Oilfield Prayer Day
It’s always eluded me how religion and politics got to the position we find them in the U.S. today. In particular, how did it come to be that the most extreme right-wingers on energy, i.e., the fossil fuel zealots, turn out to be the most devout Christians? Wouldn’t you have expected the precise opposite, given the character of Christ? Even atheists revere the great stories of His non-aggressive demeanor, His love, charity, mercy, respect for the poor, forgiveness, caring for the sick and disdain for riches. Isn’t it fairly clear that, if He were on earth today, that He would favor the most gentle and kind ways of living? How did this subject of Christianity and politics get so thoroughly bollixed up?
Here’s an article that doesn’t answer that question directly, but sheds a great deal of light on the subject of prayer and oil, two subjects that apparently come together nicely in the minds of the leaders, both in business and government, in the great state of Oklahoma. As it turns out, last Thursday was “Oilfield Prayer Day,” as declared by the state’s governor, Mary Fallin. If that sounds so far-fetched that it couldn’t possibly be true, you’ll want to check out the article.
Craig,
Before the Civil War, many devout Christians too their slaves to church to hear Bible readings which told them to obey their masters. Other devout Christians set up the underground railroad to help slaves escape to Freedom.
Jesus chided people who believed themselves to be above others because they followed all the ceremonial laws to the letter while neglecting the welfare of their fellow human beings.
Being religious does not necessarily mean following the will of God. Quite honestly, I think that there are atheists who will be saved and Christians who will not be saved. In many churches which have a liturgical service, the Summary of the Law is read regularly; it is how Jesus replied when he was asked which is the most important law. The second part of it is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Jesus, via the parable of the Good Samaritan, greatly expanded the definition of “neighbor” and “love”.
It would seem useless to follow numerous Biblical laws, which may not even be binding, then ignore the Summary of the Law which is the most important part of Christianity.
Probably you and many others will agree with what I have written.
Craig,
Why shouldn’t the Governor of Arizona give thanks for the prosperity the oil industry has brought to her State?
The oil industry’s 350,000 products have dragged hundreds of millions out of abject poverty and created the modern world. Along the way the industry has saved millions of children from dying of horse encephalitis, saved whales from certain extinction etc.
From medicines to advanced ceramics, the oil industry is inextricably entwined in every aspect of the world economy. Without the revenue and prosperity created by the oil industry, America would descend into chaos and millions would perish.
The Author of the article in the Daily Kos, opines with great venom and outrage, also with a great deal of spiteful hypocrisy.
The author accepts all the benefits of the Oil industry, while offering no practical alternative as a replacement. Like most parasites, he whines impotently and self indulgently, safe in the knowledge he won’t be called upon to actually do anything useful.
Like all human technology oil has created great benefits, but also unintended negatives. Replacing negative and pollutant oil products will be a huge challenge.
It will take a lot of hard work, cooperation, innovation and will need strong and resilient economy.
So yeah, given the enormity of the task, and the scale of blessings the oil industry has bestowed over the last century or so,… a little prayer may not be out of place!
Marcopolo,
Unquestionably the oil industry has bestowed many benefits. It, along with coal, made the industrial revolution possible to our benefit. Without fossil fuels, the industrial revolution could not have occurred and we would still be living rather primitive lives, depending on animal power with all of its pollution. Many people seem to be unaware of that. However, times change.
It is past time for us to phase out the use of fossil fuels and we must do so as quickly as possible.
Observations and Injections into the Gov of Oklahoma and her call for Prayer
Love your Humility and Grace Frank – you are clear spoken – and make a great point about what is really real and the Way we should try to be like Christ said. . Thanks
Marco I can understand your critique of the author of the KOS piece.
You are right about the positive impact and the role of oil products throughout the Global Economy and beyond. There was some bias in that writer but it is PC to bash oil. Hell in a minute I provide more reasons to bash them but it is the rigged system in how they operate that is wrong. its Not the OIL. Its the Players !
That is why we need to use it more intelligently. like natural gas , less oil burned in transportation frees up supply for all the other higher value products that our modern society needs.
More solar and wind saves gas for industrial processes and chemical and medicine , composite materials production . More electric cars and light vehicles same benefit.
Then we dont have to drill as much but we use the oil and gas in higher value applications. Would take out some of the volatility of the commodity cycle perhaps . The booms and busts would be less severe.
This is a economic strategy in the making as the countries that utilize cost effective green energy for electricity can use the fossil fuels in higher value applications and we all benefit.
Then maybe that is what the lady Governor should be praying for – personally I find the Okl Gov views magical , fanciful and obsolete and full of myths – a real light weight. But thats my Johari’s Window.
I hold in disdain all the tax breaks the Billionaires get – I have met Mr Hamm and heard him speak; he is no friend to the environment period or future generations. He bought off ND State regulators with over $ 15 million in donations to the two big colleges. He threw some more money at other political players so his Baaken fields would be exempted from regulations etc. typical crooked dirty playing capitalist with too much money that he is corrupted by it.
Now ND is in slump and a major land, water cleanup costs are being incurred. Many Western ND farmers are hurting as their water and wheat fields are in dire shape; the result of the power plays with his money in the name of capitalism and free markets and all the other BS , etc., The fabled Lie of them All – those with the Gold make the Rules and the public be damned. Make no mistake he was and is Not the Lone Ranger plus lots of Tontos !
The good news is that certain players in industry are installing special well head treatment systems to stop the polluting and wasteful flaring of raw gas – methane into the atmosphere. At one point in 2013 35 % of all the gas they found was flared off a dark stain on the states leadership. ND GH gasses emissions were rampant! Market forces now correcting for the market failures of the past.
Could write several paragraphs on the transgressions of Hamms co and many others up there.
The money they saved by under mining good common best practices was extra profit for them and now the state and Public is footing the bill for major cleanup during the current slump.
The timeless practice of privatizing the Profits and Socializing the Costs is at the Heart of the oil boom and bust economy, its dark underside. Not the product the players .
He had oil fields burning in the lower Baaken area close to SD West into Far Eastern Montana South of I 90 and Teddy Roosevelt Park on the Lil Yellowstone river. His crews took short cuts w nitrogen and they stared fires underground. Could not pump out their oil and a large percentage of it burned underground. The losses were a few million barrels. One of my clients was a Engr firm that set up off grid generation turbines to supply power to the remote drilling areas. He was involved in trying to mitigate the fires and reduce the losses. He worked on the fires for over 6 years through the early 2000’s –
The Shame of it all is that the oil co’s get to take their depletion allowance on wells. So they can write all this burning oil off, and the working person makes up the difference to the US Treasury the Myth of capitalism and its championed benefits to all …blah blah blah.
Baker Mt., is another outpost of Industrial Sacrifice Zones brought to you by all the tax dodgers of Oklahoma and similar Bunker HQ’s.
I used to have to attend energy rally’s in Wyoming and Montana. After the lunch was over and the main speaker was done a US Senator would lead a chant and the whole room stood up and it was show and tell time.
The US Senator from Wyoming would start the chant he would scream O then I and then L they sang Opportunity , Investment , Leadership and thanked God for OIL!
It was a Real Hoot! to me though I kept my Poker face on. I guess their collective prayers were not heard as I was told last week that the Oil Petroleum Club in Caspar Wy closed last month due to economic hardships. Maybe Gov Mary will place the closed Club on her special prayer list???
Where of where is Mr Hamms donation money when its needed ??!!??
Back to the Governor – I think all of us who are fair minded and respect the sanctity of life and wish for the well being of the greater good the Public well we should Pray really hard for this Governor as she has her priorities misplaced or suffers from severe lack of Values Clarification.
Oh yeah she was the Gov that wanted to put taxes on people who put solar on their homes . Public rebuke in OKl sidelined that pending law! yes Mary needs our prayers just like brother Frank’s Gov Susana M who runs a state that is broke but gives Facebook 35 year property and sales tax Holidays. 8 plus years of Robust drilling for oil and gas in NM and they have no money in the bank to show for it ??? Mythical market places strikes again !
There is a saying that has been used to describe the plight of certain resource rich nations that remain Poor after decades of extraction. they call it the Resource Curse or the Curse of Black Gold in respect to Oil .
Countries like Venezuela, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and others all suffer from the Black gold Resource Curse ! but again the story must be deeper it takes bad actors.
Go figure
Maybe we should Pray for ourselves as we have to live under these Morons and live with the Morons who voted them in as well.
We can mine oil but we need to do it responsibly and that means not Taking the Paths of Least Resistance and then all would be well. Maybe a stiff Carbon Tax would inject some Sanity into the tax avoidance and wealth accelerator Cults!
Maybe a sane extraction plan and rid our selves of the Wall st leveraged under writing program which includes derivatives and other exotic financial tricks to keep the endless lease, drill,pay royalties and try to sell as much as possible so the game keeps going and cut corners all along the way.
Gov Mary most likely knows some of this but she chooses to dodge reality and Pray for more consumption , so Shallow!
Inconvenient Truths from the Front Lines.
Religion and Politics have always worked nicely together. Religion has after all been characterized as the “opiate of the masses.” Marx used the phrase to suggest a relief valve to society but it has since been used to describe people being lead from their best interests. And it is there that religion and politics join. It is part of a type of politics to guide the natural inclinations into a mass movement.
“Religion” has been used in many different ways. More recently the term “Spirituality” has been used to describe an individual’s personal beliefs that go beyond a personal world view or philosophy.