edited 24th Feb '18 4:07:59 PM by Albino_Axolotl

Jesus pretty much fill that blank, he is friendly, engaging and nice compare to hi s thaer...who isnt.

You mean the guy who whipped the money changers in the Temple? Accounts vary, of course, it does depend on which gospel you are reading, but none of them depict him or "God the Father" as anything remotely resembling a Lovecraftian horror.

There is a stronger argument for the Old Testement God, but only by modern stndards. It was a genuinely crapsack world back then, and the stories told about the Gods reflect that.

edited 25th Feb '18 9:46:37 AM by DeMarquis

And the world under roman dominion wasnt? Jesus is really weird in many ways: being so diferent fro his father and so human looking compare with the nearly elderich abomination Yahvew is.....yeah, it almost look like to diferent gods actually.

Average GDP was higher under the Romans than elsewhere, although of course that wealth wasnt shared equally. My guess is that, yes, conditions under the Empire were better under it than without it, if for no other reason than the stability they imposed on regions under their control.

And Yahway had nothing on some of the dieties you find in some other pantheons. I would argue that Dionysis was darker, and Zeus more arbitrary and unfair.

He flood the entire world, harden the pharoh, unleash the angel of death.....yeah, he is pretty fucking scary.

I mean, Zeus is a dick and a rapist but is a human kind of evil, Yahvew is always more....impersional in many ways.

And my point is, the world was still harsh enought, and yet Jesus was pretty much a damn hippy a head of his time, that dosent make sense.

Well, you have a point, early Christianity did humanize religious worship not often seen before. This may have had something to do with changing social conditions. I sense we are drifting off topic a bit, however.

Yeah, God in the Bible can be pretty cosmic horror like, especially in the Old Testament. Heck, the Abrahamic God even has a section in the Eldritch Abomination section under religion and mythology:

"He is an All-in-One and One-in-All of limitless being and self — not merely a thing of one Space-Time continuum, but allied to the ultimate animating essence of existence's whole unbounded sweep — the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which outreaches fancy and mathematics alike. It is perhaps that which the religion and philosophy of Christianity of earth have referred to indirectly by the common noun God, and which has been a deity under other names; that which the Muslims worship as Allah, and by which the Rabbis of Judaism whisper by a cryptic arcane Tetragrammaton that only appears in Latin transliteration as "YHWH" (sometimes denoted as "YHVH"). Most people think it would have been pronounced "Jehovah", "Yahowah", "Yahuh", or "Yahweh", but no one can really be sure. It was theorized that properly pronouncing the name of God will only result in insanity, hence why it is a blasphemy in Ancient Jewish folklore to attempt it."

So you have a humanoid abomination that is above our understanding that can drive you insane if you pronounce its true name. Said abomination cares about us, but only if you worship him and give proper praise by following all of the rules he outlined in some book. Otherwise, he will kill all your first born, drown you and other non-believers, or destroy your pagan city and turn anyone who looks at the destruction into salt (https://www.britannica.com/place/Sodom-and-Gomorrah). Even if you worship him, some of the rules he makes you follow can be considered borderline Blue-and-Orange Morality by modern standards most civilizations have of 'Good and Evil':

• "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” - Leviticus 19:19
• Take girls as sexual slaves during conquest-Numbers 31:17-18
• "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ." - Ephesians 6:5 NLT
• Men who have had their penises mutilated are not allowed in church or positions of church authority - Deuteronomy 23:1 NRSV
• Die if you work on Sunday (Working on the Sabbath Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.) - Exodus 31:15

Edited by tyler775 on May 6th 2020 at 9:44:01 AM

I recommend reading Ezekiel chapter 1. The descriptions of the creatures described there sound kinda eldritch, with some that look like wheels with eyes all along them.

Edited by Count_Spatula on Mar 25th 2020 at 12:19:14 PM