Is it God's Will to not find a solution to the oil spill?

[JoltinJoe]

He said: "When I was a child I spoke as a child; I understood as a child ;I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."

Sorry for being sarcastic, but it gets a little tiring hearing these type of questions implying that the existence of bad things in the world proves that there is no God (as if there were something brilliant about the thought or question). This question has been endlessly discussed by philosophers and theologians, and is even directly addressed in the Bible.

To act like you have asked a thought-provoking, ground-breaking, insightful question, and then pretend that there is not a mountain of scholarship to which your question relates going back thousands of years, just strikes me as profoundly silly or ignorant.

[kalm]

He said: "When I was a child I spoke as a child; I understood as a child ;I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."

Sorry for being sarcastic, but it gets a little tiring hearing these type of questions implying that the existence of bad things in the world proves that there is no God (as if there were something brilliant about the thought or question). This question has been endlessly discussed by philosophers and theologians, and is even directly addressed in the Bible.

To act like you have asked a thought-provoking, ground-breaking, insightful question, and then pretend that there is not a mountain of scholarship to which your question relates going back thousands of years, just strikes me as profoundly silly or ignorant.

Perhaps. And not that you do this Joe, but the claim by thumpers that 'God works in mysterious' ways as an explanation to an innocent who has experienced a great tragedy in their lives is equally frustrating.

That sentiment creates many an atheist, and while it is perhaps not a failure of God's, it's an epic failure of religion. For someone who deals with a truly tragic life, God has a whole bunch of explainin' to do.

[JoltinJoe]

He said: "When I was a child I spoke as a child; I understood as a child ;I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."

Sorry for being sarcastic, but it gets a little tiring hearing these type of questions implying that the existence of bad things in the world proves that there is no God (as if there were something brilliant about the thought or question). This question has been endlessly discussed by philosophers and theologians, and is even directly addressed in the Bible.

To act like you have asked a thought-provoking, ground-breaking, insightful question, and then pretend that there is not a mountain of scholarship to which your question relates going back thousands of years, just strikes me as profoundly silly or ignorant.

Perhaps. And not that you do this Joe, but the claim by thumpers that 'God works in mysterious' ways as an explanation to an innocent who has experienced a great tragedy in their lives is equally frustrating.

People say that because they simply don't know what to say when someone experiences tragedy. Not everything in life is going to make sense or be susceptible to some easy explanation. Indeed, that is the daily challenge of the faithful. A tragic event in one's life is certainly something which can -- and perhaps should -- shake faith.

Difficult events in life, and even outright tragedies, are points in life when a person is called to discernment and to find some greater meaning. No one can explain to you why something bad happened to you. That's ultimately up to you. Your choices, as I see it, is either strive for discernment and understanding; or come to the belief that our tragedies are simply random, meaningless events in lives which serve no ultimate purpose (i.e., sorry that happened, sucks to be you).

I choose the former. D1B says that's because I'm weak. I say it's because I have some otherwise inexplicable hunger for justice ingrained in me, and I believe that represents the grace of God.

[mainejeff]

As long as Thumpers keep using God to control people's lives, discriminate, and hate.........I'll keep thinking about God in 2nd grade terms. Is that OK with you Dad?

[death dealer]

As long as Thumpers keep using God to control people's lives, discriminate, and hate.........I'll keep thinking about God in 2nd grade terms. Is that OK with you Dad?

Seeing as how that is the limit of your intellect, what else would we expect?

[mainejeff]

As long as Thumpers keep using God to control people's lives, discriminate, and hate.........I'll keep thinking about God in 2nd grade terms. Is that OK with you Dad?

Seeing as how that is the limit of your intellect, what else would we expect?

I fit right in with the rest of the world.

[death dealer]

Seeing as how that is the limit of your intellect, what else would we expect?

I fit right in with the rest of the world.

Sadly, you are very correct.

[JohnStOnge]

I've been wondering if God is "teaching us a lesson" by allowing this spill to reach its worst case scenario? Is he trying to tell us something? Is it the beginning of the end? Just wonderin'..........

I don't think the reality is going to be nearly as bad as most people around the country think. And, as I'll write more about in another thread, there is absolutely no doubt that this does NOT mean people in Louisiana want to stop offshore oil exploration and drilling. In fact, I'm confident that if you took a poll of Louisiana residents asking if they like the idea of any kind of moratorium or reduction a substantial majority would say "no." In fact I think it'd be an overwhelming majority.

On the issue of how bad it is: Because of my job I am monitoring where oil is potentially going, the potential oiling footprint, where oil presence is being confirmed, and what the nature of the oiling is every day. When you see pictures in the media you're seeing very ugly stuff but that stuff is not widespread. Proportionately there is not much "heavy" oiling of shorelines. The oil is generally well weathered by the time it gets into estuaries because great distances are involved, it's hot, and the environment has been acting on it. It is not highly toxic to estuarine life in terms of being poisonous. Of course if it's heavy it can kill things just by smothering. But not a lot of it is heavy.

The overwhelming majority of the extent of the Louisiana estuarine system is not severly affected and I don't see that changing even if this goes on through August.

The big tragedy is human. This is a very high anxiety time for people whose livings are substantially related to commercial and recreational fishing in the eastern half of Louisiana. I think that, biologically, all of the fisheries will probably be ready to go at full or nearly full strength by this time next year. I think it likely there will be plenty of "clean" finfish, shrimp, crabs, and oysters available for harvest . A person will still be able to go out and have a chance to catch so many speckled trout and redfish that they'll wear their arms out doing it. The problem, I think, is that a lot of people who in some way make their living off the fisheries can't hold on that long. They can't make their livings with all the waters closed to fishing and the closures are going to get more widespread for a while. Then there's going to have to be a painstaking, lengthy process followed in order to re-open much of the closed area. There's only so much capacity for testing samples for "clearance."

[Chizzang]

I think that, biologically, all of the fisheries will probably be ready to go at full or nearly full strength by this time next year. I think it likely there will be plenty of "clean" finfish, shrimp, crabs, and oysters available for harvest . A person will still be able to go out and have a chance to catch so many speckled trout and redfish that they'll wear their arms out doing it. The problem, I think, is that a lot of people who in some way make their living off the fisheries can't hold on that long. They can't make their livings with all the waters closed to fishing and the closures are going to get more widespread for a while. Then there's going to have to be a painstaking, lengthy process followed in order to re-open much of the closed area. There's only so much capacity for testing samples for "clearance."

Just about your entire post is counter to the findings of Cornell University... like completely the opposite of what they're saying based on their 75 years of complied Gulf Studies and their current on site studies

But good luck with all that...

You missed about a month ago here:
We were all enjoying the topic of how good an oil spill can be for the ocean, you know, it's organic it's natural

[JohnStOnge]

Just about your entire post is counter to the findings of Cornell University... like completely the opposite of what they're saying based on their 75 years of complied Gulf Studies and their current on site studies

But good luck with all that...

Well, we'll see. A year from now we'll see where things are.

One caveat: They have to get the thing stopped. Right now my opinion is based on the belief that they will get it stopped with the relief well around August. I'm not sure what I'll think if they don't. I'll have to see how things are developing. I guess at some point if they never get it stopped there will be so much oil that no telling what will happen.

[93henfan]

I just hope that by the time the oil gets up here that we can successfully boom the mouths of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and divert the oil to the Jersey Shore. They wouldn't notice it.

[dbackjon]

I just hope that by the time the oil gets up here that we can successfully boom the mouths of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and divert the oil to the Jersey Shore. They wouldn't notice it.

What is worse - the gulf oil spill, or the Guido oil spill every summer?