Undeceptions with John Dickson

Today is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist strikes in the US that killed almost 3000 people and changed the world forever.   Our guest for this single, Hans Kunnen, was one of several Australians in New York that day and has told his story many times over the last 20 years. But what struck us about his story was not how close he was to the action, or how h...

On the anniversary of the France's Reign of Terror, John asks where we got the idea that three centuries of the Spanish Inquisition represented the height of human cruelty. In any objective history of human violence it would hardly rate a mention, especially when it stands alongside the terrors of the French Revolution.

** We’re talking about abortion in this episode, and occasionally we mention sexual abuse and violence. Nothing graphic, we promise. But some listeners may find what follows distressing. Be safe. ** We're weighing up the arguments of the Pro Choice and Pro Life movements. Perhaps we can convince you that the case against abortion - the pro-life case - isn’t as dumb and mean as it's often portrayed...

It's this season's Q&A episode, where listeners get a chance to ask John Dickson their burning questions.  This episode is sponsored by S even Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible by Michael F Bird , a new book published by Zondervan. QUESTIONS Is all “music” at its best good or beautiful and at worst simply neutral; or can some “music” be “bad”, “evil” or “ungodly”? (Check out our tw...

Just when you imagine Christians are all so heavenly minded they’re of no earthly use … the Bible itself brings us back to the earth. That’s where the action is. In fact, the final great scene of the Bible doesn’t have us all floating up to heaven. It has heaven coming down to earth.  Down … to … earth. There’s a lot in that phrase.  As far as religions go, Christianity is arguably the most down-t...

The parting of the red sea is legendary today … and most people treat it as just that … legend. Like many things in the Bible, the exodus from Egypt (recorded in the book Old Testament book of Exodus) is looked on with great scepticism by secular scholars - and some Christian scholars even. It’s understandable.  The existence of Moses, mighty prophet and prince of Egypt. The ten plagues that devas...

We all know Christianity thrives on ignorance, sunk us all into the dark ages, and has resisted human rights and equality for most of its 1500 year reign. What have the Christians ever done for us? Our guest today - who says he’s not a believing Christian - reckons many of us have things completely back to front. It’s Christianity, he insists, that gave us many of the secular humanitarian ideals w...

John Dickson is taking a bit of a break to grieve the passing of his friend, Ben Shaw. So, in the interim, Producer Kaley and Director Mark have decided to choose their favourite Undeceptions episodes to drop into your podcast feed for two weeks.  Week number two is brought to you by Director Mark. He has chosen to re-share the Remembering Women episode. John visits Dr. Lynne Cohick to chat about...

John Dickson is taking a bit of a break to grieve the passing of his friend, Ben Shaw. So, in the interim, Producer Kaley and Director Mark have decided to choose their favourite Undeceptions episodes to drop into your podcast feed in the next two weeks.  Producer Kaley's favourite is the very first episode of Undeceptions, called ‘Old Papers’. It harks back to a time when we were allowed to trave...

Ben Shaw and John Dickson were friends since childhood, became Christians together in their teens, formed a rock and roll band in their 20s, and went on to study theology and minister in the fields God opened up to them. The death of Ben Shaw has provided John with an opportunity to reflect on the sort of book his best friend felt was worth using his last months to write, and the spiritual lessons...

John Dickson invites solicitor and social commentator Stephanie Kate Judd to offer an opinion on the sexism that simultaneously abuses and silences women.  Outrage, she says, is an appropriate response to significant wrongdoing, but unchecked rage can corrode the very hearts that feel that injustice most keenly. Instead, Stephanie suggests a way in which we can confront a problem but still keep ou...

Jesus was once a teenage boy, right? Was he a rascal? Who did he hang out with? Was he considered the ancient equivalent of a jock, a cool kid, a nerd, or something else? And how on earth did he get through the normal teenage years of angst and still be … the perfect incarnation of God? There’s a bit of speculation about teenage Jesus. And we promise to cover all the evidence for it in this episod...

For every voice decrying the evils of pornography, there’s another that says it’s healthy, part of our freedom of expression, “sex positive”! So, which is it?  LINKS This epidoe of Undeceptions is brought to you by Zondervan’s new commentary on the book of Exodus by Christopher Wright. Meet our guest, Melinda Tankard Reist , and find out more about the Collective Shout Movement that she founded. M...

This is the second part of our two-part series on the Crusades. For Part One, click here. A brutal slaughter at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem marked the end of the first crusade. The Crusaders had recaptured Jerusalem and the Holy Lands. They had regained control and care of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, probably medieval Christianity’s most sacred site, built over what was believed to be Je...

This is the first of a two part episode on The Crusades.   Over nine hundred years after the launch of the first Crusade, world leaders are still invoking their memory to explain ongoing conflict. But how plausible is that? Chances are, whether you're a Christian or a skeptic, what you think you know about the Crusades is wrong. Or so says our guest for this episode. What were the Crusades? How di...

LINKS Get to know our guest Professor Robert Wilken This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book, The Problem of Jesus  by Mark Clark Read Robert Wilken's latest book Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom More on the Edict of Milan , in which Constantine declared: “Freedom and full liberty has been granted in accordance with the peace of our times to exercis...

Guilt is a big topic - there is so much to say. Like the feeling of guilt itself, it is layered.  We deal with guilt on an individual level and on a societal one.  “Guilt is a religious problem which interests theologians, a social problem which interests sociologists and a psychological problem which interests psychologists,” wrote psychotherapist and theologian, Paul Tournier, in his book Guilt...

Perhaps you’ve heard it before - religion is bad for your mental health. It triggers feelings of guilt, self-loathing and bigotry.  But, actually, there are many ways in which the opposite is true. Karen Pang's story is testament to that, which you'll hear in this episode. There’s also a growing body of research - authoritative, real-life, peer-reviewed research - that reports a significant benefi...

It is the day after ANZAC Day, that occasion when Australians and New Zealanders commemorate those who died in the defence of our country.  At a time like this, it is worth considering the inscription bourne by many military tombstones across the world - 'Unknown Soldier - Known Unto God'. This is not just a way of saying, "We don't know who he is; I guess God does." It has a profound meaning abou...

Critics of Christianity have often pointed to The Troubles in Northern Ireland as proof that, "Religion ruins everything." But how accurate is the statement? How accurate is it to even label The Troubles a religious conflict? John Dickson shares a chapter of his upcoming book,  Bullies And Saints , on how the Troubles got started and how Christianity helped to bring them to an end. Click here to o...

Gordon Menzies advised the federal government on the deregulation of the Australian dollar, underlining his credentials when it came to liberalism. However, his new book titled 'Western Fundamentalism' suggests a more conservative way of seeing the world. He tells John Dickson, though, that a Christian is capable of rejecting definitions of both left and right to forge a distinctly different path.

Dr. Laurel Moffatt rejoins the Undeceptions team to consider the state of the American soul. Researchers have revealed that this nation of the bold and the free is now united more by the things that its citizens hate than those they love. Is there any way out of this emotional and moral quagmire? Dr. Moffatt thinks so.

How do you face the rapidly approaching end of a battle with cancer? In Series 2, Episode 13 of Undeceptions, John Dickson met up with his friend Ben Shaw to discuss his recent diagnosis of that dreaded disease. The It's Cancer episode raised serious questions about what place pain has in a world created by a good God. Now, in the run-up to Easter, John returns to ask Ben if the call to face cance...

Some would argue that Christianity itself is racist. Given the sweep of history, this is a charge that has to be confronted.  So we’re going to speak to a couple of people who, despite all the things the church has done wrong -- and continues to do wrong -- and despite all the things the church should be doing but just isn’t - still see Christ as Lord. They are still part of the church. They still...

Perhaps you’re sceptical, perhaps you’re just undecided - our challenge for you for 2021 is: read at least 100 pages of the Bible.  This book has shaped much of our world. It would be great to think that you’ve got your head around at least 100 pages, as an adult, with all your grownup questions activated.  Yes, the Bible is weird. It’s got wars, bizarre laws, talking snakes, perhaps even a unicor...