This week's dilemma is from Adam, who says he's finding it hard to feel accepted at his local church.
 
He feels as though there's some kind of barrier between him and the people at his church. He says although the people are lovely, kind and generous, he is frustrated that he always seems to be the one initiating social outings.

He approaches people at his church who pray with him, and encourage him. But Adam says he doesn't feel truly accepted or a real part of the Christian community at his church, despite his best efforts at reaching out.

Adam goes to a small church in a country town where he’s lived for the last twenty years. He has recently returned to church after a number of years not going anywhere.

Should you stick with a church? Or move on somewhere else where you do feel truly part of the church community/church life?

What does it take to feel truly part of a church? Is it measured in number of years in attendance? Weekly involvement? Good social life?

The government’s proposed Fuelwatch scheme seems to have been getting all the headlines this week, with controversy surrounding whether or not the system will actually reduce the price of petrol.

But have you heard about the government’s plan to introduce a similar scheme for food?

The idea of the food monitoring scheme is that the ACCC would publish the results of a random survey of supermarket items such as meat and vegetables on a website so that consumers can use the information to decide where to buy their groceries from.

Does it sound like a good idea to you? Would you take advantage of such a scheme to track down the cheapest fruit and vegetables in your area? Or does it concern you?

• There’s been some criticism of the idea…with fears that big supermarket chains could manipulate the system, and engage in price gouging.

• There are also fears this system could wipe out smaller supermarkets.

• As there is concern that the Fuelwatch scheme may see the price of petrol rise, there is also concern that a “Food watch” scheme will push the price of food up.

• BUT the scheme is supported by “Choice” – which says it will allow consumers to make informed choices about where to shop.

• Do you see this as the best way to combat rising food prices? Or do you agree with Associate professor Julian Cribb, who says the government should be investing more heavily in agricultural science, and society as a whole should stop wasting so much food.

How do you think the government should respond to the forecasts of increasingly expensive food prices?

This week we spoke to Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seatle. Mark's sermons are downloaded by the thousand all around the world. His church broadcasts its services to six other locations and is about to broadcast internationally.

It reminds me of some research the US polster George Barna released a few years ago. He predicted that by 2010, 50 million people would look to the internet to get their primary spiritual experiences. What do you think about that?

I'd like to know who is the spiritual teacher that has had the most influence in your life and how you recieve their teaching. Is that person an international author whose books have enriched you? Or a pastor like Mark Driscoll whose sermons you download online? What about your church pastor? Who influential have they been in comparison?

Why should we believe in God? Sceptics like Richard Dawkins say we shouldn’t. Now an Australian has entered the debate. Roy Williams studied science, history, sociology and the Bible—and came to the conclusion that faith makes sense. This week hear why this lawyer believes God probably exists, why Jesus was probably divine, and why the popular objections to belief are unconvincing.

We’ll review the TV hit How to Look Good Naked, begin a new series on avoiding the pitfalls of spiritual leadership, and we’ll chat to the creative mind behind Prince Caspian—CS Lewis’s step-son, Douglas Gresham.

The price of crude oil has reached another record high this week …soaring to $139 a barrel for the first time on Friday. Seems as though there’s a new record every couple of weeks…the last one was $135….of course this is leading to pain at the bowser for many motorists.

Or is it?

I’d love to know – does the soaring price of fuel actually limit you? Have you altered your lifestyle in some way to adjust to high petrol prices?

• Have you switched to a more fuel efficient car?
• Are you using public transport instead of a car?
• Are you thinking twice before driving up to the shops to buy some bread?
• Are you car pooling with colleagues to get to work?
• Have you even moved closer to where you work to limit how much you need to travel in the first place?

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council says many people are choosing NOT to have driving holidays anymore as a result of fuel price increases. Is that you? Are the days of the Australian road trip nearing an end?
 
There are predictions the price of petrol could reach $1.75 this coming week, and possibly even reach $2 in the not too distant future. Will you keep using your car in the same way, or do you not mind paying the price for fuel because of the convenience?

Our dilemma this week is from Jonathon:

“I'm 22, and in a relationship with a great girl. She and I get along so well, and I really enjoy her company. She's never been in a relationship before, but I have. My last relationship was a very physical one, and in it, I lost my virginity. Am I obligated to tell my current girlfriend? And how does one get over the guilt of such an action as losing their innocence, especially while trying to be a follower of Jesus?”

Jonathan's dilemma is twofold: How much of your sexual past should you disclose with your current girlfriend or boyfriend? Does it even need to be discussed? If so, should Jonathon wait until the relationship becomes more serious?

And secondly, how can Jonathon get over the guilt he feels for his previous sexual choices?

Give Jonathon your advice below. 

When cultures clash
Review of The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles, Elizabeth Stead.

By Kara Martin

Pastor Morley is a Seventh Day Adventist missionary who travels to an island north of Australia convinced that he is bringing God to the islanders. Unfortunately he discovers they already have their own gods and crocodiles, and they are tempted to feed him to them! In this beautifully written novel, Elizabeth Stead brings alive her own experiences of living with her husband and three children on just such an island.

Elizabeth told the ABC that she saw the impact of the missionaries: “They just went in and changed everything. That wasn’t right... it makes me angry when I think about it.”

In this novel the tables are turned on the missionaries who probably learn more than they teach. The initial lessons are about surviving in a place without electricity ad running water, and then dealing with the very secular settlers also arriving on the island in droves. In the midst of it the natives are the core of calm beauty, rapidly losing their idyllic lifestyle.

One criticism of the book is that all the missionaries are flawed characters, and sometimes in stereotypical ways: the Catholic priest is a child molester, the Anglican is a gambling drunk, the Mormon just wants to compromise the native women... However, beneath the heavy-handedness there are some eccentric characters and lots of wisdom.

Primarily this is a book about the clash of cultures. The missionaries end up trying to change so much that has nothing to do with the Gospel: what to eat, what to wear, where to live... In the end Pastor Morley does become a revered character among missionaries, settlers and the natives, but only because he is humble enough to start appreciating their ways, and act more like Jesus with his integrity and faithfulness and care toward the people.

The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles is a book that will keep the reader pondering for weeks and months after it is finished. It is a disturbing book because it is very clear about the impact of “civilisation” on a native culture. The whites are an ugly people compared to the beauty of the native lifestyle. However, the reality is that the modern world was going to encroach on this paradise in time; and at least the presence of the missionaries was a controlling force on the extent of exploitation. These are not simple issues.

This review has focused on a particular element of this book, however there are many other characters and stories. Most of the people Elizabeth Stead writes about are very eccentric, but amidst the whimsy and fancy, there are characters who become the reader’s friends, and enemies.
Another highlight is the sheer beauty of the language. The writing is very poetic, for example, Stead introduces one character who is awkward as a boy, as “all slow bones and grazes, chewed nails and blurred vision.”

Elizabeth Stead has written a challenging book with much to offer.

Open House book reviewer KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (www.mcsi.edu.au), and is an avid reader and book group attendee.

What happens when an atheist goes to church? Jim Henderson is a Christian pastor who started paying people to attend services and give feedback. Along the way he found Matt Casper—an atheist. The two visited some of the most well-known churches in the US, and this week they join us for a frank discussion about faith, church and well-meaning Christians.

And how much of the news should you believe? We’ll talk to award-winning journalist Nick Davies who’s lifted the lid on Britain’s broadsheet abuses through his book Flat Earth News.

What should you say to a friend who is stacking on the weight, but not necessarily realising it?

Is it best to say something in the interests of their health/wellbeing?

Or is it too personal a matter to ever point out to someone?

• Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve put on weight? Do you wish someone had said something to you about it?

• Has someone said something to you about your weight that’s left a huge scar/that hurt you?

• Is it ever appropriate to gently say something about a friend’s weight, or is it just too sensitive and personal an issue?

The government is due to release a report next month, which sets out new guidelines on binge drinking.

The revised “National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines” will reportedly define binge drinking as consuming more than four standard drinks a day.

That equates to around three glasses of wine, or four middies of beer.

The government says it’s in response to new research on binge drinking.

However at least one health professional has slammed the proposal, saying it makes no sense at all. Paul Haber, the medical director of Drug Health Services Addiction Medicine at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, has told Fairfax media that the new guidelines would mean a couple sharing a bottle of wine over dinner are having a binge.

Do you think four standard drinks is a fair definition of binge drinking?

If you had three glasses of wine would you consider yourself on a binge?

Stouthearted badgers, macho mice, dubious dwarves and a conquered kingdom. Welcome to ‘Narnia—the wounded years’.

Those ever-lovin’ ‘sons of Adam and daughters of Eve’—Peter (William Moseley) Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and the very sweet Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley)—are whisked back to Aslan’s land by a horn-blown SOS.

Thirteen hundred years have passed since the Pevensies had left the fabled realm, and they’ve got some derring do to, um, do, to support noble interloper (and their summoner) Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes).

Director, co-screenwriter and producer Andrew Adamson (of Shrek fame) has done a sterling job of adapting the novel for the screen. The liberties he takes (such as the cameo from Tilda Swinton’s ice queen from the first Narnia flick) generally pay off and do not compromise the plot’s integrity.

After Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth sagas and the Harry Potter flicks, moviegoers have exacting standards for action and battle cinematography and CGI characters—these are more than satisfied here as, all the while, Aslan plays hide and seek to test the kids’ faith.

While billed as a family adventure (a rather lengthy one at that) this deserves its M rating for ‘frequent battle violence’. It is principally (screen)written and shot for older children and teenagers.

Open House film reviewer Barry Gittins is editor of On Fire magazine, and a regular reviewer for the Salvos' Warcry magazine: www.salvationarmy.org.au/warcry

With male and female infertility on the rise, more and more Australian couples are struggling to create a family. Many hope reproductive technologies will help them defy nature. But how ethical is IVF, surrogacy or inter-country adoption, and what questions should couples ask as they pursue them? Ethicist Tom Frame will walk us through the topic.

Plus we’ll review The Gruen Transfer, the latest new age best-seller A New Earth, and we’ll continue our series on overcoming the dark side of leadership.

What do you think should be done to tackle obesity in Australia?

Do you like Professor Stewart’s idea of incentives for towns deemed to be overweight? He’s suggesting towns could be awarded with pools and gyms if they collectively shed weight. Or do you find the idea of a “biggest loser” for whole towns patronising?

Is it even up to the government to tacke action? Or is weight an issue that’s clearly in the domain of the individual?

Should more be done at childhood? Are you taking active steps to encourage your child to get outside and run around? Is there a ban on the TV? Do you have a way of limiting your child’s exposure to the all pervasive junk food advertisements?

Should we be working less, so we have more time to do things like prepare healthy food, and factor in regular weekly exercise into busy schedules?

Maybe boycotting processed foods, and of course fast food?

How do you think the government, communities, and individuals - should respond to the news that we’ve become a nation of biggest losers.

What would you say to a friend who was considering having plastic surgery?

Have you ever been in this situation? Did you encourage your friend - or question them, and ask them to think twice?

That’s the dilemma that Graham is in this week….a friend of his at church is considering having some changes made to her nose. Apparently it’s a feature that has made her feel uncomfortable for many years.

But Graham is wondering whether plastic surgery is a sin, since he believes that God made us perfectly in his image.

What should he tell his friend at church? Should he support her throughout the process and encourage her to fix her perceived imperfection? Or should he challenge her reasons for wanting to go under the knife?

Is it un-Christian to have plastic surgery?

What are the implications for the Christian person when it comes to plastic surgery? Is it Biblical?

Is it OK to have plastic surgery in order to feel better about yourself? Particularly if it’s to fix something that’s been plaguing you for years.

Or should we learn to accept ourselves, the way we are?

“A New Earth though a New Me”
by Kara Martin

Eckhart Tolle has shot to superstar status with the publication of his first book in eight years: A New Earth. It has been embraced by Oprah Winfrey and she hosted an on-line series of interviews which attracted more than two million subscribers. The book has been top of the Self-Help titles since its release.

Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, but now lives in Canada. He was a student at Cambridge University when, at the age of 29, he was “awakened”. Until then he had been suffering from depression and a sense of unhappiness that almost drove him to suicide. The awakening led him to a place of peace and serenity.

The first book that brought him fame was The Power of Now, but this new book is more complex, while retaining the use of stories which makes him slightly more accessible than some other New Age gurus. The “big idea” in A New Earth is the belief that if we are each “awakened” then we will have the ability to regenerate a new earth. We will discover our true selves, merged with god, and will be detached from the destructive ego forces that usually drive us.

There are a lot of strengths in this book. Eckhart sees the essential problem facing humanity as sin, or suffering, driven by ego, or selfishness. He is helpful in his suggestions for reducing the drive to selfishness, becoming more aware when we are trying to dominate others or feed our own egos. He is also very good in the area of unexpressed emotion, or the “pain-body” as he refers to it, which we carry around with us, the accumulation of anger and jealousy and hurt.

However, I was annoyed by this book as well. Eckhart seems to borrow from many religious traditions without including any of the hard bits! He likes Jesus’ teaching but there is no judgment or hell. He borrows the bulk of his teaching from Buddhism but has skipped all the difficult disciplines required to achieve detachment.

So ultimately he oversimplifies any path to spiritual connection with God, and he quotes spiritual leaders out of context. In fact virtually every one of the 21 Scripture references are quoted out of context and retranslated to suit Eckhart’s message. Now, that is not a new thing in the area of self-help books, but it is aggravating when Eckhart says: “that is what Jesus meant when he said...”

Even in the title, he says that Jesus is talking about a New Earth now, here, which is really only half the story. The New Earth, in the state of perfection Tolle is referring to will only be recreated when Jesus returns in glory. Tolle wants to emphasise the present without acknowledging the waiting, the future; and especially avoiding any concept of Judgment.

Eckhart Tolle chose his name after becoming awakened. He named himself after Meister Eckhart, the German Medieval mystic who taught about meditating on the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) to know oneself, and create the man or woman you truly are. Unlike his contemporaries, such as Francis of Assisi, Eckhart’s mysticism was not Christ-centred. His surname, Tolle, is old German for fabulous or wonderful, so the name he has chosen sums up his spirituality. Look inside yourself for that wonderful place.

There is some useful advice in A New Earth, and its adherents may consume less and be less aggressive. However, one of my big concerns is that readers of this book may think Jesus actually taught what Tolle is teaching. I suggest people check out the New Testament part of the Bible in one of the modern translations to find out what Jesus really said. When he said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except by me,” it was an exclusive claim to be the path to God. Ultimately relationship with God through Jesus, alongside other believers is the only way a New Earth will be created, now and in the future.

Open House book reviewer KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (www.mcsi.edu.au), and is an avid reader and book group attendee.

This week, a twin tale of redemption from two stars of 1980s television.

Willie Aames was known to millions as the girl-crazy, trouble-prone teenager Tommy Bradford in Eight is Enough. He later married Maylo Upton who starred in shows like Santa Barbara, Hardcastle and McCormack and The A-Team. When they met, her star was rising after a life on the streets, while his was falling through drug abuse. Together they made millions, lost almost everything and discovered the only thing that matters—God.  Their tale of finding hope and renewal will inspire you.

We’ll continue our series on overcoming the ‘dark side’ of leadership, find out where the latest technology is taking us, and talk to the author who says the days of charity my well be numbered.

This week’s dilemma is from Kate – who doesn’t know what to do when people at her work approach her and start to talk about another colleague.

Kate doesn’t want to be involved in the conversation, because she doesn’t want to get involved in office politics.

But she finds it hard when colleagues approach her and simply start confiding their personal thoughts on other members of the team she works in. It’s usually to do with how useless a contribution someone on the team is making.

She wants to get along with everyone in the office, but not if she has to unwillingly take part in office gossip to do so.

She doesn’t want to be rude, but she feels as though she becomes an unwilling backstabbing accomplice when a colleague confides in her about someone else.

What’s a polite way to exit a conversation about someone else – when you don’t feel comfortable with what’s being said – but at the same time you don’t want to put up a barrier between yourself and the person confiding in you, by making them feel as though they’re being judged?

There’s a discussion underway at the moment about whether petrol should be included in the government’s proposed emissions trading scheme.

This week Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he couldn’t rule out petrol prices soaring even higher, under the emissions trading scheme.

The emissions trading scheme will put a yet-to-be-announced price on carbon, as an incentive for big and small emitters to reduce their emissions.

Australians create around 17 per cent of the country’s total emissions – via transport fuels.

Should we take responsibility for the emissions we create through including petrol in the emissions trading scheme?

Or do you think the emissions created through driving should be excluded from the trading scheme – because petrol is expensive enough as it is?

Our technology guru Gary Brown joined us this week to talk about the car of the future, and the alternative forms of energy it might use. Here's some of the links mentioned during our chat:

1.       Hybrid cars may use less fuel but the real indicator is their ecological footprint.  A great article here to help you see how all the pieces work together:  

2.       Here is a great general article on a summary of some future fuels: 

3.       Biogas:  Great Wikipedia on a general outline of Biogas and a second article about China’s use of biogas: 

a.        Wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas

b.       China:  http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20080905-17301.html

c.       Youtube link to China Biogas Documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMreH1YUs90

4.       Youtube on Algae Fuel:  

 
The future of travel could interesting indeed!

A fathers and daughters show on Open House this week. Author Gordon Dalbey will join us again to unravel the masculine soul, show us what’s going wrong, and how true masculinity can be rediscovered.

And with girls as young as 5 addicted to shopping and over-anxious about their looks, we’ll discover the ever-increasing pressures on our daughters to think, feel and behave in destructive ways—and what you can do about it.