Alcohol Harm & Social Justice

Alcohol harm is spread right across all communities in Australia, with no exception. However this type of harm falls mostly on those who The Salvation Army aims to serve - those who lack power and are disadvantaged. You might have heard this in the Army when we talk about 'the least, the lowest and the lost'. For example,

Harm to Youth:
That's you guys. Did you know that recent research shows that there is much greater risks to brain development from underage drinking than we previously thought? In fact, for young people under 18 there is no 'safe' level of alcohol consumption because your brain is still forming and any exposure to alcohol can stop this formation from occurring properly. This is especially the case when it comes to 'binge' drinking. Binge drinking has grown in popularity amongst young people even though we now know more than ever before that it can occur the MOST harm.

Harm to Indigenous Communities:
All forms of disadvantage that Indigenous communities suffer - poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, various forms of abuse - are made worse by alcohol. Some communities have even voluntary adopted a 'dry' status (no alcohol allowed) to try to lessen the harm - this has apparently been quite successful. (If you want more info about this check out a bunch of research done here.)

Addiction:
When you look at alcohol harm from a human perspective it is a huge tragedy. Addiction is a vicious master. (Like in the Black Cat Films) But we rejoice that addiction can be overcome, and The Salvation Army works daily to help with this. People who are addicted are in a vulnerable situation when the substance that they are addicted to is available easily (and often cheaply) at pretty much any time of the day or night, and its promotion is in your face everywhere you go.

Alcohol Harm and Social Justice...

http://www.phoenixhouse.org/our-perspectives/prohibition-not-repeatable-but-not-a-failure/

Have you ever thought about the fact that alcohol abuse and harm could be just as much a social justice issue as Fair Trade Chocolate, Stop the Traffick or feeding the hungry in Africa like on the 40 Hour Famine?

The alcohol industry is an enormous rich and wide-spreading international mega-power. It can convince governments to let them do things they otherwise wouldn't be able to do such as advertising during sporting broadcasts watched by children and receiving financial benefit from the addicted, indigenous communities and young people. It is clear who are the winners and losers in the alcohol industry.

There are other aspects of alcohol harm that affect a lot of people such as:
* Harm on the roads
* Violent harm, in 'domestics' and on city streets

The main problem with alcohol harm is that it has so many forms, it is everywhere, yet it is mostly seen as inevitable (bound to happen, part of life), and even acceptable. Alcoholic products are involved in so many different kinds of problems, even beyond all the personal health consequences that a lot of people face. Even though these harms are seen as 'inevitable' and 'acceptable', no government is prepared to tackle these issues in a way that will minimise the harm. It is up to communities across Australia to demand that governments, organisations, groups and individuals all start to challenge this easy but deadly issue. Salvationists have a key role in demanding this action.

What do you think you could do???

Think about it, pray about it...***

(Information sourced for this post is sourced from The Salvation Army Alcohol Culture Initiative Learning Module)

What is Evangelism?

Evangelism comes from the Greek word 'evangelion'. The New Testament was originally written in Greek so this word was originally found there. The word roughly means to 'tell good news'. So, as a christian, evangelism is when we tell others the good news about God's love and what Jesus has done.

The reason it is so important is because people can't follow Jesus or be in a relationship with God unless someone tell them about it. Therefore we have to become messengers for this good news; evangelists.

Matthew 13:3-9 says;

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

and further on Matthew 13:18-23 says;

 ¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Think about this;
What does the seed represent? What about the ground?
 In the story where does the farmer put the seed? Does he sow it anywhere in particular or everywhere?
Does the seed always take root and grow? Do people always believe the good news when they hear it?

Feel free to share your thoughts but bring these questions before God in prayer, he might have something to say to you about them...

The real cost of a night out.

A recent report found that the cost of alcohol abuse to our communities is around $34 billion a year!
This is twice as much as was previously thought.

Rev. Tim Costello (the CEO of World Vision Australia) has said 'If ever our leaders needed the courage to tackle the vested interests that resist effective alcohol policy reform in Australia, this report provides ample evidence that the ongoing tragedy of alcohol related harm in the Australian community cannot continue unabated.'
Basically he's saying that this is clear evidence that 'we' as Australians need to get in and do something about alcohol harm coz the problem is only going to get bigger if left alone!

What could you do with $34 billion?
Here's some examples of some other things Australia could use the money for (in one year);
* Buy a National Broadband Network so we can access the internet even in regional Australia!

* Get millions of African children out of poverty. According to UNICEF 300 million children go to bed hungry every night. But only 8% of these are victims of famine or other emergencies so it means the other 92% are just living in extreme poverty for no other reason than they were just born into it! (Have you ever heard of the $1 a day challenge? It's where you live on just $1 a day for a week or a month and the money you save you donate to those who have no other choice but to live on $1 a day, or less. Check it out here.)

* Pay the cost of the physical and economic damage from the Australian floods that occurred recently in both Victoria and Queensland. Were you affected?

What would you spend $34 billion on each year in Australia?

Think about it. Pray about it. ***

Evangelism

Ever heard of the word Evangelism?

We are going to look at this word over the next couple of weeks and work out why it's so important.

Take a moment to think about how you found out about God and how you came to making a faith decision...

Ever hear about the parable of the farmer who sowed seed everywhere, in the good soil, the bad soil and the hard, rocky soil? Check it out at the start of Matthew 13 or try reading it here.

That story is essentially a story about evangelism. It's about planting seeds of the Word of God into the hearts of everyone you know whether you think the message is going to be received well or whether it's going to be met with hardness. It's about making the story of Jesus and the bible a natural part of your world, a natural part of you that is evident to others.

Regardless of religion, everyone shares the good ideas they hear. We all want to tell others about the good things that are happening in our lives so that they can share with us and experience the same things. Like when you first got onto Facebook for example, someone would have added you or told you about it so you got on to see what it was all about and then you wanted to add other friends as well. The same can be said with God. Some people might want to know about God, some people might not, but it's only natural that we tell the world about God's goodness and love anyway.

Have a think about the beach, you all know what the beach is but imagine you didn't. Imagine you had never seen the beach before and had never heard about it. You had never seen the ocean, didn't know what Seagulls were or waves or sand. Then imagine someone trying to explain it all to you, or imagine trying to explain it to someone else and trying to convince them that it is real. Now think about it in regards to knowing God, if you had never heard about Him before and had never seen or experienced Him you might have a hard time believing when others speak about Him.

Who told you about Jesus?
How did they explain it to you?
How did it change your life?
Feel free to share...

Our alcohol 'culture'..?

Remember last week in this post we talked about the history of alcohol in Australia?
Right at the end I asked you to think about the word culture and what our Australian culture might look like and how alcohol and drinking might relate to that. Have any ideas?

What is 'culture' anyway?
Feel free to Google it but probably the simplest definition is: The way we do things around here.
Any group of people who spend time together, even here online, start making unsaid rules about what is normal, acceptable, desirable or undesirable. They have shared stories, shared values and the same kinds of understandings of what is socially o.k. They might have a language that is unique to that group, even though it might be technically the same language as other groups (English for example) they might have a specific way of using that language that is different to other groups. For example you probably use words and say things a different way to your parents do and when you are online you might use certain symbols, acronyms and hyphenations (lol, brb, <3, :() that they might not even be able to understand! That is your shared 'culture' with your friends and others.

A culture of a group is not beyond the control of those in the group however. Particularly for those that display leadership qualities, they are able to lead others in the group towards what they do and don't do, effectively changing the 'culture' of the group. But, just because you don't think you are a leader and have more of a tendency to follow doesn't mean that you don't have any power to operate differently to what the group is doing. You don't have to do everything your 'culture' tells you to do.

Culture is a flexible thing although it generally takes a long time to change. Culture is something that is negotiated over time by those who participate in it but you might not even be aware that it is happening. Think for a second about your group of friends. What do you think are things that are part of your culture? Is it the way you dress, the way you talk, the things that you do? How did you all agree that you were all going to act that way?

We have seen major culture changes in Australia in regards to smoking over several years. It used to be a common thing for a lot of people to smoke and you could smoke pretty much anywhere. Even teachers used to smoke in classrooms! How do you feel about that now? Weird right? Unhealthy? Gross?
This change in our culture from 'smoking is fine, even cool, something that is completely acceptable anywhere' to 'smoking is not cool, you're killing yourself and others' came from a variety of different factors. Some of the main factors were leaders in the health sector and government action taking a stand against it.

Thinking about all of these things where do you think we sit in Australia in regards to drinking being a part of our 'culture'? And do we have the power to change it? What do you think would have to happen in order for it to change, like smoking?

Hmmm...

Reflecting on the New Testament...

This is our last post on the New Testament before we move on but we are going to reference the New Testament in almost every post after this so take some time to reflect on the following questions;

What New Testament books have you actually read?

What New Testament books do you think you might like to read or like the sound of?

Can you think of a space in your week that you could set time aside for New Testament reading? Remember in this post we talked about setting some time aside in your week to read the Old Testament like on the bus or after you get home from school. How have you gone with that? Maybe you could add reading some of the New Testament in there too??!
There are some bibles like this one that give you a reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a Psalm and a Proverb to read everyday so that you can mix it up a little bit but still stay on track. You can also set up your smart phone apps to do the same things and give you a bible reading everyday and here's one online...

If you find reading your bible a struggle then maybe start with prayer. So long as you are communicating with God on a regular basis he will help you discover more about Him and keep growing in your faith. Maybe you need to pray for concentration or to not fall asleep while reading your bible, maybe you need to pray for a buddy you can read the bible with together. Or maybe you need to pray to be given a bible that explains things for you in the best way possible.

If you're really into the New Testament and want to find out more about all the books and the history etc. check out this link on Wikipedia and here's a print out to help you remember the books of the New Testament;

Remember when we were talking about those different parts of the bible like the gospels and the epistles here are some links for you to find out more information:
Wikipedia's definition of 'Gospel'.

Wikipedia's definition of 'Epistle'.
and the 'Pauline Epistles' or letters of Paul

BUT, the best way for you to find out more about the New Testament is for you to read it yourself, so get going!

If you're more of an 'is there a movie version?' kind of person try to get your hands on the movie The Gospel of John that was made in 2003. Click Here for a preview on Youtube.
Sometimes they play the bible movies on Sunday afternoons, particularly around Christmas and Easter. Next time you're channel surfing and find one maybe check it out rather than continuing to flick onto Rage ;)

Think about it. Pray about it. ***

A history of drinking in Australia

Do you know most Australians drink with a meal, to be sociable, or to celebrate? (Roy Morgan Research 2010, commissioned by The Salvation Army)

BUT there are also large numbers of people who 'drink to get drunk' or to 'feel normal', this is pretty disturbing. But I bet you all know what I'm talking about.

A lot of people have drunk to 'escape' pretty much since the First Fleet arrived in Australia. There wasn't much else to do in the early colonial life and those days were harsh. Britain was just developing their alcohol industry at that time and they had just come up with distilled spirits like gin, rum, whiskey etc. This was the fastest, cheapest way to escape from reality and as a result on average people drank 13-14 litres per person per year! (Fitzgerald and Jordan 2009)

 

 (Photo sourced from Salvation Army IHQ here taken by Ewan Arnolda)

Therefore when the First Fleet arrived on Australian shores from Britain they brought their spirits with them.

Drinking was central to life in the early days of Australia, there weren't many laws around it and they kept changing all the time depending on how the alcohol trade was going. Over time, the harsh Australian environment created aspects of our Aussie Culture which most of us would value such as 'mateship' and a belief in a 'fair go'. The place of alcohol was almost 'compulsory' for relaxing and celebrating and has become cemented in our way of life. I'm sure you all see it yourselves in your family and friends, it's the Aussie culture to get home from work and crack open a beer or to have a few drinks at a birthday party or wedding. You might have even heard some people say it's un-Australian not to drink! Not to mention it's also created a very large and powerful alcohol industry which makes a lot of people a lot of money.

As our country has become more urban and suburban our alcohol consumption has toned down a bit, there are now a lot of other options for leisure and relaxation other than drinking. Drinking in Australia was at its lowest in the 1930s at about two or three litres consumed each year per person. This also however happened to be around the time of the Great Depression where average people did not have much spare money to spend on luxuries such as alcohol, they were just trying to feed their children. Christians were also prominent at that time in what was called the 'temperance movement', Google it to find out what that was all about. There were a lot of moral arguments occurring at that time and people were accused of 'wowerism'. It sounds like a pretty pathetic thing to call someone these days but back in those days a poet called C.J. Denis coined the term and it stuck. A 'wowser' was pretty much someone who was against other people having fun, probably what we would call a 'killjoy' these days.

(Photo sourced from The Salvation Army here)

Since World War II alcohol consumption has steadily risen yet again and today Australians drink an average of 8.5-9 litres of pure alcohol a year. This number isn't any higher than most other countries but the difference is Australians like to see ourselves as hard drinkers. I'm sure if you haven't encountered this yourself than you've seen it on TV, Aussies love to compete against other nations in drinking competitions claiming to have 'drunk them under the table' for example. Also there are negative habits developing in Australia around who drinks (such as children, youth, boys vs. girls) and how we drink, specifically to get drunk. Also about one in ten drinkers drink at dangerous levels that have both short and long-term consequences and damage. About 60% of all alcohol consumed in Australia is done at higher levels than National Health guidelines recommend (National Health and Medical Research Council).

Those that are particularly affected are young people, the addicted and Indigenous Communities so if you are a young Indigenous person with a history of alcohol addiction in your family the picture looks pretty grim.

The Salvation Army in Australia would probably identify these groups as amongst the 'least, lowest and lost' (like William Booth talks about) in this country. These groups don't have much power and are 'at-risk' but our alcohol industry is rich and powerful and still powers on promoting alcoholic products as attractive, no matter what the harm.

At the beginning of Australia's history alcohol harm was seen as a moral issue, it has since transitioned into being a medical issue and even a public health issue. However even more recently there has been a discovery that Australia's thirst for alcohol is even bigger again, it's now considered a problem with society. This means that drinking is encouraged through family and social settings in workplaces and on roads, the problem is far bigger than the individual drinkers themselves, it's now something called 'social harm'. Alcohol abuse is now a part of our very culture.

Think about the word 'culture', what springs to mind when you think about it?
Now think about the Aussie way, what are some things that make us uniquely 'Australian' compared to other countries.
Does alcohol and drinking make up a large part of that?
How do you think the average Australian feels about alcohol in this country?
How do you feel about alcohol?

Hmm... Think about it, Pray about it...***

(Information sourced for this post is sourced from The Salvation Army Alcohol Culture Initiative Learning Module)