32. IS PEAK OIL DOOM A RELIGION?

ANSWER: Yes. Peak oil doom is a pernicious cult. The "believers" are just Jehovah's Witnesses in disguise. Who needs Colin Campbell when the end of the world was foretold 2000 years ago in THE BIBLE.

The doomers pass out tracts from the Church Fathers, like the ASPO newsletter. The Hubbert curve is their sacred symbol. The synergy is good, and I think the doomers should buy out the Jehovah's Witnesses and leverage their tract distribution channels. Photoshop in the Hubbert's curve in place of the cross. Do a search-replace, and change "Satan" to "Technology" or "Global Capitalism". The mayhem and die-off illustrations for the end of world can be used as is. As can the idyllic illustrations of your tranquil, grassy home in the "Kingdom of God", except the caption will be changed to "Sustainable, local agriculture".

The Jehovah's Witnesses also have extensive knowledge of how to respond as a religious organization when your date for the end of the world comes and goes without event:

When 1914 had come and gone, with no Jesus in sight, Russell modified his teachings and claimed Jesus had, in fact, returned to Earth, but that his return was invisible. His visible return would come later, but still very soon.Source

Here's another eerie parallel. After two previous failed predictions, the JWs predicted the end of the world yet again, this time for 1975. When 1975 came and went, they blamed it on "faulty data", just like Colin Campbell:

Knorr was succeeded as head of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, by Frederick Franz. He had been the Witnesses’ leading theologian, and his services were often called upon. For some years the sect's magazines had been predicting that Armageddon would occur in 1975. When it didn't, Franz had to find an explanation.

Witnesses believe that Adam was created in 4026 B.C. and that human beings have been allotted 6000 years of existence until Armageddon and the beginning of the millennium. This figure is based on a "creative week" in which each of six days is equal to 1,000 years, with the Sabbath or seventh day being the beginning of the millennium. Simple arithmetic gives 1975 as the year Armageddon would arrive. Franz explained that Armageddon would actually come 6000 years after Eve's creation. But when 1975 came and went, the Witnesses had to "adjust" their chronology to cover up a failed prediction. They accomplished this by maintaining that no one knew exactly how long after Adam's creation Eve came on the scene. Franz said that it was months—even years. Hence he was able to "stretch" the 1975 date to some indeterminate time in the future. In any case, Franz said that Witnesses would just have to wait, knowing the end is right around the corner. Source

Jan. 1, 1976 must have been a depressing day for the JWs. Morale was at low ebb. But don't lose faith troops! The end is still "right around the corner", just like it was back in 1914.

Here's a fun link: 64 FAILED END-OF-THE-WORLD PREDICTIONS BEFORE 1990

A missing prediction:
2000: Religious nuts predict end of world due to Y2K computer virus

Peak oil doom isn't science. It's an end-of-the-world cult, pretending to be science, just like 'Y2K Theory'. The Y2Kers claimed to be "scientific" and concerned with "evidence", but in retrospect, were unmasked as a bunch of religious nuts preaching the "End Times".

Here's another one:
2007: Religious nut Richard "Olduvai Theory" Duncan predicts end of world due to "Peak Oil Olduvai Cliff Event"