J. R. “Bob” Dobbs is the figurehead of the Church of the SubGenius. His image is derived from a piece of 1950s clip-art. According to SubGenius dogma, “Bob” was a drilling equipment salesman who, in 1953, saw a vision of God (JHVH-1 according to Church scriptures) on a television set he had built himself. The vision inspired him to write the “PreScriptures” (as described in the Book of the SubGenius) and found the Church. The theology holds that “Bob” is the greatest salesman who ever lived, and has cheated death a number of times. He is also revered for his great follies and believed to be a savior of “slack”. He was assassinated in San Francisco in 1984, though the Church states that he has come back from the dead several times since then.
The central belief in the Church is the pursuit of Slack, which generally stands for the sense of freedom, independence, and original thinking that comes when you stop worrying about personal goals. In essence, slack is about finding satisfaction with what you have and who you are, as opposed for searching for satisfaction in accomplishment. The Church states that we are all born with Original Slack, but that Slack has been stolen from us by a worldwide conspiracy of normal people, or “pinks”. (wikipedia)
