Friday, July 4, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version

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Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices

by CNS News

Thank to Dan Koerner for the link.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200807/NAT20080703a.html

Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices

By Allison Aldrich and Keriann Hopkins
CNSNews.com Correspondents

(CNSNews.com) - As the price of oil continues to rise, some are turning to God and prayer for an answer to their financial troubles.

The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country. On Monday, Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million.

Twyman, who is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, spent the afternoon outside of the embassy praying and asking passersby to sign his petition for the release of more oil, which he hopes to deliver to the Saudi oil minister.

"Our people are really suffering through this crisis," Twyman told Cybercast News Service. "We need the Saudis to release at least 1.2 [million] barrels of oil per day for about the next six months until we can get everything settled in America ... (I)f they can just do that for us, than this will help us get through this crisis."

Twyman, who prompted the first national campaign aimed at getting African Americans to become bone marrow donors, has moved on to more active participation to lower gas prices than eliciting the help of God through prayer.

"I think we have just entered a new phase. We were in the prayerful phase, but now we're going into a more activist phase, because we feel that whole faith without works is dead," Twyman told reporters.

Prayer aside, some argue that there is very little the average consumer can do to influence gas prices. John Neurohr from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, has a different approach to managing the high gas prices.

"There is little, if anything, the average person can do to reduce gas prices generally," Neurohr told Cybercast News Service. "What they can do is reduce their personal dependence on gasoline by carpooling and utilizing public transportation."

Whether consumers decide to pray more or pump less, it is likely that the big changes will result from incremental steps towards more consumer-friendly oil policies.

Posted: Friday, July 4, 2008 | Permalink

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1. Comment #204131 by steve8282 on July 4, 2008 at 8:10 am

This seems like more of an extortion of the station owner.

I will give you ### to get away from my pumps.

Other Comments by steve8282

2. Comment #204133 by Nova on July 4, 2008 at 8:14 am

Rocky Twyman:

We need the Saudis to release at least 1.2 [million] barrels of oil per day for about the next six months

Then perhaps you should be praying to Mecca.

Other Comments by Nova

3. Comment #204141 by tahustvedt on July 4, 2008 at 8:26 am

Damnit! Now I have to want the prices to go up so that these people don't get an excuse to say goddidit. lol

They say they are really suffering beause of high gas prices. I wonder if they have any idea what it means to really suffer.

Other Comments by tahustvedt

4. Comment #204145 by Deepthought on July 4, 2008 at 8:33 am

I saw this and immeadiatly checked to see if it was written by the Onion. I was surprised to find it wasn't.

Other Comments by Deepthought

5. Comment #204147 by Lemniscate on July 4, 2008 at 8:34 am

"I think we have just entered a new phase. We were in the prayerful phase, but now we're going into a more activist phase, because we feel that whole faith without works is dead,"

Even he doesn't really think prayer works...

Other Comments by Lemniscate

6. Comment #204151 by j.mills on July 4, 2008 at 8:39 am

If Yanks pray for lower prices, and Saudis pray for higher prices, how does god decide? I'm inclined to think he'll camouflage his intervention so cunningly that it will be indistinguishable from the normal operation of the markets...

(What happens if enough people pray for there to be no god?)

Other Comments by j.mills

7. Comment #204153 by TIKI AL on July 4, 2008 at 8:40 am

When the sacred separation of pump and prayer is violated the end times are near.

Would'nt rain dancers be more suited for this?

Other Comments by TIKI AL

8. Comment #204155 by hungarianelephant on July 4, 2008 at 8:41 am

Haven't we already seen this story?

Other Comments by hungarianelephant

9. Comment #204156 by Tyler Durden on July 4, 2008 at 8:45 am

Perhaps these wackjobs need David "clearthinker" Robertson on their side - look what happened when he prayed for something!!!

Other Comments by Tyler Durden

10. Comment #204157 by Ed-words on July 4, 2008 at 8:46 am

Rocky (Balboa?) says that faith without good works is dead.

Sounds a lot like, "God helps those who help themselves."

Cop-outs.

He should stick to blood donor drives.(If he
could only raise his mind to the level of his good heart!)

Other Comments by Ed-words

11. Comment #204160 by toddaa on July 4, 2008 at 8:59 am

The Saudis don't have capacity to increase their output by 1.2 million barrels a day.It would truly be a miracle if they did. If I wasn't wiser, I'd say these people are about to have a learning moment. But then, they are Christians incapable of accepting reality for what it is.

Morons.

Other Comments by toddaa

12. Comment #204164 by irate_atheist on July 4, 2008 at 9:07 am

Oh, this absolutely will work. A petition from a Christian Evangelical to the House of Saud asking them to reduce their income by billions of dollars a day. Yep, that'll work.

Other Comments by irate_atheist

13. Comment #204165 by Ed-words on July 4, 2008 at 9:08 am

toddaa - -

They are not bonafide morons.

"No IQ,too high, for religion to destroy!"

Other Comments by Ed-words

14. Comment #204170 by Vaal on July 4, 2008 at 9:15 am

Why do I have the feeling that "Peak Oil" will shortly be raising its head?

Other Comments by Vaal

15. Comment #204171 by DamnDirtyApe on July 4, 2008 at 9:18 am

Dear lord, please make my gas under $100 a barrel.

*I know you're busy, so i'm rubbing the end of war, hunger and suffering off the to-do list.

Other Comments by DamnDirtyApe

16. Comment #204180 by Scott McMeekin on July 4, 2008 at 10:01 am

Perhaps a better strategy, given the USA's history of selling anything to pretty much anyone with no tangible long-term thought to the ramifications of such transactions, might be to add an taxy duty to all of those large arms sales to Saudi Arabia to offset their higher oil prices.

Nope - that wouldn't work, cos then the Saudi's would just buy their bombs and fighter jets from the humane, progressive, ethical, forward-thinking British government (as long as we slip them a nice big bung in the process).

Gotta love democracy.

Scott.

Other Comments by Scott McMeekin

17. Comment #204184 by pwuk on July 4, 2008 at 10:20 am

Is this legal? Could this be market manipulation? Have these people gone short on energy futures?

;-)

Other Comments by pwuk

18. Comment #204202 by D'Arcy on July 4, 2008 at 11:43 am

From the article:

As the price of oil continues to rise, some are turning to God and prayer for an answer to their financial troubles.

The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country. On Monday, Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million.

If these people really believe in miracles, and apparently they do, why don't they just pray for the almighty to provide more oil in their backyard? (Yes I do know about the current row going on about oil exploration in Alaska). As these people don't believe in a 4.5 billion year old Earth and presumably fossil fuels being several million years old, they will happily pray for "Give us this day our daily gas" and not give it another thought.

Luckily for humanity, there are more fruitful things to do than pray.

Other Comments by D'Arcy

19. Comment #204206 by quill on July 4, 2008 at 11:49 am

"Our people are really suffering through this crisis," Twyman told Cybercast News Service.

It really takes some degree of religious inanity to go to the developing world and complain to the people there about YOUR suffering.

Other Comments by quill

20. Comment #204213 by bluebird on July 4, 2008 at 11:58 am

This didn't work?!?

http://stevehickey.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/bu_gasprayer26_025_p.jpg

Other Comments by bluebird

21. Comment #204220 by Vinelectric on July 4, 2008 at 12:16 pm

I think invasions work better than prayers, long term. (sorry, just winding someone up!).

Other Comments by Vinelectric

22. Comment #204221 by pkruger on July 4, 2008 at 12:18 pm

It's all God's fault anyway. He didn't make enough accessible oil for all of us.
And from the outset things up poorly. There's too many of us now.

Other Comments by pkruger

23. Comment #204222 by Wosret on July 4, 2008 at 12:18 pm

Gah. Also, for the record, "god helps those who help themselves" is actually a greek saying. It originates from a story about a man whose cart has gotten stuck in the mud, and he prays for Hercules' and his great strength to pull his cart free. Hercules appears and tells the man to take hold of the cart, and push, he does and manages to free it. Hercules than tells the man not to ask for help so quickly, for the gods only help those that help themselves.

The Bible's message is quite the opposite.

Other Comments by Wosret

24. Comment #204225 by DalaiDrivel on July 4, 2008 at 12:38 pm

At least they're trying to move beyond prayer...

God's not so omnipotent as to accommodate whole faith.

But he IS omnipotent!

Other Comments by DalaiDrivel

25. Comment #204234 by padster1976 on July 4, 2008 at 1:10 pm

"Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million. "

So he's not ACTUALLY praying to god then is he?!

Other Comments by padster1976

26. Comment #204240 by D'Arcy on July 4, 2008 at 1:20 pm

I'm wondering if the Christians' God is Oilimpotent. Will Allah win the great battle and grab back Iraq? Somehow I doubt it, however unpopular the war is. One thing is certain: that too many human lives will be lost in the battle for control over natural resources in the middle east, and elsewhere.

Other Comments by D'Arcy

27. Comment #204265 by thewhitepearl on July 4, 2008 at 2:36 pm

suffering huh? the nerve of these people...tsk tsk

selfish twats.

Other Comments by thewhitepearl

28. Comment #204273 by 8teist on July 4, 2008 at 2:45 pm

Yup,nothing new in the world of stoopid

Other Comments by 8teist

29. Comment #204286 by Dispiracist on July 4, 2008 at 3:39 pm

If both sides in the transaction are both praying for either higher or lower prices, but the price of fuel is increasing, this proves that God really is listening to someone. One of them is doing it better.

Perhaps it's because Muslims' prayerful phase involves praying 5 times a day. As for the Muslim activist phase - they leave the Christians for dead.

Other Comments by Dispiracist

30. Comment #204288 by CruciFiction on July 4, 2008 at 3:49 pm

Pumping For Jesus!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=miE1kZz7XLw

Other Comments by CruciFiction

31. Comment #204289 by vertigo25 on July 4, 2008 at 3:50 pm

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

Hmmm...

Doesn't seem to be working...

Other Comments by vertigo25

32. Comment #204302 by ManOfReason on July 4, 2008 at 4:34 pm

Hey, and while we're at it let's throw some pennies into a pond! Anyone got an unused birthday wish? Magic lamp, anyone? Maybe if we all wish hard enough! These people will do ANYTHING to lower those gas prices, as long as they don't actually have to do anything. Hey, how about writing a letter to your congress person? "No thanks, I think I'll just wish it to be so." I'm sorry, but this is a new level of idiocy.

Other Comments by ManOfReason

33. Comment #204303 by qomak on July 4, 2008 at 4:42 pm

"Our people are really suffering through this crisis," Twyman told Cybercast News Service.

Quill:

It really takes some degree of religious inanity to go to the developing world and complain to the people there about YOUR suffering.

Same sentiments. Someone has to tell this cocksucker there are real people who are really suffering specially in the same country he wants to be friends with (i.e., Saudi Arabia).
Yet another sign of arrogant and egocentricity where you and YOUR little pathetic problems are at the center of divine attention.

Go buy a fucking bicycle chubbies.

Other Comments by qomak

34. Comment #204305 by qomak on July 4, 2008 at 4:46 pm

From: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070912093556.htm

"An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years," suggests Charles Courtemanche, an economics researcher at Washington University in St. Louis.

Since then we had a few dollars on the gas prices, I wonder how americans are doing...

Other Comments by qomak

35. Comment #204306 by Mike O'Risal on July 4, 2008 at 4:50 pm

This is old news.

Back in April, Twyman was already doing this. While he and his pump-buddies were prayin' to Jesus for the price of gas to go down, I started praying to the ghost of Norman Fell to make it go up.

Clearly, the price of gas went up. Thus, according to prayer-logic, the ghost of Mr. Roper from Three's Company is more powerful than Jesus.

I'm calling the new religion Fellatio.

Other Comments by Mike O'Risal

36. Comment #204313 by adk on July 4, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Right. Because god has nothing bigger to worry about.

Other Comments by adk

37. Comment #204315 by mandrellian on July 4, 2008 at 5:51 pm

*derrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Other Comments by mandrellian

38. Comment #204326 by Satanburiedfossils on July 4, 2008 at 6:56 pm

They should be praying to Dick Cheney. He's more powerful than God.

Other Comments by Satanburiedfossils

39. Comment #204328 by Satanburiedfossils on July 4, 2008 at 7:11 pm

Wouldn't it save time to just pray for God to supernaturally fill our tanks with gasoline?

Or better yet, a car that runs on Faith.

Other Comments by Satanburiedfossils

40. Comment #204329 by 8teist on July 4, 2008 at 7:16 pm

Satan, The russians make a car that runs on faith called a Lada.

A heap of shit but essential , if you want to be taken seriously by Greenpeace.

Other Comments by 8teist

41. Comment #204333 by utelme on July 4, 2008 at 7:53 pm

You're all praying to the old God,lol. We need to pray to the new one that gives us electric cars, alternative fuels, renewable power sources, etc.

Other Comments by utelme

42. Comment #204335 by utelme on July 4, 2008 at 8:01 pm

You know..the holy trinity..Resourcfullness, Inventiveness and the Holy Getoffyourarse.

Other Comments by utelme

43. Comment #204339 by King of NH on July 4, 2008 at 8:33 pm

"There is little, if anything, the average person can do to reduce gas prices generally," Neurohr told Cybercast News Service. "What they can do is reduce their personal dependence on gasoline by carpooling and utilizing public transportation."

What? That's a stupid idea. Give up my 35 foot 8 wheel drive monster truck? How will I get around Manhattan then? No, the obvious answer is to pray to God that he will smite the godless holders of our heavenly petrol and give it to the poor, suffering, Christian, white, middle-class, American heterosexuals that have already been oppressed so much since the civil rights movement (our wives have started voting, damn it!!!). Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm switching my florescent bulbs with 1million candle power ones, woohoo!

Other Comments by King of NH

44. Comment #204352 by tybowen on July 4, 2008 at 9:01 pm

So they DRIVE around to different gas stations to lower gas prices? How much is the betting that they don't carpool there?

PS This "our wives have started voting, damn it!!!" really made me laugh King of NH

Other Comments by tybowen

45. Comment #204375 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:44 pm

j.mills said:

I'm inclined to think he'll camouflage his intervention so cunningly that it will be indistinguishable from the normal operation of the markets...

Wow, you're good. Do my palms next. Will I come into money? Is today a good day to start something new?

Edit: I agree, by the way.

Other Comments by moderndaythomas

46. Comment #204377 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:49 pm

Satanburiedfossils said:

Wouldn't it save time to just pray for God to supernaturally fill our tanks with gasoline?
Or better yet, a car that runs on Faith.

Yeah, that's methane.

Other Comments by moderndaythomas

47. Comment #204378 by NakedCelt on July 4, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Comment #204180 by Scott McMeekin:

Perhaps a better strategy, given the USA's history of selling anything to pretty much anyone with no tangible long-term thought to the ramifications of such transactions, might be to add an taxy duty to all of those large arms sales to Saudi Arabia to offset their higher oil prices.

Bush seems to be trying the opposite at the moment -- giving the Saudis nuclear power in exchange for lower oil prices.

Other Comments by NakedCelt

48. Comment #204385 by dragonfirematrix on July 4, 2008 at 10:21 pm

Divine intervention will not work for oil prices just like divine intervention did not work for the victimized polio victims (children)...

DEVINE INTERVENTION WILL NOT WORK BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE DIVINE TO INTERVENE.

Other Comments by dragonfirematrix

49. Comment #204497 by Adam Morrison on July 5, 2008 at 4:33 am

I love how whenever there's an oil issue so many Americans look to the Saudis. Except Canada supplies the majority (something like 60 or 65% of US oil). Usually the same ones who want NAFTA removed which is hilarious since oil is a protected commodity in the agreement and without it Canadian oil could be heavily tariffed.

Other Comments by Adam Morrison

50. Comment #204509 by Tyler Durden on July 5, 2008 at 4:58 am