Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, is the Elder Gods' leader. The Church teaches that they are part of the Elder Gods, who are committed to human pain, but that Jehovah 1 is "relatively good" in comparison. SubGenius leaders note that Jehovah 1 is wrathful, a quality expressed by his "stark fist of removal". Jehovah 1 and his spouse Eris, regarded by the Church as "relatively evil", are classified as "rebel gods". Some of their discussion centered on a powerful conspiracy, to which the Church attributes command of the world. Dobbs then posed deep questions to the alien, receiving mysterious answers. Jehovah 1 gave him supernatural knowledge of the past and future, in addition to incredible power. Various accounts state that the encounter occurred while Dobbs was building a television or watching late-night television. Its primary deity, generally known as Jehovah 1, is an extraterrestrial who contacted Dobbs in the 1950s. The group has an intricate mythology involving gods, aliens, and mutants, which observers usually consider satire of other religions. The Church of the SubGenius's ostensible beliefs defy categorization or a simple narrative, often striking non-believers as bizarre and convoluted. Beliefs Deities Jehovah 1, the primary deity of the Church of the SubGenius. Doe and voice comic "Lonesome Cowboy Dave" (comedian/musician Dave DeLuca), as well as from other SubGenius radio shows. It draws from live broadcasts by Stang, his wife Princess Wei R. The church's weekly radio program, the Hour of Slack, is a staple of many college radio stations. Ivan Stang currently maintains the official SubGenius home page. A third newsgroup,, was created later, in 2005.
The popularization of the Internet in the mid-1990s brought a new surge of interest in the church, resulting in dozens of home-made, elaborately decorated web sites and two Usenet newsgroups, alt.slack and. Stang has called himself Dobbs's "sacred scribe" and a "professional maven of weirdness".
The members assert that he telepathically contacted Drummond in 1972, before meeting him in person the next year, and that Drummond persuaded Stang to join shortly afterward. SubGenius members constructed an elaborate account of Dobbs's life, which commentators describe as fictional. Ĭhurch leaders maintain that a man named J.
It criticized Christian conceptions of God and New Age perceptions of spirituality. The document announced the impending end of the world and the possible deaths of its readers. The organization's first recorded activity was the publication of a photocopied document, Sub Genius Pamphlet #1, disseminated in Dallas, Texas in 1979. X (born Monte Dhooge) was also present at the group's inception. Clair Smith) and Philo Drummond (born Steve Wilcox) as the SubGenius Foundation. The Church of the SubGenius was founded by Ivan Stang (born Douglas St. Journalists often consider the Church an elaborate joke, but some academics have defended it as a real system of deeply held beliefs. The group is often compared to Discordianism. The number of followers is unknown, although the Church's message has been welcomed by college students and artists in the United States. The group holds that the quality of "Slack" is of utmost importance, but it is never clearly defined. Church leaders instruct their followers to avoid mainstream commercialism and the belief in absolute truths. He has imitated actions of other religious leaders, using the tactic of culture jamming in an attempt to parody better-known faiths. Ivan Stang, who co-founded the Church in the 1970s, serves as its leader and publicist. In its narratives, the Church presents a blend of cultural references in an elaborate remix of the sources. SubGenius literature describes a grand conspiracy that seeks to brainwash the world and oppress Dobbs's followers. Their central deity, Jehovah 1, is accompanied by other gods drawn from ancient myth and popular fiction. SubGenius leaders have developed detailed narratives about Dobbs and his relationship to various gods and conspiracies. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. Parody religion created in the US in the 1970s