All along oil had to be pumped out of the earth. This was in the early years of the industry. But all this changed in April 1861 when drillers struck flowing oil! Daniel Yergin, a respected authority on the history of the oil industry, recounts that, “when the oil from that well shot into the air, something ignited the escaping gases, setting off a great explosion and creating a wall of fire that killed nineteen people.” What good news and sad news occurring at the same time! The author notes “the explosion announced to the world that ample supplies for the new industry would be available.” But I say, it announced the blessing and curse that would come out of the commodity. Joy to some (the West), and death to others! When you look at much of what is happening in the Middle East, it is less a matter of religious violence but more of the West’s insatiable appetite for oil. This issue I have addressed in my book “Why I believe God exists.” The history of Iran, the Shah and Khomeini’s 1979 Revolution testifies volumes about this. Sadder is the fact of a young generation today which knows next to nothing about the history of events which have brought our world to the blink of disaster we are now facing. It’s a nexus of political complexities!