the end is near: the first in a series

...a series because I have a whole LOT to say about the topic: the Book of Revelations, the Rapture, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Antichrist...all have become intriguing to me, despite my contentious relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore all organized religion everywhere. My feelings toward organized religion were tainted early in life, while in catechism every Tuesday after school for eight long years. And in the small bedroom community adjacent to San Francisco, you were either in the Catholic school, or you claimed to be on the waiting list for the Catholic school. It was entirely socially acceptable for the "catholic school kids" to mock and berate the public school kids, and those who were in CCD, the after school catechism class, were qualified second class Catholics. The school kids would have elaborate May Day celebrations and "the public school kids" got their leftovers. Now, forget all that. Forget, too, that I had the most horrible crush on the young priest who came to help "the public school kids" prepare for confirmation, Father Weston (I believe). They made us have face-to-face confession before our confirmation...with Father Weston. I lied through my teeth, of course, but overall, if i actually listed all of my sins to the priest in the confessional, we would both need meals brought in. Still, I was pissed. And it made me think--why do I have to tell my sins to the Priest? God can't hear me without a translator? And what if I don't tell them everything...isn't God going to know what I have done wrong and whether or not I actually feel bad about it? And how in the hell does "ten Hail Mary-s" compensate for me throwing out my veggies or cheating on a test? But, my 11 year old brain rationalized, if people have always told their sins to the priests, then the clergy has always known the town dirt, and that could be valuable. Well, in college Renaissance history, I learned that I was right. Organized religion has very little to do with spirituality. Pray, worship, do it from your heart, in your own words...God knows the truth anyway. So now you know where I am coming from when I say that the bible is a collection of parables based on documented historical events, and that Jesus was a telekinetic prophet, and one hell of a guy. From this point, I plan to talk about what I mean about the bible, as a preface to discussing revelation and the apocalypse. Have a nice day...