The Book of the SubGenius

Like a lot of people, I became aware of the Church of the SubGenius around 1985 when Robert Crumb reproduced some of the Church's pamphlets in Weirdo #1.

I immediately felt an affinity for the sacred teachings of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, which were a playful mockery of Discordianism, Hassan-i-Sabah, Gurdjieff, Aliester Crowley, and secret societies like the Rosicrucians, the Golden Dawn, the O.T.O, and the Shriners.

The church appealed to fans (like me) of Robert Anton Wilson's conspiracy parody novels and non-fiction writings that forever bounced back and forth between facing mirrors, one labeled BULLSHIT, the other DEEP TRUTH. Hidden in all the wild jokes and insanely detailed illustrations (contributed by wonderful underground comic book artists) is a healthy skepticism for the status quo.

About 15 years ago I interviewed Peter Lambhorn Wilson (AKA Hakim Bey), the author of T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonmous Zone and he told me that the Church of the SubGenius was a real religion, and that the joke element was a smokescreen to befuddle the pinks and glorps (SubG speak for rubes and authoritarian personalities). I think he was right. The Church of the SubGenius comes as close to a religion as I'll ever have. $11.02 on Amazon