When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come." And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
- The Book of Revelation 6:3
That was the first time I did a reading at mass. First time I practiced with the teachers, I said, "A reading from the book of Revolution."
The teacher laughed and said, "No! Please don't say that. It's revelation."
I think I was in fourth grade. I can't remember. I wanted to say, I don't know what Revelation even means. But have you read the fucking thing? Sounds like a revolution to me! It certainly doesn't sound like going to IHOP after mass. I'm 9 and I've already studied the American Revolution not once, not twice, but thrice. And this feels like a revolution, baby!
When I look back, everything about Christianity is kind of weird. I've been doing a lot of research lately for a novel. You need to really understand the historical context of when the gospels were written, and that the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE had a profound effect on the way the gospels were written. Also, anyone who uses any part of the Bible as a historical document is just plain wrong. Even at Bergen Catholic, they told us it was not to be taken literally. You can believe that Moses parted the Red Sea like someone's hair, or that it was just low tide. They told us that you need only to believe that the timing was miraculous.
Well, let me tell you - the timing of this new job was miraculous. I was at a near record low. Now, I'm excited, they treat me like a real person, and the future looks very bright.
