Book Excerpt: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Religions Online, by Bruce B. Lawrence, published 2000 by Alpha Books (a division of Macmillan USA), Indianapolis, IN
Newsgroups: alt.slack Subject: Idiots for "Bob" Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 22:42:18 GMT Message-ID: <39270f6e.817016@localhost> Those "Dummies" and "Idiots" books are coming out at a breathtaking pace; I'm seeing at least one of them every week. So I wasn't surprised when my Queen told me that she'd had a book pointed out to her in the "Idiots" series, entitled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Religions Online." It's a book that looks at the Net access of various religious movements -- well, duh! -- and provides what tries to be a compehensive view of the various faiths online, from the mainstream to the fringe. I flipped through the book, and I was shocked to discover that, perhaps for the first time, the Church of the SubGenius has been given serious consideration in a book that examines modern- day religions! What was even more shocking was the way they gave a thorough examination of my Web site, the First Online Church of "Bob," while only briefly mentioning the official SubSite at http://www.subgenius.com. From the way we're mentioned in the book, I suspect the author came across my Web site when he was researching the pros and cons of Scientology; from there, he then decided to give consideration to us. He includes the URL of SubSite (and it is even spelled correctly). I doubt that any of these "Idiots" books are likely to become runaway bestsellers, but I'm hardly one to bite the hand that feeds us. Here are the author's comments on our beloved Church, as listed in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Religions Online," 2000 edition, pages 223-225:
Related to the Church of the SubGenius (see the following sidebar), this religion, which is represented by a cartoon figure of a smiling man with a pipe, is actually for real! Although at first glance it might look like a spoof, it's actually pretty serious in its claims. The Church of Bob is interested in what it calls a conspiracy in our society that is controlling ou minds. The Subgeniuses are not humans, but superior beings who are able to see past this conspiracy and rise above it. The site offers an interesting list of links including sites that are of a similar philosophy and part of the conspiracy, those that are Christian and part of the conspiracy, or both. Notice, for instance, its response to Scientology (a group discussed in Chapter 36, "New Religious Movements"). Is this site about truth or satire? Take a look at the site shown in Figure 20.3 and decide for yourself.
[Figure 20.3: Screen capture of my Web site]
Some sites walk the fuzzy line between satirical and serious substance. One person's joke is another's religion, and it's not always clear which is which. Like its counterpart (the Church of Bob), the Church of the SubGenius' site seems at first glance to be blatantly satirical. Notice, for instance, its spoof on Heaven's Gate (discussed in Chapter 36), which you can find at www.subgenius.com/hellsgate/HELLSGATE.html.
Yet, if you read further, you'll realize that this is a religion some people take very seriously. The moral is not to make quick assumptions. The site's assumption of a vast, apocalyptic conspiracy might be a little too dreary and strong-worded for some people, but it is an interesting site for the strong-hearted. Here you can listen to live radio broadcasts or view publications such as 'about 30 of the most brean-reaming, heartfelt, hate-fueled diatribes and harangues.' This site certainly does not have a dull square inch, but remember to hold onto your seat -- it'll be a bumpy ride."
This book goes out of its way to present both sides of every religious faith (though they seem to have overlooked the Discordians), and "decide for yourself" is a mantra they repeat on nearly every page...especially when they provide links to the more controversial religious sites on the Net. The author of this book, Bruce B. Lawrence, is credited on the "About the Author" page as an Episcopal priest who is Chair of the Department of Religion at Duke University, with his specialties being South Asian Islam and modern- day religious movements.