DRAFT (for discussion)
Ideals, Citizenship & Lifestyle Options for Consideration by Venturers & Units
For an explanation of the Purpose of Ideals, Citizenship or Lifestyle Activity, see the
Italics section at the top of the relevant page in a Venturer Record Book.
Read a book or watch a DVD and then plan a discussion with relevant people and/or
undertake additional research, in order to lead and evaluate a discussion or debate in your
unit around some of the issues or questions that are raised by the book or DVD.
DVDs could be viewed by Venturers during a Venturer meeting or in a small group. Your Unit
could host a ‘Zone Night’ that includes showing the DVD.
For information about borrowing a copy of a book or DVD that is mentioned below, contact
jerome.winston@hotmail.com.au.
1. Book. The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, by Khaled Abou El
Fadl, published by Harper, 2007.
Professor Abou El Fadl is an outstanding Muslim cleric, historian, legal scholar and
academic who teaches in the USA. Professor Abou El Fadl’s writing is clear and easy to
read. This is just one of a number of books that he has written. Reading, reviewing and
participating in discussions or debates based on reading any of his books is worth
consideration by a Venturer and Unit Council.
2. Book. Who wrote the Bible? by Richard E. Friedman, 1997, HarperOne.
This book is identifies clues to the solution of a mystery, in fact, a number of mysteries,
about the author or authors of the Hebrew Bible. The book is easy to read, while
providing information about the times when these books (actually, scrolls) appear to
have been composed. Professor Friedman is an outstanding scholar of Classical Hebrew
and the Bible, having published his own translation and commentary for the first five
books of the Hebrew Bible.
3. DVD. “Go Back to where You Came From”, SBS DVD, 4 hours, 2011.
This is the original 2011 3-part documentary, shown on TV before many current
Venturers were old enough to be paying much attention to the way that refuges are
discussed in the media. This DVD includes the original three TV programs, plus a forum
at which discussion and debate continues. That discussion and debate continues to be
relevant is demonstrated by the newer 2015 version of this documentary. [Rated M:
Coarse language & mature themes]
4. DVD. “The Secret River”, ABC DVD, 190 minutes (3 hrs, 10 min), 2015.
This DVD is based on a novel that was written by Australian author, Kate Grenville, who
was interested in finding out more about her own family’s history in Australia. While
both novel and DVD are fictional, they portray the challenges and emotions involved in
interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
[Rated M:
Recommended for mature audiences]
5. DVD. “THAT Sugar Film”, Madman DVD, 153 min (98 min + 55 min extras), 2014.
Eating junk food has consequences and its promotion may tell us something about
society. [Rated PG: Mild themes, coarse language and naturalistic nudity]
October ZVC Meeting 2015