This week we heard from author John Eldridge, talking about his new book Walking With God, and how to hear God's voice… Now I’d like to hear from you…

• Tell us about a time when you heard clearly and specifically from God…
 
• Perhaps there’s been a time when you were praying for guidance in a certain area of life – to do with business, or career, moving house, or getting married… and God pointed the way… A time when you knew beyond doubt, that He was speaking.
 
• How did God speak to you? Did the circumstances and peoples’ advice simply point a certain way? Was it a peace in your heart about a specific course of action? Or was it something more dramatic?
 
• Have you ever got it wrong? Ever thought that God was guiding you in a certain direction, but later learnt the hard way, that it was a mistake? We’d like to hear about that too… What did you learn?

• What experiences have you had, that have taught you how to hear God’s voice more clearly?

This week’s dilemma comes from James.  He’s a young Catholic man, and he holds to the views of the Catholic church about contraception. He doesn’t believe in using it, and he wants to leave the possibility of children in God’s hands entirely.

Here’s the dilemma – he’s single, and is starting to think about who he would date and eventually marry. He’s unsure of what approach he should take, if he meets someone from a different denomination that does allow contraception.

• Is it wrong for James to pursue a relationship with someone of a different church background, knowing that issue may cause disagreement later?

• How early in a dating relationship, should you raise these kinds of things? On the first or second date, when you’re just getting to know each other? Or further along, when you may already have developed a deeper attachment?

• To what degree should you even expect to find a partner with all your specific religious convictions? Should you trust God, and wait for someone just right? Or should singles be a little more flexible?

• When it comes to interdenominational relationships, what religious matters matter and which ones don’t?

• James wants to know, if he does marry a woman who chooses to use contraception, should he feel responsible anyway? Or should she be free to live by her own convictions in that?

• If you are Catholic, is contraception a no-compromise issue for you?

On Sunday, November 16, people around the world will pray for the millions of Christians who suffer for their faith.

The event is called the International Day of Prayer, and since it began 12 years ago, it’s become the world’s biggest prayer event.

Open Doors Australia has prepared a free prayer pack for individuals and churches who would like to join in. It contains prayer points, a DVD with short clips to play in group situations, and ideas for how to get involved.

For a prayer pack or for further information, see www.opendoors.org.au or call Open Doors on 02-9451 2999.

As Australians, we really can’t ignore American politics… So much of what goes on here - and around the world - is affected by decisions made in the USA … In areas like trade, defence, the media, and – of course – the economy. If you’ve been following the US presidential candidates, I’d like to know what you think of them.

• There’s Barack Obama… the church goer, who’s opposed to a ban on late-term abortion, and wants women to be free to make their own choice on that matter;  He also wants to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months; and if elected, he’d be the first black US president.

• His opponent John McCain is the Vietnam veteran, who wants US forces to stay in Iraq at least until that nation can defend itself…  He wants to overturn the legalization of abortion, though he hasn’t always had such strong views on that. If elected, he’d be the oldest man to become president.

• Both want to fight climate change and reduce America’s dependence on overseas oil…

• Who would you rather see as the so-called “leader of the free world”?

• How do you feel about US government policy… Any changes you’d like to see?

Thanks to the internet, graphic stories in the media and ‘know it all’ friends, children today grow up faster than ever. So when it comes to having that conversation with your kids, how old should they be and just what should you discuss? Veteran youth expert Jim Burns will teach us how to raise children committed to personal integrity and purity.

What will life be like in the year 2020? What big trends are shaping our world and where are they taking us? This Sunday we'll take a peek into the future with social commentator Mal Fletcher so we can plan accordingly.

The US presidential election has been a tremendous road show, full of twists, turns and drama, with big budget campaigns and big budget coverage. But there was one moment in the Presidential race that had the jaws of many technology-tragics dropping, and that was when CNN spoke to a reporter supposedly live via hologram. There she is, talking with the presenter, as a hologram, right in front of him.

CNN have subsequently gotten a wrap over the knuckles  as, in fact, the reporter was not seen by the presenter but only viewers by blue-screen technology.

The interesting fact is technology is available though. The fashion industry has used ground-breaking hologram technology, as this clip wonderfully demonstrates. How does it work? Will we see holograms pop up elsewhere? Will employers one day beam in interstate job applicants? Join us on Sunday night as our resident tech guru Gary Brown explains all!

Tonight we spoke with author Jim Burns about his book Teaching Your Kids Healthy Sexuality. He talked about the vital topic of how, and when, parents should raise the sexuality topic with their children.

What was your experience in learning about the "birds and the bees" from your parents?

Did they speak to you about it, or avoid the topic?

Did you have a positive or a negative experience of sex education?

Are you a parent? If so, let us know how you have addressed the issue with your children.

Has it been effective?

Tonight’s dilemma comes from Michelle. She works in shop that has a lot of regular customers, who she gets to know quite well. Recently one of her regulars was in the store with her preschool-aged daughter… The little girl told Michelle a story indicating that her daddy was hurting her mummy. The mum quickly brushed it off and told her daughter to be quiet; said “don’t be a bigmouth”, and said nothing more about it. Now, Michelle is stuck wondering what to do.

• Should Michelle report the situation to the authorities – the police or DOCS?

• She is under no legal obligation to, as a teacher or childcare worker would. And there’s a risk that if she does, things could get worse in the home;

• There’s also the risk that Michelle may lose the trust she’s built with this woman, and lose any opportunity to continue encouraging her and being a source of friendship and hope.

• But is it more important to report the story, with the aim of protecting not only the woman, but the child, from harm?

• Michelle feels people tend to dismiss these kind of situations, and “mind their own business”. But she feels a responsibility to at least do something with the information she’s learnt.

• Michelle’s also been encouraging the mum to seek help but  that hasn’t happened so far…

• When vulnerable people are at risk, should we report stories of possible abuse, or is this interfering?

"Singing the Spirit home"... A review of the film Young At Heart, by reviewer Barry Gittins.
 
YOUNG@HEART (PG) features a mob of strikingly alive senior cits doing what they love best - performing rock songs on stage.
 
This British doco on a Massechusetts oldies choir has to be seen (and heard) to be believed. The first Superman movie had the tagline ‘you will believe a man can fly’. Well, after seeing  Young@Heart, you will believe ‘senior citizens can groove’. 

Choirmaster Bob Cilman is a 53-year-old hippy muso who has got a gig with a choir full of oldies aged between 70 and 90, average age 80. He’s got a very cool ensemble backing them and (over decades) he’s trained them to the point where they have toured internationally, they’ve sung before kings and queens and excelled – and most surprising is the repertoire that they’ve mastered.

 
These relics from the baby boomers and pioneers’ generations are rocking out, with songs from Cold Play, the Ramones, Sonic Youth, the Bee Gees, David Bowie, Talking Heads – it has to be seen and heard to be believed.

 
To leavent he dough there are several hilarious music vids from a woman called Sally George; the vids act as pacemakers through a doco that can be very emotionally heavy at times. (For example, the choir are shown on a bus wandering aimlessly through corn fields while they perform the Talking Heads’ ‘we’re on the Road to Nowhere’ – it works a treat.)

Advanced age brings with it the dignity and wisdom of choice; it also conjures the indignity of disease and the reality of death. This is where occasionally you would like to wallop both the filmmaker, Briton Stephen Walker, and the choirmaster at times, because the filmmaker places himself in the film as an annoyance and asks the most pigheadedly stupid and insensitive questions, while the conductor is at times rude and overbearing – if he spoke to one of my grandmothers like he talks to some of his charges I would cheerfully deck him.

 That said, they handle a 'double loss' to the choir (two much-loved choristers pass away) with grace and dignity. Both gentlemen pull their heads in and supporting these men and women as they rage against the dying of their health – these young@heart singers don’t let the light inside their music die, and they do not go gently

Several songs (and, indeed, the film itself) serve as tributes to fallen choir members. There’s a tribute song in a prison that has the inmates connecting and breaking down at the reality that we all age, we all die and we all have to find our way home. It’s a glorious moment where people from different paths of life give to each other generously and openly.
 
There’s another scene in the choir’s pre-tour concert where a vocalist in very poor health has the audience in the palm of his hand as he sings Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ – for some surreal reason the song and the singer connect so strongly that the concert audience and the film audience   are riveted to their seats. It may be sentimental, and it’s unashamedly sweet, but it’s also got a very powerful emotional truth to it.

The power to love yourself and other people is often best expressed in music – that’s a truth the church has known and practised for thousands of years. And in the best of American tradition, these guys are determined to use it so they don’t lose it.

 Young@Heart is a very spiritual film, and I don’t mean that in a limited sense – it connects with both the human spirit and the divine spirit. Rated PG for mild themes, this is anything but ‘mild’ – the choristers may be occasionally sedated but heir approach to life and to music is anything but sedate. This is brave cinema, with heart and laughter and fear and courage. This is simply a beautiful movie.

I’d like to know what you’re thinking about the execution of the three Bali Bombers over the weekend. Many would say they got what they deserved, and that the families of the bombing victims can now move forward with a sense of closure. But some have criticised the executions – Amnesty Interational for example -  they’re opposed to the death penalty in all countries.

• What are your thoughts?

• Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he feels for the families of those killed in the bombings, but at the same time, he’s supporting a push for a world-wide end to the death penalty…

• The world has three less terrorists to deal with, but now - Amrozi, Mukhlas, and Imam Samudra – are being lifted up by extremists, as martyrs. They’ve gone out in a blaze of glory with international media exposure…

• Could their execution inspire other would-be terrorists to follow their lead? Is the death penalty a mistake?

• Or should the death penalty be kept, for these kind of terrorist crimes?

The Global Economic Crisis has now been called the worst financial downturn since the great depression. While the experts can tell us what’s gone wrong and what might happen next, there’s one viewpoint we haven’t yet heard—the divine viewpoint. 

What could God be saying to us through the crisis? We’ve invited the national leaders of eight Christian denominations to pray, study and reflect. Over the next two weeks you’ll hear what they believe God might want us to know.

Also - We uncover the hidden secrets of firstborns! They’re the natural movers, shakers and leaders of the world, but they carry a heavy load and can be their own worst critic. Author and humorist Kevin Leman will tell us how firstborns can achieve without self-destructing.

This week we heard from the national leaders of four key church denominations in Australia. We asked them to answer the question, "What might God be saying through this Global Economic Crisis?"

PASTOR BRIAN HOUSTON - NATIONAL PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that “Things that can be shaken will be shaken… The things that are being shaken are the things that are made” man made systems such as the stock markets and economies are always subject to shaky or difficult times… They are things that can be shaken!
In 2008 we are seeing some people losing houses, losing money and losing hope.  Families, banks, and some of the worlds most high powered governments are taking desperate measures to prevent what some are predicting to be the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Many people are asking “Where is God in it all, and what is He saying to you and me?”
Friends, so many circumstances in life are beyond our control. It can begin to seem that we are without hope. Can I encourage you, when everything else seems lost… God is still in control.  He is the unshakeable.. The absoloute
As stocks plummet, costs rise, and financial pressures close in around us, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  In the midst of such turbulence, we must look to the Creator, and trust in His promises.  I believe that God is calling us to stop trusting in human institutions and worldly riches, and to submit to Jesus.  He alone is unchanging and ultimately in control over all things.
Many Australians today are facing great pressure and some are experiencing great loss.  We are up against pressures that test our dreams, our goals, our commitments, and even our faith.  For some they haven’t actually lost anything, but the fear of loss is ruling them.
Life is full of disappointments. changing circumstances, challenging moments.    We must ask ourselves these questions…will this disappointment affect my faith in Christ, the power of His Word, the truth about His heart to save, heal and transform the lives of people?  Will it discourage me from believing in people and believing in myself?
To live a lifetime of service to Christ, you and I will have to make the decision that NO disappointment will sway us from the course.  The Christian life can sometimes confuse us when our hope and faith collide with unexpected reality and life’s disappointments. 
In Job 13:15 the Bible gives us a glimpse of what Job was thinking in the midst of life shattering setbacks.  He said to God “even if You killed me…I’d keep on hoping…”
The redemptive theme of Hope is woven throughout the bible continuously.  Noah hoped that the boat he was building would be useful in what seemed like a desert.  A mother hoped and believed that a woven basket would carry her son into a life better than she could imagine. Abraham trusted God and bore nations…nations that continued to have ‘hope’ in the promises made to them for generations to come.
I believe that we have 2 choices as Christians when facing challenges and disappointments:  We can shrink back and allow defeat and discouragement to rob us of our potential or we can believe that God is the orchestrator, protector and provider of all our needs.  He knows our hearts desires, and longs for us to live in healthy relationship with each other and with Him. 
As tensions currently rise both globally, and right in our own backyard; I believe that God is calling the Church to rise up and bring hope and solutions to a community in desperate need.
We are called to be a church that desires to love others the way we have been shown love.  The kind of love that presses in and won’t pretend that everything is ok, when it isn’t.  A people that find common ground with our neighbors and anyone who hurts, has felt pain and is facing loss.  A church that comes alongside the needy and oppressed.  The Church of Christ is called to praise in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks about being pressured, but not crushed, struck down but not destroyed.  I believe that we will never escape pressures of day-to-day life.  But it is HOW, as Christians, we respond to this pressure that is important to God.
Don’t stop being generous. God says, ‘Prove me in this. See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to contain it.’
Don’t lose perspective; don’t lose sight of what really matters. Instead, I encourage you to go to the Word of God.  Find out what Jesus has to say about finances, pressure, and worry.
Have an absolute and steadfast commitment that you’re a person of faith and prayer.  We need to be reminding ourselves that the word of God is the same yesterday today and forever.  Yesterday in the good times, today in the tough times and forever and ever He is the same.

- Pastor Brian Houston

REVEREND DR ROSS CLIFFORD, PRESIDENT OF THE BAPTIST UNION OF AUSTRALIA

God is really laying something on my heart and saying to me personally, I think to all of us, about what is happening here - and He’s saying we need to get back to core values, basic values. That we have to get away from the values of greed and materialism and we have to get back to values of trusting in Him, of finding service one with another, finding our joy in friends and family, and relationships with God. I really think it is a call for all of us to find out what really makes us tick, what is significant for our community, what is significant for our families, and what is significant for our own individual lives. And I think our society is going to be really much more healthy and vibrant when it returns to these basic values and finds itself living out the values of the Sermon on the Mount, care and love for each other, and not materialism, but basic trust. We have to trust in God. I have to trust in God for what is significant and just rest in Him.

I think there is also a really deep thing going on here, and I believe for too often we have trusted society and trusted the markets and trusted business and we have forgotten the message of the Fall. And the message of the Fall is that, while we care for each other and love each other and see the best in each other, we also need to remember that we are drawn to do things that don’t produce the best for ourselves, or for God, or for each other and we have allowed markets to be de-regulated. We have allowed ourselves to work on principles of trust in fallen people, and not put in the things that are consistent with a fallen society. Putting in the processes and putting in the corrections, and putting in the accountability that assures that fallen-ness can’t run away as we have seen with the greed that has happened here. I think it is reminding us that the Bible really does tell us that we are fallen, and that we should ensure that our structures, our markets, our government, our churches, all put things into place that make sure that the fallen-ness of society doesn’t get out of control and goodness reigns. And we have not done that, we have de-regulated everything, and it is time to put that into place.

So I believe a really good positive has come out of this. Remember who we are, we are fallen; make sure we just don’t trust in ourselves, we put in regulations as we should; but also remember who we are; we are people who trust in God, care for each other, find our fulfillment there, and thank God we are being moved away from materialism. A lot to learn, a lot of good changes, and society, I think, can be the richer for what has taken place.

- Rev Dr Ross Clifford

REVEREND PHILLIP ASPINALL – ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF AUSTRALIA

I think there are a number of levels at which God speaks through this.

The first is that human beings, by making their own decisions in unwise ways, can cause a lot of hurt and mess. And we’re seeing that around the world. We do have to take responsibility and care in how we organise our affairs. Because in the end, it’s vulnerable people who will be hurt the most when things go wrong. And God has a special care for vulnerable people. Loans have been made to people who don’t have the capacity to repay, so those people and their families are hurt. We’re seeing homes repossessed and people homeless at one end of the spectrum, and at the other end we’re seeing people with massive credit card debts that they really are trapped by. God is concerned, I’m sure, for poor and vulnerable people, and they get chewed up and spat out in this mess.

At another level, there’s a spiritual dimension to all this. A number of people have reflected on the way in which underlying the crisis is human greed. And I think there’s an element of truth in that. But also it’s about materialism, and people thinking that they can find meaning and purpose and value in life by acquiring things. Perhaps we’ve been blinded too much, by a far-reaching advertising industry, to think we can find ultimate happiness in things - which we can’t. Real happiness derives from relationships with God and with each other.

I think God might be saying something about our culture of instant gratification; I think God might be saying something about unreal expectations; And I think it pushes us back to some really basic questions, which faith attempts to answer, about what is our purpose, what is really valuable, where do human beings get a sense of purpose and meaning from.

Perhaps the message coming through is, get back to the basics. Not over-reaching ourselves, not getting into risky areas, and put proper controls and accountability into place in our commercial lives with each other.

But at a personal spiritual level, get back to the basics. You will not find ultimate meaning and satisfaction in acquiring material things.

- Rev Phillip Aspinall

REVEREND DOCTOR MIKE SEMMLER, PRESIDENT OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

I am not a financial guru. But I am surprised that so many seem to have been shocked by the global financial crunch.

Too many financial dealings have been brokered devoid of a solid base. Surely even history points to a corrective at some time or another.

For Christians there are two realms in action here. For those for whom Jesus Christ is Lord there is the assurance that he will walk with us if we lose our jobs, and when we suffer financial difficulties – mind you some will look back at this time and see it as the time their fortunes changed for the better – being in the right place at the right time – it always happens.

But for Christians there is real treasure – which no moth or rust can erode -  the treasure of new hope, new starts and an eternity in paradise with our merciful Saviour, regardless of what this life gives us.

It is in this life, the realm of nature and systems, which also belongs to God – that he allows correctives and calamities to take place even though he limits the extent to which they will go. We all live in this world.

We blame greed for our predicament. Fair enough, but whenever we place something in front of God as being more important than he is – it is called idolatry. Now you might think that having been shown the shaky foundation on which the love of money is based – and it is the love of money, not the money itself which is the problem, that suddenly we would give up on false gods and look to that which is eternal. Some will. Most will not. They will chase security for this life no matter what. And finance will continue as number one on their radar.

So what will we learn?

Surely the global financial market crash shows us how inter-connected we are. All members of the one human family and economy. We are not isolated from each other.

We are all touched by the crisis, fear takes over, blame is levelled with banks, governments, big business usually the prime targets. Perhaps we would do well to remember the part we all play in it – living well beyond our means, placing our trust in the wrong things. We had better learn to get back to reality.

Let’s learn money is a good servant, but a terrible master.

You cannot serve both God and money, that is a Scriptural reality.

Maybe we will see life as much more than goods and possessions. Does life consist of getting, grabbing and retaining? Hopefully we will learn something about the foolishness of greed.

A shake up in the money market may well give room for God to invite us to consider our attitude to others – our family, friends, our community, our world.

Money is designed to be used for good. Financial investments are useful, but investing in people is about life, vitality, happiness and treasures in heaven.

In short the hand of God in our everyday lives presents us with real opportunity. For me as I struggle to find a way through a financial maze of seeming dead ends I would be well advised to take stock of my life, invest in Christ the only Saviour and reach out to other people.

What is God saying?

For Christians in Australia – ‘You have taken my mercy for granted. Have another look and see what it really means’.

For those who do not turn to Christ – ‘You do not live in isolation. Blessings are designed to be shared’.

- Rev Dr Mike Semmler

“Truth Resounding through Music”...

A review of Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the Word of Music, by Jeremy S. Begbie.

Review by Kara Martin

Jeremy Begbie is an academic, a theologian and a musician, and has written this book to answer the questions: what is music? How does it work? What does it do to us? And what do we do to it? He is an excellent communicator, managing to go into great technical depth, while still choosing wonderful anecdotes and quotes to keep the reader captivated.

He begins with a survey of music in history, looking at the great themes. He deals in detail with the biblical record of music; but the book is particularly fascinating looking at the relationship between wisdom and music.

Pythagoras (6th C BCE) is credited with being the first to discover that number underlies pitch. The story goes that he was walking past a blacksmith and heard the hammering and wondered at why some banging sounds from some combinations of hammers seemed to harmonise. He analysed the weight of each hammer and worked out the mathematical formulae to predict the combinations that sounded pleasant.

Plato is the first to be recorded commenting on the emotional power of music. Augustine, the great Christian thinker of the 4th century, laid the bedrock for Christian thinking for a millennium, linking music to our spirits as well as our minds and hearts. He said music is grounded in God-given order, and enables us to live more fully in God’s creation.

There came a major shift in the 16th century, with the Enlightenment. Until then music had been linked to the cosmos, something outside ourselves. Now the focus shifted, with music seen as meeting human needs and aspirations. Begbie quotes Daniel Chua:  “The harmony of the spheres collapsed into the song of the self”. This led to an emphasis on words; and both these changes we can see clearly in the music we enjoy today. Even most worship music tends to be words-focused and subject-centred on our experience of God.

Why does music move us? Surprisingly, it is Martin Luther who can give us some glimpses. In working through his systematic theology, Luther came to five conclusions about music:
• Music and the Word of God are linked, they are both heard, we were created to listen
• Music embodies order, something we instinctively yearn for
• There is natural music in all created things, for example birdsong, or even a bubbling brook
• Music has the power to commune with our spirit, both teaching us about God and drawing us to him; and
• Music is a good gift from God, bringing joy.

Some of the finest musicians were people of faith. Begbie highlights several, especially JS Bach. Another to be highlighted is the French composer Messiaen. Messiaen was captured by the Germans and put in Stalag 8A during the Second World War. Fortunately he had access to a piano, and he was imprisoned with a violinist, a clarinettist and a cellist who were allowed access to their instruments. In pondering the war and his situation, Messiaen had a deep encounter with God that led to the writing of his Quartet for the End of Time, which was first performed at Stalag 8A in the dead of Winter, 1941. One of the prisoners commented that the music transfigured their misery into something sublime.

The last section of the book deals with a Christian ecology of music where Begbie is working on how music relates to Christian faith and to culture. He has come up with three themes:
• Creator = we have a generous and extravagant God who creates beauty and enjoys being worshipped
• Cosmos = we join the rest of creation in voicing praise to our creator
• Calling = this inner urge to worship God is our calling.

Music is part of all this. It’s as if God has put a song in each of our hearts, and we muck around with different noises until we find that this song only makes sense, only sounds beautiful, when it is sung, in unison, to God. This is also why music has the ability to heal and inspire. God’s song is through all our being: body, mind, heart and spirit. Music brings us to life, and reminds us that we have hope beyond our present circumstances.

This is a wonderful book full of heart-warming wisdom, and to be honest I could only understand half of it! There is so much depth of musical analysis that I, being musically naive, can only appreciate at a distance, while a reader involved in music would get much more out of this book. My regret is that Begbie could have done some more analysis beyond classical music, although his themes cover every aspect of music. Some more tools for interpreting the popular music today would have been a helpful addition. I loved the idea of music teaching us how to live fully. Play on!

KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (www.mcsi.edu.au), and is an avid reader and book group attendee. Kara does reviews for Heart 1032’s Open House (www.theopenhouse.net.au).

Are you organised and analytical, a leader, high achiever and a perfectionist? Do you write lists, take initiative, and take on tasks because “no-one else can do it properly”?

If so, you’re probably a “firstborn”... And according to psychologist Dr Kevin Leman, you can be a firstborn even if you weren’t the eldest child in your family...

Intrigued?... Kevin’s the author of The Birth Order Book, and his latest offering is a book called The Firstborn Advantage.... He spoke to us on Open House this week, sharing some fascinating facts on the common traits of a firstborn, and great advice on how they can make the most of their strenghts, and overcome their weaknesses.

Tonight’s dilemma is from Stephanie. She’s a young Christian woman, a uni student, and a youth leader in her church youth group.

Stephanie’s started to make some good friendships at uni, and at work. She really wants to start connecting with these new friends, but is finding it hard to spend time with them outside of work and uni classes. She’d like to go out and socialize with them, be part of their lives - but due church activities, she’s had to miss a lot of important occasions like their birthdays and so on. She fears she’s creating an image of a snobby Christian who doesn’t associate with anyone outside church.

Stephanie’s non-church friends also do things she wouldn’t normally choose to do – going out to nightclubs for example. She’d like to join them  - not to take it up as a lifestyle, but to reach out and connect, and show them that as a Christian, she really cares about their lives - regardless of whether they share her faith or not.

Her dilemma is this - Being a youth leader, she doesn’t want to confuse the young people in her care, or cause them to “stumble”. She’s really concerned about doing what’s right, and setting a good example.

• If Stephanie goes out clubbing with her non-church-going friends, is that a bad example to the young people in her youthgroup - especially if she’s trying to encourage them not to get tied up in the ways of the world?

• How can Stephanie best juggle her church and youth leadership responsibilities, with her social life and her work and study life?

• Her heart is actually to follow Jesus’ example of shining a light -  (“being in the world but not of it”) – How can she strike the right balance?
 
• Maybe you’re a youth leader who has experienced a similar dilemma yourself… What did you do?

This week we spoke to both a photographer, and a child protection activist, about the Australia Council's draft new rules, about including children in photography and art - particularly naked children. Let’s hear your views.

• How do you feel about the idea of parent permission being required to use children in any photographic image?

• Photographers say it could kill off street photography … And people who make documentaries could be virtually paralysed by such a rule.

• Ken Duncan has been quoted saying that already the rules are too restrictive … that if you dare to put up a tripod in some public places you can be slugged with a hefty fee for the privilege.

• The Australia Council has already admitted that they might need to have a closer look at that idea, What are your thoughts? Maybe you’re a photographer and can share your views.
 
• And what about the issue of parental consent being required for using naked children in a work of art? Does this go far enough? Does it still ignore the rights of the child, who may not be mature enough to understand what they’re getting into?

Reverend Gregor Henderson - President of the Uniting Church in Australia, National Assembly

It is often in times of crisis that people ask the questions, “Where is God in this?” and “How could God let this happen?”

But God isn’t necessarily speaking to us through this global financial crisis. God is not responsible for every event in the world. God is not trying to punish us.

Rather, we learn a lot about what God wants for humanity by observing both the good and the bad in the world. Reflecting on these events, as we are now, reminds us of Christian truths. It is in this way that God speaks to us and works through us.

We know that the current economic system, driven by greed for profit, has failed us all… including the billions who live in dire poverty.

If we recognise that the economic system has failed us, we reflect on God’s teaching that an abundant life doesn’t mean the rich getting richer. The important things in life are not material. Security is earned through faithfulness in, and love of God.

By acknowledging this, we can imagine a new economic system that has at its heart values of equity, justice and respect for creation – God’s own image for the world. We can imagine an economic system that supports the common good. We can imagine an economic system that supports abundance, not through growth but through sharing and care for humanity.

People in many parts of the world are always in economic crisis.  They live in poverty and lack basic necessities.  This latest crisis will make things worse for them and now is the time to be more generous, not less.
 
The Christian faith calls us to stand with those who are most vulnerable, those who live in poverty, those who are left behind in the dash for cash that’s been the driver of the global financial crisis.

It’s time to say that growth for its own sake is not a proper goal for humanity just as amassing enormous material wealth at the expense of others is not a proper goal for individuals.

Instead, the economy is a tool that we can wield for more life-affirming goals: human flourishing and wellbeing; vibrant and inclusive societies; a healthy and sustainable planet.

Now is the time to listen to God and to hear what God would wish for humanity – societies in which all people live in dignity and the gifts of God in creation are shared amongst us all.

- Rev Gregor Henderson

Commissioner Linda Bond - Australian Eastern Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is, in Australia and around the world, standing ready to help people amid the current economic crisis.  We are at work in 115 countries and we are seeing the crisis affecting people globally.  We help people every day and we do this because we care: we do this because The Salvation Army is a church first and a social service provider second.  It’s in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that we exist and in his name we want to help people that they might come to trust in him, not money or the stability of the economic market. 

The global markets crisis actually highlights to me that it is in the tough times that we learn the toughest lessons.

I particularly worry about the impact this is going to have on employment into next year.  We hear the predictions of rising unemployment over the next 12 months when sales are down and business finds it hard to get credit and can’t fund its plans. 

And there are worries about meeting the family budget.  Luxury items go: but it bites much deeper.  It’s when the mortgage payments are running behind that people start to worry.  Families and relationships come under strain.  Hopefully, the reductions in interest rates over the last few weeks will take some of this pressure off.  But, pressure reductions are one thing.  Becoming less reliant on material things and becoming more interested in the eternal things is the better way to go.

These are difficult days because while the interest rate reductions take pressure off the mortgages and borrowing costs, it is a sign that those who depend on interest rates for income are also going to suffer.  A lot of retired people are in this boat. 

I think our material society has got a lot of people caught up in the “I can have it now” mentality.  Heavy personal debt for consumables is a great tragedy.  These days of economic stress just highlight the underlying issue.  Instead, Jesus taught us to trust God for our needs. 

Housing debt levels seem to be way too high.  This is now hurting lots of families as the housing market softens and as unemployment creeps up.  The Salvation Army has people to help with financial counselling and the needs are great.  If unemployment does go up the way we are hearing that it might, this will create more stress and more need for help.

One thing we’re very much aware of is that reductions in investment markets impact The Salvation Army’s ability to help people.  So we are going through an internal review at the moment on how to cope through these days ourselves.  Australians are terrific at supporting the Salvos and this has enabled us to do a lot of good work.  But we do rely on returns on investments among other things to help us fund our budgets.  We are trying to cope like everyone else.

These events make The Salvation Army stop and examine its own priorities and allocations.  When the needs are greatest, The Salvation Army needs to be able to be right in there.  To address this, we are working through a strategic review with a 2020 horizon.  We want to make sure our fundamental Army priorities are right. 

The Salvation Army will be there to deal with the needs that are real and growing.  This takes people.  We have a lot of great support to get our work done.  A lot of people are committed to helping the Salvos.  Our volunteers are great!  We have industrious and highly skilled men and women serving as Salvation Army officers and employees in the nation’s cities, regional towns and in rural Australia where the financial markets crisis makes our rural Australians already difficult situation, even worse.

The retailers are obviously gearing themselves up for a difficult Christmas.  My prayer is that at this Christmas time, we will be reminded that we are to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and then all the things we need will be provided for us: in God’s way and with God’s timing – if we trust Him.  It may not be in the way we expected.

- Commissioner Linda Bond

Reverend Robert Benn, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia

“What do you think God might be saying through this economic crisis?”

There’s so much talk about .  But, out of all this talk . . one thing is clear.  The world is worried.  Companies are closing down.  Money is being just parcelled out willy-nilly!  It’s crisis time!

So to that very important question: “What to you think God might be saying through this economic crisis?”

Remember Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good.  Greed is right.  Greed works.  Greed clarifies!” 

The problem is, it seemed that the ‘haves’ of the world believed it.  Certainly the phenomenal disparity between rich and poor has grown to nightmare proportions.  The world hasn’t cared, unless oil was involved!

And now, “The chickens have come home to roost!”

So, what indeed might God be saying to us?  To us consumers . . who still “shop ‘til you drop!” . . while millions of our fellow travellers suffer incredible deprivation?

I’ve been reading Amos recently.  He’s one of God’s spokesmen long before the coming of Jesus.  He addresses this kind of issue.  In his writing he has the Lord God saying, “I hate all your religious words and practices that do not result in justice and equity!”

Then Amos cries, “Let justice flow on like a river!”  And you can just imagine what is in the mind of God.  And you are meant to imagine . . imagine a mighty tide of justice flooding the land. 

It certainly goes against the counsel to be greedy!

Amos goes on to talk about a drought.  We respond, “We know a bit about that!”.  But, Amos says,  “No, not that kind of drought.  Rather, “a drought and famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” 

Then he tells the reason.  “You’ve forgotten how to grieve over the injustice and inequity all around you.”  “You’re just not concerned anymore.”

Well, that’s Amos.

But, I reckon that’s all very close to home for us.  Captured by consumerism, which is just so close to greed! 

What we need today is a great body of people, who will be shocked by what has caused this crisis.  People who will repent of past greed.  Find forgiveness through his Son who died for them.  Come back to God and his concerns.

I think that is what God is saying to us!

And if this means God’s hand of discipline on us.  So be it.  Be assured we are in good hands.

I think that’s what God is saying!

- Reverend Robert Benn

Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney

What might an Archbishop say usefully on this financial disaster? Especially an Archbishop who acknowledges the benefits market economies have produced.
A few thoughts come to mind.
While Australia is better placed than many countries, it’s likely to be some time before markets settle, at lower levels, with the prospect of heavy job losses. It’s one thing for the rich to lose a lot of their wealth. It’s quite another thing for a wage-earner to lose their job – especially if they have dependents.
This is a brutal reminder, once again, that good times never last forever, and we must never plan as though they do.
The interest on debt always has to be repaid, even in bad times. And so does the capital, eventually. Reckless lending and imprudent borrowing provoked this catastrophe. No-one seems sure how much debt there is, or where it finally resides. But debts are mountainous even in the USA and Europe.
The situation isn’t like the depression of the 1930s because Australian social security is much better, while the USA now has massive debts unlike its situation in the 1930s.
Even though the Australian economy is in much better shape than the USA’s or Europe’s, it is caught up in the maelstrom of this global financial crisis.
We must do what we can to solve our own problems, but we will be dependent also on what others do.
Leadership means a concern for the common good. Regulators must remember this as they strive to achieve greater transparency; protection of those unable to protect their own legitimate interests; self regulation to diminish enormous salaries; and long-term programs for recovery.
People need jobs. But when these aren’t to be found, special consideration is needed for the jobless.
Greed isn’t good. Never good. Reckless greed provokes disaster. And finally and unfortunately, good intentions are no substitute for intelligence and effective solutions.

- Cardinal George Pell

This week we heard from Christian commentator Richard Cizic, one of America's most influential speakers, about the topic of climate change and "creation care".

(If you missed it, catch the podcast - follow the links from the Open House homepage).

Richard Cizic's view is that Christians have a responsibility, according to the Bible, to care for the environment and pass on a planet that is fit for the next generations to live in. What are your thoughts?

Do you agree that it's man's responsibility to care for the created world?

Amanda’s got a dilemma. Her father-in-law is losing his hearing and is missing out on conversations and quality time with his family as a result.
His wife, son and daughter have all taken turns talking to him about getting a hearing aid, but he won't do anything about it, refusing to acknowledge that there’s even a problem.
If they’re all in a car together, he'll bring a paper to read, because he can't keep up with the conversation. And he's constantly misunderstanding things they say.
He’s one of those 'alpha-male' types who is constantly trying to prove that he's not too old to do things, and that he's still as strong as he was when he was 30.
How can Amanda’s family convince him that getting a hearing aid will better his quality of life, without making him feel like he's failing by not being the “strong head of the family” that he feels is expected of him.

• How do you help an older person to move with the times, and to make changes for the better, without being insensitive or upsetting them and making things worse?
 
• How can we sensitively help the older folks in our life, to maintain their independence and dignity when things like hearing, sight, or mobility, fail them?

• Do you have an older relative who has hearing loss? What have you found is an effective solution to keep relationships and communication open?

Quantum of Solace (M)

A review by Barry Gittins

 
Everyone's fave British spy has returned to our cinemas in Quantum of Solace, but this version of James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) is not the suave, 'wink to the audience' chap of yore.
 
This time, as really bad actions films (of which this film is not numbered among)suggest that the hero is back 'and this time it's personal' - there is more than a grain of truth in using the phrase to describe Quantum.

Quantum, the first direct sequel in the Bond film's, catches up with what went wrong at the end of Craig's first bond performance (Casino Royale). In that last exciting episode Bond's gal, the enigmatic Vesper, was feloniously slain. So we get a morose Jimmy who spends the bulk of Quantum pining over Vessie and smashing his way through people and architectural obstacles, trying to hunt down her murderers. All while saving the free world, of course.

All bets are off for Bond fans. This remorseful, rejuvenated agent is fairly unlikely to crack wise with a gag (here's hoping he lightens up in the next fillum!). He is near platonic in comparison with earlier incarnations of the character. He doesn't woo the main 'Bond girl' (robotically played by former model Olga Kurylenko), instead rescuing her and enabling her to pursue her goal of redemption/revenge.

He is a broken, wounded figure emotionally - and he gets the tripe beaten out of him frequently in a physical sense, which is virtually new ground for Bond.

In essence, selling Bond as a vengeful sociopath takes the franchise into extremely bleak territory populated by the likes of  Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and Keifer Sutherland's TV psycho from 24, Jack Bauer. Not since Timothy Dalton has any actor taken Bond down this path (Pierce Brosnan, Craig's predecessor, was known for maxing up his character's charm).

James Bond films have historically been known (and parodied) for their cartoohnlike violence, as connery, Moore and co. dispensed Austin Powers-styled karate chops to dispense villains. Bond a la Craig relishes realistic, coldblooded executions.

Folks have gotten used to Judi Dench as Bond's boss, M, and the Dame delivers yet again. But the biggest winge of Bond fans is that there's no gadgets, and as yet no reintroduction of mad scientist/gadgetmaster 'Q' (most recently played by John Cleese).

Thematically, beyond halfbaked conspiratorial theories about the Yanks, Poms and various secret organisations and dictators, the film touches on the age-old ethical koan: can an 'end' achieved ever be redeemed ethically, regardless of its means? Quantum also shadow boxes around  questions of betrayal, loyalty and trust. The big question, however, is whether poor James can gain his quantum of solace (that little bit of peace and healing he's hankering after) by revenging his loss.

Quantum of Solace provides non-stop action, largely ripped off from the Jason Bourne franchise. James has been humanised, but the flesh they are putting on his bones is quite rancid.

For all its failings, and it does fail to a significant degree, plotwise (not that the Bond movies are ever going to be considered serious fodder), this film captivates. If you are a Bond tragic you may be disappointed, but hang in there for the next installment.

It’s long been said that “Australia was built on the sheep’s back”... For nearly 200 years, our merino wool has been celebrated by the international textiles world.

But now, sheep farmers are facing heat - from international animal rights groups, and the fashion industry - to end the practice of “mulesing”. That’s the procedure where folds of skin are cut from around a lamb’s tail end...  Animal rights groups believe say it’s painful and cruel; Farmers say it’s a necessity, because if they don’t their sheep risk becoming flyblown.

• What are your thoughts? Do you think that reducing pain is important, or are animal activists over-reacting?

• Should sheep farmers be required to find alternatives, or use methods to reduce pain in the process?

• And are you a farmer or involved in the wool industry somehow? What is your experience?

• How important is the use of mulesing… Theres alternatives being suggested  - do they seem feasible solutions to you?

All people, everywhere, have a desire to worship something.

Some say that impulse is just wishful thinking, or perhaps a relic of a primitive age we no longer need. But author Rodney Stark has a different idea.

Join me this week to hear one of the world’s leading sociologists say why he believes the drive to worship points to a real God worth worshipping.

And did you know that Sara Groves began her working life as a school teacher - until her students kept asking for CDs of her songs. Today she’s a singer-songwriter whose lyrics inspire a multitude.

Recently, she’s had another conversion. Once a self-described ‘consumer Christian’, she’s now championing the rights of the poor. The journey between will inspire you.

Tonight we spoke with DR KP Yohannan from Gospel For Asia... He shared about the conflict that's been going on in India between different religious groups and castes.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know if you've got something to say.

"Waugh torn saga"...

A review of the film Brideshead Revisited (PG) by reviewer Barry Gittins.

This movie, based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel, is a morality play based on the twin hungers of the narrator, Charlie Ryder (played by Matthew Goode): Charlie' consuming ambition to succeed and his hunger to be loved. 

Charlie is a talented young painter and self-declared atheist who's been stunted of emotional support at home; he needs to be embraced and endorsed. In short, like all of us, he needs to be loved.

After setting his sails for university life, Charlie pursues that dual need in friendships/relationships with uber-rich Catholic peer-to-be, the gayer than gay Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw ), and Sebastian's sharp as a tack sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell).
 
All the while young Charlie feels he is falling in love, and falling in covetous lust for the amazing castle and grounds of the Marchmain family, Brideshead itself, he must negotiate the perilous grounds of 'Mummy', the icy Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), the run-away-to-venice father, Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon) and his genuinely compassionate mistress, Cara (the character, whose name means 'a friend' in Gaelic, 'love' in Cornish and 'the beloved one' in Italian, is played exquisitely by Greta Scacchi).
 
Whereas Tina Turner once queried 'what's luurve got to do , got to do with it?', the nature of love is central to this film, which Waugh once descirbed as ' the operation of divine grace on a group of diverse but closely connected characters'.
 
Self-absorbed, selfish, for th most part, the upper class bods as represented in the film are completely oblivious to the needs of their families and friends, let alone the deep chasms between their luxuries and the plight of the poor. The suffocating mother love of Lady Marchmain (captured brilliantly by Thompson) seeks to control all within and beyond her orbit; her understanding and practice of Christian faith is cold, unyielding and guilt-edged. 

 
This is contrasted remarkably well with that of Cara - a 'sinner' who knows she does wrong, yet shows more grace and forgiveness to others than the rest of the cast combined.
 

This brings us to a discussion of the portrayal of the Catholic Chruch and the Christian faith in general. The narrator, Charles, vents his spleen often, in emotional harangues about the hypocrisy and cruelty he witnesses. At the same time, however, through the good offices of Waugh's complex source material, Charlie is forced to concede that faith is a copnstant source of hope for the family he preys on, and a source of strength in trying times.
 
Charlie, with the filmgoers, is asked to assess Christianity: is it a 'pie in the sky' bit of escapism, or a source of genuine hope for those who face the abyss? The film's answer is not something you can nail to a church door somewhere.
 
There are times when the movie is scathing on the nature of faith and other times, especially with Greta Scachhi’s character, where you see faith as the life preserver that keeps us from drowning in our sorrows.

This is a riveting if slowly-paced movie. We are presented with 'as large as life' truths about guilt, deep need, loss, desire and constancy.
No-one is seen to be acting with complete selflessness, suggesting the characters, as in real life, flesh and blood human beings, are nuanced in their reasons and choices. That’s hardly a earth-shattering or new revelation (the Bible declares that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory).

We must needs return to the psychological development and portrayal of our friend Chuck; is Charles Ryder an honest man in a kingdom of liars, or a ruthless social climber, or a combination of the two polar extremes? That’s’ the viewer’s call.

The movie follows in the much-loved wake of a 1981 TV mini-series.
Casting-wise, the magic box offered us a young Jeremy Irons as Charlie and the urbane Anthony Andrews as a feistier Lord Sebastian.
 
You can make a veritable shopping list of differences between the film adaptation and the TV series; the sprawling TV effort was seen as a faithful rendering to the novel and the movie has attracted some criticisms of its screenplay and suggestions that it has eliminated or reversed some of Evelyn Waugh’s original intentions.

 I’d say, for depth, 'go' the mini-series; for strength of characterisation and religious nuances pick the film.

Another talking point revolves arounfd the film's rating of PG (in the US, as usual, the film receievd a 'heavier' rating; of PG-13, which would be the equivalent of an Australian M for mature audience rating).
 
The PG rating, for 'mild sexual references, themes and nudity', reflects a growing social acceptance (for good and ill, from a parent's perspective) that sexuality is a central part of most human lives.

If you are going to take the subjects raised by this film seriously then you need to establish what it is exactly that the 'rich young rulers' feel guilty about, and what role sexuality plays in the lives of the characters portrayed.
 
To avoid the realities of heterosexual and homosexual relationships in the novel would be a cowardly, poor effort on the film-makers. I personally think they handle it with discretion and reserve.
In all, Brideshead Revisited gives us two hours and 14 minutes of soul searching from a Christian artist who was very much a tortured seeker of truth – that ain’t a bad thing. Barry Gittins

Religious versus social work

Two book reviews - of Hope Endures, by Colette Livermore, and Finding Calcutta, by Mary Poplin.

Reviewed by Kara Martin

Colette L