Undeceptions with John Dickson

Africa is home to over 1.5 billion people and some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but it still faces vast challenges. Thousands of missionaries have moved to Africa and made it their life’s work to help bring about change. John speaks with one of them. CREDITS Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley.  Alasdair Belling is a writer...

War is a horror – so how has Christianity, in its classical tradition, approached the human reality of war? Can it ever be justified on spiritual grounds? We looked at these questions in episode 55, ‘Just War’, back in 2021 - and given recent events, we thought now was a good time to revisit that episode.

Wes Huff has made the historical case for Christianity to an audience of millions on some of the biggest podcasts in the world, including the Joe Rogan Experience and Diary of a CEO.   It’s fair to say he’s having a bit of a moment. But is all this big-name podcast interest in Christianity evidence of something deeper? Is Christianity itself having more than just a moment? FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CL...

Is it ok for a Christian to enjoy secular music? Why did Jesus have to get baptised? And how does the church’s teaching on money compare to what the Bible actually teaches about it? It’s Q&A time again at Undeceptions ! FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE CREDITS Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley.    Alasdair Belling is a writer-researcher...

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the Bible as a “library,” not a single work. But this library has been the most sold book in the world for millennia! So should we call this ultimate best-seller “literature”? There are many ways to read the Bible. But reading it as literature may help us see something easily missed: the Bible isn’t just a collection of texts any more than a symphony is just...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. This seems obvious to us today, but many people throughout history didn’t believe in these ideals. Many would wonder how it could be that every human being, regardless of capacit...

It’s hard to get a clear picture of the historical Jesus without projecting cultural tropes onto Him. Jesus - perhaps more than anyone in history - is often co-opted to fit either personal or political agendas. So this Easter, we’re trying to untangle the cultural Jesus from the real historical Jesus - by zeroing in on his famous last few days. CREDITS Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produ...

There’s a certain collection of Greek and Roman writings - from roughly 800 BC to AD 200 - which, apart from the Bible, has shaped the Western world more than any other intellectual tradition. Today, we call them the Classics. Many are familiar with the names behind these ancient texts: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Livy … the list goes on. But just because these works have a legacy doesn’t mean tha...

The First Hymn is coming to the big screens on both sides of the Atlantic! Find tickets here.

The cultural hangovers of Christianity are well attested. Recently, people who were once describing themselves as ‘New Atheists’ have gone as far as to call themselves ‘Cultural Christians’, due to the prevalence of Christian thought in modern ethics. But what if the great dream of the New Atheists eventually succeeded? What would a world where God was actually dead look like? FOR FULL SHOW NOTES...

Since Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species, evolution has been considered by many to be the final nail in the coffin of religion. Because evolution is supposedly random - or indeed, blind - the argument follows that there is no design. But recently, a quiet revolution has been raging among the top tier of evolutionary scientists. The apparent randomness of evolution has come into qu...

A popular myth is that when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he forced everyone else to embrace the faith - or else face deadly consequences. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. It was under Constantine that the very modern-sounding ideas of freedom of religion and “justice for all” were first instituted. These were revolutionary ideals, and they came from a very s...

In pop culture, we often enjoy watching - or reading - vice and virtue play out, with the former often far more exciting than the latter. But what about real life? Do we still find vice “sizzling” (as one writer described it), and virtue stale? At the heart of this lies a much deeper question: What good is there in pursuing the good? FOR FULL SHOW NOTES: https://undeceptions.com/podcast/virtue-vic...

The Reformation remains a pivotal moment not just for the church, but for global history.  It permanently split the church, triggered wars, created new city-states, and even led, in the opinion of many experts, to the Enlightenment, Science, and the secularisation of the West. When it came to covering the topic on Undeceptions , there was so much to talk about that we needed two episodes just to s...

On November 2, 2024, Chris Tomlin performed the world premiere of The First Hymn at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ben Fielding joined him onstage that night to help gift this 1800-year-old song back to the world. In this special, shorter episode, you get a front row seat to a fireside chat with Chris as he introduces the new First Hymn to the world, for the first time. 

We attempt to make sense of the silly season, to explain why there really is “more to life”, and why the traditional Christmas story still holds the answers. (00:00) - - Unwanted Christmas cards (04:41) - - Diagnosing our festive illness (08:49) - - Happiness or peace? (10:35) - - Jesus the umpire (13:10) - - The Prince of Peace (18:55) - - Christmas and the Gulag Archipelago (22:56) - - Christmas...

It’s probably the most significant of all church history’s debates: Was Jesus fully human, fully divine, or a hybrid of some sort? 1700 years ago, bishops from across the Christian world gathered in the city of Nicaea to settle this once and for all. The outcome was three paragraphs which went on to represent the core of Christianity, and spell out who Jesus is - and who he isn’t . (00:00) - - Jes...

The first-century historian Flavius Josephus is the oldest source we have for the historical Jesus outside of the Bible. His 90-word paragraph about Jesus - where he calls Jesus “the Christ”, and says Jesus “appeared to them [the disciples] alive again on the third day", spending a third day restored to life - has sparked centuries of debate. Most experts think this paragraph has an authentic core...

Why don’t Christians still follow the Laws of the Old Testament? Why did God create humans if so many are apparently destined for Hell? Is the ‘Golden Rule’ actually a Christian idea? John answers all these - and more - for our Season XV Q&A! (00:00) - - Intro (05:12) - - Why don't Christians still follow the Old Testament Law? (14:49) - - Deep reading for non-readers (19:41) - - Are Christian...

Christianity no longer has the cultural sway it once held. But there’s always been a long tradition of Christians being flexible in engaging their culture—whether in ancient Rome, Viking Scandinavia, or modern America. So what does a ‘relevant’ Christianity look like in the 21st century? CREDITS Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley.  Alasdair...

Back in 2020, John caught up with author and journalist Greg Sheridan to talk about Christianity’s struggles in both Australia, and the global West more broadly. However, Greg wasn’t so glum on the future of the faith in a post-Christian world. Ahead of an upcoming episode on how the gospel applies to a post-Christian world, we thought now was the time to look back at what Greg had to say.

In his Divine Comedy, Dante isn’t claiming to offer us a vision of what hell and heaven are actually like. It might be set in the afterlife, but it’s really about how we live life here and now. Even if you’ve never read one line of the epic poem, you’ve been influenced by The Divine Comedy .  It’s time we learned more about one of Western literature’s greatest works … and how it might just change...

Some claim Christian persecution is on the rise, while others find the idea of a modern persecution implausible. So, what’s the truth? It’s complex …  (00:00) - - John Dickson's persecution complex (08:56) - - The myth of persecution (13:24) - - The first Christian persecutions (21:29) - - The third-century persecutions (32:25) - - The Emperor Diocletian comes to power (38:32) - - The Great Persec...

Jane Austen’s words and books are well known. But what do we know of Jane herself - what she was like, and what she believed? What did she think of society and class, ethics, literature, romance, and faith? (00:00) - - Jane behind the text (05:51) - - Jane's world (10:35) - - Jane the novelist (19:31) - - The author and the characters (32:39) - - Romance, satire, or something else? (39:50) - - Jan...

Christianity is sometimes branded as anti-intellectual, and its followers labelled unteachable. But in an increasingly divided age, the church - with its rich history of learning - might be able to help the world recover what it means to have a teachable spirit … and to know who to learn from. (00:00) - - How we learn (04:17) - - Teachability (10:44) - - Humility in learning (16:00) - - Is faith a...