Did the Tower of Babel collapse because they ran out of oil?

MattSavinar · Elite Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 1999

I posted this originally over at the LATOC Forum.

http://www.doomers.us/forum2/index.php/topic,18323.0.html

Thought you guys and gals would be interested:

Something to think about, emphasis mine:

cipi604

The only difference , this Babylon is much bigger.

TheDude

The Chinese began building NG pipelines - out of bamboo! - ca. 900 AD. The Bible has the occasional reference to what may be FFs, like the burning bush. Oil seeps were used for practical uses, pitch pots or sealing boats. Native Americans were using the Athabasca tar sands to seal canoes.

People have always used fossil fuels if they were easily available, but it wasn't until the industrial age that we began to to utilize them for power sources.
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ROCKMAN

Matt does bring up an interesting link to a society's fall as a result of resource depletion. Years ago I read about a theory regarding Myan decline that was fairly well received at the time. The theory goes: during good times when agriculture was supplying plentyful product the ruling class had a large part of society with much spare time and energy. Thus began the great building cycles. Since there was no practical way to store and preserve the excess it was spent. Eventually times turned bad and ag production declined. But since much of the population had become too dependent upon others for food an eventual collapse of society occured.

I never completely bought the idea but it does offer all too obvious comparisons with life in the later half of the 20th century.

hope_full · Heavy Crude Joined: May 27, 2008 Posts: 235

Noah's ark might have been the first historical record of a ship that used fossil fuels! The Bible says the ark was covered with "pitch, within and without"! Smile

(Gen 6:14)

Kingcoal

There is a theory that the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had an economy in asphalt. The Dead Sea has chunks of asphalt floating around in it. They harvested those chunks and sold off the pieces. Part of this same theory is that the cities were destroyed by a huge earthquake which liberated a natural gas reservoir below the surface, causing the fiery biblical catastrophe.
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cube · Fusion Joined: Mar 12, 2005 Posts: 3574

TheDude

Never heard that about S+G, Kingcoal. Thanks. A theory about the Oracle of Delphi suggests that the cryptic/far out pronouncements from the Pythia (high Priestess) were in part from the inhalation of ethylene vapors; seems the Oracle was astride the intersection of a pair of major fault lines; the gas is present in local springs and streams and may have accumulated in the Oracle's chambers.

Delphic Oracle's Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors

The Oracle often delivered the goods, it's just that the meaning was wholly obscure:

seldom_seen · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Apr 12, 2005 Posts: 1978

Micki

I would hope they didn't build the tower out of asphalt.
I always tghought the project went bust becasue they started using cheap imported labour who didn't understand the lingo
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yeahbut · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 30, 2007 Posts: 292

BigTex

Madpaddy · Expert Joined: Jun 25, 2004 Posts: 2087

Actually there is reference to automotive transport in the bible as well.

The new testament tells us that Jesus came to Jerusalem in triumph.

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hope_full · Heavy Crude Joined: May 27, 2008 Posts: 235

And even the old testament, the story of Naaman in II Kings 5 says that, "Naaman left in a Rage." Must have been a very fast car.

burtonridr · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 763