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More hate mail! As always, their emails will be in blue while mine are in black and white. |
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Las
Vegas City Life Interview Dress you up in Bob's love: Sacrilegious website stirs profound theological debate
The science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein said, "The guardians of the true faith cannot logically consider tolerance of heresy to be a virtue." Well, enter the world of Normal Bob Smith and you'll find a place where heresy is the highest virtue. What began as a web site for a small circle of friends has grown into a theological forum for thousands. New York-based Normal Bob is unafraid to celebrate the constitutional right to free speech, which, sadly is becoming increasingly rare in America public discourse. At his site, you'll encounter "Jesus Dress Up" dolls, a "Throw Darts at Jesus" game and the selling of "Jesus Dress Up" refrigerator magnets. These less-than-sacred items generate a never-ending stream of self-righteous hate mail from "Christians," most of it incisively countered by Bob. Indeed, Bob's hate-mail section serves as an inspired, intelligent and humorous forum for debate. In a stagnant era, when criticism of religion is deemed unacceptable by media and the larger public, Normal Bob is freedom-flavored air-freshener. To make someone laugh, you get them to think. Normal Bob will make you think; the laughter depends on you. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to conduct a recent email interview with Normal Bob. Q: I've thoroughly enjoyed playing with the "Dress Up Jesus" dolls as well as the "Throw Darts at Jesus" game, but when I've seen people who were brought up in strict Christian environments play with these, they get a much bigger kick out of them. It seems to be very cathartic/therapeutic for them to be sacrilegious in a playful way. Do you believe the website has therapeutic value? NBS: I've heard from many people who find Jesus Dress Up therapeutic. I've even been contacted by kids in abusive homes (or going through that time in their life that sucks) who play Jesus Dress Up instead of abusing themselves. You want to talk about an interesting phenomena? There's a thing out there called "cutting" that's becoming a trend with depressed teenage girls. They hate themselves, they're not being listened to and have no outlet for their frustrations. They cut their arms and legs to relieve tension. I've been shocked with how many girls email me who have found Jesus Dress Up as cathartic as cutting (instead of cutting). It's frustrating as hell to be a teenager. Having a pretty faced goody-two-shoe like Christ to dress up like a gingerbread man while he hangs on the cross, well sometimes that can make all the difference.
Q: One of the ongoing themes in your site is the argument that everybody who lived before Jesus, including Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, etc. would have automatically gone to hell. They were unable to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior because he hadn't been born yet. Dead babies however, according to the bible, go directly to heaven because they have not yet sinned. Wouldn't that mean that aborted babies go directly to heaven? NBS: Of course aborted babies go to hell, no one loves them. Q: Do you feel that the abundance of poor grammar, frequent misspellings of words, and badly articulated arguments in your hate mail indicates anything about the average intelligence of sanctimonious Christians? NBS: I think in most cases people just get so worked up over Jesus Dress Up that they don't think. Their knee-jerk reaction is anger and the emails reflect that. You're dealing with someone who's succumb to their fears. The panic my drawing stirs doesn't surprise me. I used to be in that mindset. You're made to think that a supreme being is emotionally affected by these shenanigans. You fear an angry God will block out the sun and punish us as He sees fit. There's no time to worry about grammar. Q: Your responses to your "hate" mail are quite eloquent as well as humorous. Do you consider your hate mail to be a kind of "backwards compliment"? Why?
NBS: When I first posted Jesus Dress Up.com on the Internet I knew that the hate mail would be soon to follow. I still remember that first letter of disapproval though. For a split second I felt panic, like my parents were going to find out. Very quickly that nervousness turned into joy. There was so much I wanted to say. So many reasons I had that I'd never verbalized before. I love the hate mail. It forces me explain why I believe what I do. It's a luxury I don't take for granted. Q: I have noticed that even self-proclaimed "Atheists" get upset if I mention that there's no proof that Jesus ever existed, or if I say that the existence or nonexistence of God is irrelevant. Have you noticed this? Why do you think this is? NBS: I'm not sure who you're referring to. I'm not familiar with the kind of atheists who get upset over the subject of of Jesus' existence. I suppose that I believe He existed, but whether he did or didn't exist wouldn't effect my beliefs or feelings either way. Q: Many of the people who dislike your website and your opinions accuse you of worshipping Satan without realizing that Satan is a Christian deity and therefore, if you are not a Christian you are incapable of being a Satanist. Why do you believe they have overlooked this? NBS: Christianity definitely does not encourage open-mindedness or welcome new ideas. It's a dictatorship, and the people who follow are comfortable with one idea. There is no negotiation. You are either serving God or Satan. I feel that anyone who is capable of imagining the nonexistence of God is only a step away from becoming an atheist. Being unable to fathom godlessness is a personality trait of sorts, like having an addictive personality or being color blind. There's just no possibility of comprehending the idea of "no God". Thus we are all Satanists.* Normal
Bob Smith interview with Joe Pachinko of Las
Vegas City Life
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