I was listening to 774 ABC radio on the way back up to Melbourne last night (6^th September between 10PM - 11PM). On air was Tony Delroy's talk radio show Nightlife exploring young adult's dysfunctional attitudes towards money with guests Arun Abey and Dr. Lisa O'Brien. While I don't agree with everything said on the show (and indeed am very sceptical of ABC in general) there was a lot of advice worth heeding for young adults. Both guests are members of The Smith Family an NGO seeking to "break the cycle of disadvantage by supporting kids' education". Now I have limited knowledge about what this organisation actually does so I will not endorse it but I was challenged about what they had to say about financial matters in regards to the young adult.

Part of the conversation spoke about the dangers of plastic cards and electronic money. This encourages a conception that financial planning is not important and leads to over expenditure. Now, to some extent, this has been dampened by the global financial crisis which has forced people to re-evaluate their financial decisions and potentially more money-savvy. However, there are a lot of young adults (and I put my hand up as well) who have no history of financial planning and upon receiving their first full-time job they abuse the money they have earned on things they, frankly, don't need.

Mr Abey and Dr. O'Brien stated that material consumption does not bring happiness, that people gather meaning from things other than finances, or cars etc. This is completely true, of course. Many young adults place large value on a high-paying job and getting their ducks all in a row, basically. Even Christian young adults are bought in by this concept of prospering. Yet we know, through scripture, that our prosperity should be in God and God alone. In his first letter to Timothy Paul writes this:

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:17

However, this must be balanced with the concept of stewardship. This idea can be partly attributed to Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25. While Jesus is obviously referring to things above and beyond wealth there is no getting past the fact that we are also called to be good stewards of our finances. In James 2 we are told in no uncertain terms that faith without works is dead.

We are to be good stewards of what we are given. And in our western world we are given a lot. This does not mean that I am encouraging any sort of self-obsession. Indeed, this is the very thing I am encouraging you to avoid. What we have belongs to the Lord. Therefore, we should think twice about using it for personal, selfish reasons. Now we know this, yet we are obsessed with buying new toys. Things beginning with "i", new televisions, new cars and, yes, new cameras. I challenge you to reconsider your financial planning and see whether or not you are being a good steward of the money God has given you. Because as Arun Abey alludes to in his book How Much Is Enough? if we don't check ourselves we will never be satisfied.

Article by Cameron Spink

That's right, if you haven't heard it already, well, here goes. There is now a way to rank your friends on Facebook, but not in the conventional way, this ranking system is in regards to their sexual performance.

Such an idea would sound ridiculous if it wasn't true. Indeed, a lot of people are going up in arms about it, and rightly so. It is despicable and loathsome and shows just how much we are letting down the teenagers of society. Because, we act like this is something they did of their own volition and that we would never do something like that. Yet, surely the blame must fall squarely on the shoulders of adults and parents around this nation (and the world) who have let entertainment bring a creeping sexualisation to unprotected children.

The sexuality of Australia's children reflects the sexuality of our society. It is deemed permissible to be promiscuous and to rank former lovers in regards to how enjoyable the sex felt. Unfortunately, they are missing out on the best type of sex. The intimacy that comes from sharing the act of sex with one person. Waiting that benefits character and causes the act to be special, rather than experimental.

I am to be married in seven months (how can I forget when my future wife keeps counting down) and one of the acts of a couple binding together is to experience sex in a way that makes both participants one body. There is no way having promiscuous sex and then ranking how you feel is in the best interests of the person you are participating in sex with. In fact, it is merely a way of establishing superiority.

I know that when I have sex with my wife that'll it be a 10/10. Not because we've never done it before and we don't know what to expect but because:

1. we will experience it for the first time together.
2. neither of us will have any sexual superiority.
3. neither of us will feel that we have to compete with any past relationships.
4. we trust each other completely.
5. in this act we become "one flesh".
6. there is safety in the knowledge that what we give to the other person in the act of sex will not be abused.
7. there is no risk of attracting any sexual diseases.
8. we will not develop certain attitudes about the opposite sex (i.e. woman can be used merely for sex).
9. there is a much greater likelihood that we will stay together if we remain abstinent up until marriage (and much less likelihood of adultery occurring).
10. it is proven that sexual fulfilment is much greater when neither party has been involved with someone else sexually before.

Those are ten good reasons to remain abstinent until marriage, and they are separate from any Christian reasons to remain pure. Of course the option is open to all to participate in rampant sexual activity. However, this merely creates a poisonous hole in your life that will end up sucking away any love that may be present in the act of sex. Once you have experienced and experimented with sex it is hard to return to a lifestyle that will allow you to have a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex.

Facebook has become riddled with misuse, however, this recent sex rating site takes the cake. It is in the best interests of everyone that this page be shut down. For most teenagers involved they do not understand the consequences of their actions. We have our so-called "sex education" to blame for that.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/campaigners-want-shocking-facebook-pages-shut-down/story-fn7x8me2-1226067478599

Article by Cameron Spink

5. Shutter Island

Thrillers dominated this year and this was the most suspenseful of the lot. This movie really touches on the human spirit and what it can endure or forget. Not dissimilar to Inception but this is probably DiCarpio's career-defining performance.

4. The Town

For some reason Ben Affleck makes a better director than he does actor and this movie really shows his abilities as he paints a bleak world of drugs, robberies and death and yet there is a great amount of hope that spurs this story on. After all, we are not defined by our surroundings and our past but what we decide to do moment by moment.

3. How To Train Your Dragon

Animated movies seem to have a better strike rate than others of being really good movies. Having said that How To Train Your Dragon is one out of the box and a very family-friendly movie and deserves all of its $493.2 million that it brought in at the box office. It has an underlying message of acceptance to those who are different to us and was simply the movie that can lay claims to being the most fun.

2. Animal Kingdom

This Australian gem was released to critical acclaim. The story roughly follows what actually happened in the late 1980s in the Melbourne gangland scene and is beautifully directed by David Michôd. While the trailer may have come across as corny this movie reaches great heights and breaks the convention of having the climax in the latter part of the movie.

1. Inception

Inception is a movie of the finest quality. Not only does it have stunning cinematography, an epic score, emotional character development and an intriguing storyline but it mixes all these ingredients into a movie that stands alone in the thriller genre. One can't help being awed by the majesty of each world unfolding in high definition.

I recently re-watched the Star Wars prequel series. While it leaves a lot to be desired from its predecessor Episodes I, II & III have unbelievable graphics and awesome lightsaber duals. Perhaps the most memorable battle from the whole Star Wars saga is when Obi-Wan Kenobi confronts a rampaging (and very red-eyed) Anakin Skywalker on the volcanic world of Mustafar. It seems an apt place to conclude the prequel and segue into the 1977 film A New Hope.

What is very interesting about this confrontation is the dialogue through-out the fight (I’ve got to be honest, the lightsaber battle starts getting a bit stupid when they fall into the volcanic river). While it is no drama scene, not since the father-son bonding in The Empire Strikes Back, (where Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker spend a pleasant afternoon bungee jumping off Cloud City and trying out arm amputations - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6sj89xgnl4) has there been a dialogue as powerful and revealing as the discourse between Anakin and Obi-Wan. See below:

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Anakin, in one of his regular fits of anger, blames his previous best friend, Obi-Wan, for turning his closet-wife against him. Thus generates some particularly eye-opening dialogue which I want to address. The first is Obi-Wan’s comment:

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“Only a sith deals in absolutes”. There are several things ironic about this statement. The first is that this statement is a logical fallacy in and of itself. For instance, the making of such a statement itself is an absolute statement (sith are the ONLY ONES who deal in absolutes). However, the hypocrisy doesn’t end there. Surely the Jedi, who are supposed to be "the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy" would be required to deal in absolutes. After all, comments like “you have become the very thing you swore to destroy”, “I have failed you Anakin, I have failed you” and “Emperor Palpatine is evil!”, all of which are uttered by Obi-Wan in this exchange, are objective comments (that is, remarks of absolutes).

This divide, between relative morality and objective morality is very much in play in our time and in this galaxy. Many people believe that morality is merely a construct of the human mind, thus we each subjectively find both meaning and morality within ourselves and from our culture. Because of this we should not impose our morality on others (a common relativist argument). As Greg Koukl states:

If relativism is true then there is no standard like that standing outside of us so there's no sense to the notion of justice or fairness. There's no accountability. Everybody does their own thing. There's no possibility of moral improvement or moral discourse, you can't even discuss things morally in an intelligent fashion because there's no better or worse morality in the context of relativism.

Relativists & Sociopaths - Gregory Koukl

I think it is clear that the Jedi-way, as depicted in the Star Wars universe, is one of absolutes and not relativism. Mind you, it’s no wonder Obi-Wan is confused. What with him participating in a Buddhist-like cult. For instance, compare a Jedi to a Buddhist monk. We see such great similarities that one can only deduce that what is occurring is a misunderstanding of worldviews. A worldview like cosmic humanism (or Buddhism) does not lead to condemnation such as “Emperor Palpatine is evil!”. Only a God like the one who gave Moses the Ten Commandments has the power to ordain rules and distribute justice.

Also worth noting is Anakin’s philosophy. “I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new empire!”. Anakin believes that the ends justify the means. Because of his relativistic position he can rationalise using the “dark side of the force” for, what he deems, is the good of the empire. Many people rationalise their actions as Anakin does.

But Anakin’s actions go further than this. He ultimately makes a deal with the devil (i.e. Emperor Palpatine) in an attempt to save his wife. George Lucas has pointed to Faust, a German legend, as inspiration for this characteristic of Anakin Skywalker. The gist of this story is the man who has power desires more. Indeed this is what the Emperor offers Anakin:

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By the end of Episode III Anakin has been transformed into a hate-filled monster where only his desires and ambitions drive him. Yet we shouldn’t be surprised. As Greg Koukl asserts in regards to relativism “[t]here's got to be something wrong with an allegedly moral point of view that produces a moral champion who has the moral substance of a sociopath”.

This may be a somewhat cheesy clip but who says Christians can't have fun. Also it was for a good cause and promotes awareness as we move towards Easter.

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Inspired by last year's video:

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If you want to be involved in a Faith Global Dance on Easter Sunday (that is Sunday 24th April) go to Up To Faith and register. There's one happening in Melbourne.

Here's the trailer:

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Article by Cameron Spink

The thing about the Narnian books is that they are primarily aimed at children and the movies are no different. Perhaps this is why, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the ideals that translate from the book are more blatant than the interwoven messages from the first two.

This movie centres on Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and they don't take long to re-enter the mystical land of Narnia. Unfortunately they are followed by their very annoying cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). But no matter, as straight away they are rescued from their water-filled picture frame by their old friend King Caspian (Ben Barnes).