often striking outsiders as bizarre and convoluted. The group has an intricate mythology involving gods, aliens, and mutants, which observers usually consider satire of other religions. Its primary deity, generally known as Jehovah 1, is an extraterrestrial who contacted Dobbs in the 1950s. Various accounts state that the encounter occurred while Dobbs was building a television or watching late-night television. Jehovah 1 gave him supernatural knowledge of the past and future, in addition to incredible power. Dobbs then posed deep questions to the alien, receiving mysterious answers. Some of their discussion centered on a powerful conspiracy, to which the Church attributes command of the world. Jehovah 1 and his spouse Eris, regarded by the Church as "relatively evil", are classified as "rebel gods". SubGenius leaders note that Jehovah 1 is wrathful, a quality expressed by his "stark fist of removal". 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. Yog-Sothoth, a character from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, is the Elder Gods' leader. In her 2010 study of the Church of the SubGenius, religious scholar Carole Cusack of the University of Sydney states that Lovecraft's work is a "model for the Church of the SubGenius's approach to scripture", in that aspects of his fiction were treated as real by some within paganism, just as the Church appropriates aspects of popular culture in its spirituality. J. R. "Bob" Dobbs SubGenius leaders teach that Dobbs's nature is ineffable and consequently stylize his name with quotation marks. They call him a "World Avatar" and hold that he has died and been reborn many times. The Church's primary symbol is an icon of his face in which he smokes a pipe. Stang has said the image was taken from Yellow Pages clip art, and it has been likened to Ward Cleaver, Mark Trail, or a 1950s-era salesman. The Church's canon contains references to aspects of United States culture in that decade; religious scholar Danielle Kirby of RMIT University argues that this type of reference "simultaneously critiques and subverts" the American dream. In the Church's mythology, Jehovah 1 intended Dobbs to lead a powerful conspiracy and brainwash individuals to make them work for a living. Dobbs refused; instead, he infiltrated the group and organized a counter-movement. Church leaders teach that he was a very intelligent child and, as