Undeceptions with John Dickson (Undeceptions Ltd)

Each week of our first season of Undeceptions, we've asked you to tell us some of the things you'd like to be 'undeceived' about. This episode John Dickson tackles the top questions sent in, covering everything from questions raised by our various guests to crackers you've come up with on your own.

Press play to hear more about whether Islam actually invented science, why historians still reject the idea of a resurrection, and what the difference is between New Testament and Old Testament Miracles. Plus West Wing references and Jesus own 'top questions' to ask!

Thanks to our season sponsor - Selah - for all your travel needs, whether you're a doubter or a believer. Find out more at myselah.com.au.

Links related to this episode:
Curiosity aroused by others' questions? Easy links to...

• • Episode 1 - Old Papers, with Brendan Haug
  • Episode 2 - Football Free, with the Greenbay Packers
  • Episode 6 - Rational Universe, with Ard Louis
  • Episode 7 - Gospel Truth, with Peter Williams
• John refer's to the 'post hoc ergo proctor hoc' fallacy. Did he leave you in the dust? Here's a video that explains the idea
• But if you'd prefer Jed Bartlett to explain it to you, you can find it here

And check out the beautiful new Undeceptions web site!

Want to send John a question for our next Q and A? Here's the place to do it! 

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

The basic aim of ‘critical theory’ is to make visible the hidden structures of a culture, so as to critique society and then, in the best forms of critical theory, bring about improvements. Our guest today reckons the Bible has its own way of exposing the flaws of our culture–and, of course, pointing to the Good. The Bible, in other words, has a critical theory of its own.

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's new book Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament, edited by Brian J. Tabb and Andrew M. King.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

John Dickson's Bullies and Saints is a super-podcast providing excerpts of the book by the same name - a no-holds-barred look at the best and worst of church history.

In this edition, John investigates the accusation that Christianity is a faith that was propagated by the sword rather than peace. Are Christians guilty of their own jihad?

Click here to buy a copy of Bullies and Saints, or here to own the entire audiobook.

And for even more on the history of Christianity, and how well the church is mirroring the message that Jesus handed on, head over to the Undeceptions website.

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.

Church leaders and impassioned Christians want to suggest that the Bible promises a special deliverance from COVID-19 for those who put their faith in the Son of God. However John Dickson resurrects the wisdom of an ancient bishop who also faced a massive plague to give us a different perspective.

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 benefit to wellbeing if you are religious. 

That’s right. You are more healthy if you are religious.

Do you need help? 

• If you're in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. 
• In the UK? Call The Samaritans on 116 123.
• If you're in the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255

LINKS

• This episode is brought to you by Zondervan Academic's book, Three Views on Chrisitanity and Science with contributions from Alister McGrath, Bruce L Gordon and Michael Ruse. 
• Meet our guest, Karen Pang 
• Meet our guest, Professor Tyler VanderWeele
• Meet out guest, Lyn Worsley
• Listen to the full interview with Buff and John Dickson on ABC's The Spirit of Things 
• Watch the full Playschool series on feelings, How do you feel today?
• Read the full data on the risk of suicide for people with bipolar, from SANE Australia
• Read the biblical accounts of the deaths of Saul and Judas.
• Read St Augustine's City of God
• Check out Tyler VanderWeele's research on deaths of despair and religious service attendance. Full paper here.
• Tyler's research on mental and physical health and the effects of religious service attendance (also check out his full list of research papers in his profile above!) 
• Watch Tyler VanderWeele consider whether the results of his research that concluded religious service attendance had a significant positive impact on mental health might be reverse causation.
• Get the Oxford Handbook of Religion and Health 
• See for yourself the strong evidence of an association between attending religious services and happiness and life satisfaction.
• Need help to pray? Try the Book of Common Prayer, which Buff Dickson talks about praying through when she just couldn't find the words on her own. Here's an example, the prayer for Sunday 2 May 2021:

Almighty God,
who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

When John Dickson convinced top Christian songwriters Ben Fielding and Chris Tomlin to have a go at transforming an 1800-year-old hymn into a tune for our times, they felt the weight of responsibility.

This is part two of our mini-series on how the song 'The First Hymn' came to life, with a full documentary soon to follow, which will track the hymn's journey from the deserts of Egypt to the middle of a sold-out stadium arena in the heart of America in the 21st century.

This episode takes you behind the scenes: how Ben Fielding and Chris Tomlin resurrected The First Hymn and made it ours.

• (00:00) - - Intro
• (05:21) - - Ben Fielding joins The First Hymn Project
• (08:21) - - Creating something modern from something ancient
• (13:21) - - The songwriting process
• (16:15) - - Chris Tomlin joins The First Hymn Project
• (22:25) - - Collaboration
• (25:53) - - Tomlin and Fielding exchange musical ideas
• (31:17) - - John hears 'The First Hymn' for the first time
• (38:59) - - St Ephrem - one of the first hymn writers
• (43:25) - - The history of worship music
• (46:19) - Five-Minute Jesus
• (51:34) - - Who was the original composer of The First Hymn?
• (54:40) - - 'The First Hymn' for a secular world
• (58:17) - - Bringing the hymn to life in an arena

Alasdair Belling is a writer and researcher. 

Siobhan McGuiness is our online librarian. 

Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. 

Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. 

Edited by Richard Hamwi.

Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love.

A big thank you to Michael Wilder at Wheaton College, and Tony Payne for his arrangement of the original First Hymn, and the 50-person choir led by John Trotter that brought this work to life.

Special thanks to our series sponsor, Zondervan, for making this Undeception possible. 

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.

Dorothy L. Sayers was much more than a celebrated detective novelist - she was a Christian playwright and author who brought the message of the Gospels to millions of people in everyday, easy-to-understand language. A true Undeceiver, it's high time we knew more about her.

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

Thanks for being great supporters of the first season of Undeceptions! We hope you enjoy this little gift from us, and have a happy Christmas with your loved ones and the God who made this all possible.

Yours in all truth,

John, Kaley, Bella and Mark

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 Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible by Michael F Bird, a new book published by Zondervan.

QUESTIONS

1. 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 two episodes on music from Season 3: Creation's Music and Discordant Religion).

2. Are there dangers in pop music we might steer our children away from for example? 

3. Regarding the 7 Deadly Sins: what's their origin and their accuracy in terms of Jesus' teaching and Christian living? 

4. If I have a conversation with a person who is sceptical of Christianity about the issue of race, I know they're going to bring up times when God ordered the wiping out of a city or a whole race (like when Israel wiped out the Amalekites in the book of 1 Samuel) as evidence that the Bible is racist. What should I say? (Check out our last episode of Season 3, Racist Church)

5. Why were the Jews God's chosen people? According to a lot of Christian principles (at least the ones I was brought up with) people who were alive before Jesus but didn't know the Hebrew god would go to Hell for not knowing him. So, why did God choose the Jews? Why condemn the people who lived at the same time, but in other parts of the world i.e the Australian Indigenous peoples?

6. A listener comment that we made into a question: I thought that you gave the Black Lives Matter organisation a very soft run in this podcast. It is not anywhere close to a Christ-centred organisation. Their website, until recently, noted that they were seeking to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement” and “foster a queer affirming network” and “do the work to dismantle cisgender privilege”. Did you go too soft on this whole ‘Black Lives Matter’ thing on the Racist Church episode?
    
7. Andrew says he listened to that version of ‘Little Things’ by Ziggy Ramo and Paul Kelly, which tells the tragic story that Australia’s colonisation starts with the Pope’s ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ in 1493, which Captain Cook later used to claim Australia as ‘Terra Nullius’ - nobody’s land. He says he’s looked into the doctrine of discovery and it’s just terrible. Why did the church make such a decree?
    
8. What do you think about the idea of machines being “persons.” (Check out our two episodes on artificial intelligence: Artificial Intelligence and Homo Deus)

9. There seems to be a slew of so-called prophets coming out of the woodwork in the USA prophesying all sorts of messages especially about the political scene. What does the Bible say about this?

10. How does one explain the Egyptian culture and the God's that they believed in and the afterlife they believed in? Was there any part of the God that we worship today? Was he the same god then? 

11. Could the God of the Jews be the God of other faiths? Could other Faiths be just interpreting the same God in different ways? I've heard stories of other cultures around the world who hadn't been exposed to Christianity having similar principles and creation stories to that of the Bible. Could God have been revealing himself to them?

12. I was listening recently to a podcast 'People I Mostly Admire' hosted by Freakonomics author Steven Levitt interviewing Magician Joshua Jay. They speculate whether Jesus' miracles were simply tricks and they claim tricksters at the time were doing exactly the same thing, obviously inferring Jesus was just kind of a trickster. I have never heard this suggestion before and I wondered if you could fact check it based on your study of Jesus' times. 

13. Did the 100 Pages episode mention the talking donkey? How do you tackle weird and wacky thing in the Bible?

14. At the end of the Gospel of Mark, Mark describes how the women went away and said nothing to anyone. But other gospels say they went away and told people. What can we say about this contradiction in the Bible? (Check out our episode Bible Mistakes for more)

15. The podcast often proudly cites non-believing references. I value this approach but is there a weight behind all these people who know scripture so well but don't believe? 

This episode was sponsored by Zondervan’s new book ‘Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth’ by Thaddeus J Williams.

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2021

From the mid-1990s to the 2010s, 'New Atheism' dominated the intellectual space. A virulent, attacking form of godless evangelism, it saw people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens top best-seller lists, and draw huge crowds to their lectures. Justin Brierley was in the middle of it all as New Atheism rose - and then collapsed. In its wake, Justin says he is seeing a new openness to theism - but where that might lead is anyone's guess.

Dr. Rebecca McLaughlin is a learned, feisty academic who's not afraid to confront the challenge that this two thousand year old faith has run its course.

Claims of institutionalised homophobia, that religion is bad for us, and scare tactics surrounding the teaching of Hell - they all surface in this episode.

Faced with the most challenging questions of the day, Dr. McLaughlin offers a spirited defence of Christianity that John Dickson thinks amounts to the best answer to troubling questions since Tim Keller's Reasons For God.

LINKS

• For more on Dr. Rebecca McLaughlin, check out her web site.
• Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard questions for the World's Largest Religion, by Dr. Rebecca McLaughlin
• Check out the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• A special just for Undeceptions listeners! Get free access to Zondervan Academic's Master Lectures for 14 days, and then save 25% for the next 6 months. Just type in the code UNDECEPTIONS at the check-out.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the With All Due Respect podcast with Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

From John Dickson: While we’re working hard on our next Season of Undeceptions, I’ve asked the Rev Dr George Athas to have a chat to you about how we can be sure our old stuff - artefacts we’ve found from thousands of years ago - is actually old. George is Director of Research, Old Testament and Hebrew at Moore Theological College in Sydney. We spoke to him at length for our super popular episode called ‘Between Testaments’, so go check that out if you haven’t heard it already. It’s one of my favourites. George has done a huge amount of research on the Tel Dan Inscription, a fragmentary stele that dates to the 9th Century BC. It’s considered the most important - and controversial - inscription found in Israel in recent years. And George wrote the first book about it. So, over to him. 

Why are Christians such god-botherers? Is it possible to share your belief system with someone who doesn’t accept it without being a jerk? In this Undeceptions rewind, we revisit a conversation about why Christians are so committed to sharing their faith with others - and why, if done right, it can be life changing. 

If you like what you hear, listen to the episode in full: Episode 33 'Danger: Proselytising'. 

Words can change lives – whether on paper, on screen, or spoken down a phone line.

A library has an abundance of words – and an abundance of opportunities to change a life.

After a long break, Laurel Moffatt returns with season 4 of Small Wonders!

Undeceptions is pleased to introduce our listeners to this podcast in our network. Each episode of Small Wonders offers a brief but piercing look into a topic. The clarity the desert brings. Hurricanes and hard relationships. Finding reason in the middle of a ruin.

These quiet but profound observations about life uncovers lessons learned. Lessons from broken and beautiful things that are polished to perfection and set in rich audio landscapes for your consideration.

Subscribe to Small Wonders wherever you get your podcasts. 

"I love Jesus but I hate the God of the Old Testament. He's just so violent."

You might have heard this line before or thought it yourself.

In this episode, we're tackling this issue head-on.

We're taking a deep dive into the violence of the Bible - especially the Old Testament - and asking how is it that this God of judgement and war can be one and the same with the peace-loving Jesus Christ.

Professor Ard Louis is one of the world's leading theoretical physicists. He sat down with John Dickson to talk about why he fervently believes that we don't need to prove God exists.

Ard is serious in his quest to have a coherent system that makes some sense of the world. It’s what he gets out of bed to discover every day. And he's not afraid that the more he discovers, the less he'll need God. Quite the opposite:

"Science is one of the parts of the world that actually increases the likelihood of God being there," he says.

Thanks to our season sponsor - Selah - for all your travel needs, whether you're a doubter or a believer. Find out more at myselah.com.au.

Links related to this episode:

• Watch the Why Are We Here documentary that Ard Louis helped create.
• Check out Morgan Freeman's documentary series The Story of God. He interviews Ard Louis in the episode called 'Proof of God'.
• Read Simon Conway Morris' book Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe 
• Watch the full interview from Centre For Public Christianity with Simon Conway Morris on evolution, convergence and a purposeful universe.
• Read more about Sir Fred Hoyle, the man who made famous the 'tornado in the junkyard' analogy.
• Check out this article by science historian Peter Harrison on The Reformation and the Rise of Science
• Watch Ard Louis talk more about evolution and intelligent design.

Get to know our guests

Ard Louis is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford where he leads an interdisciplinary research group studying problems on the border between chemistry, physics and biology. From 2002 to 2010 he was a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. He is also an associate of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.

He also has a keen interest in molecular gastronomy, applying science to the art of cooking.

On a lighter note, Ard says in his bio, his Erdos-Bacon number is 6. "I have an Erdos number of 4 through Jonathan Doye and I have a Bacon number of 2 through Morgan Freeman."

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

You may not feel ready to experience heaven or hell quite yet but Undeceptions listeners certainly had a lot of questions about it! In this season’s Q&A episode, John Dickson attempts to answer at least some of the questions you’ve thrown at us this year. 

This episode is brought to you by Zondervan Academic’s How NOT to read the Bible by Dan Kimball 

LINKS

• What Dreams May Come trailer
• The Good Place, TV show: how points are scored in life
• The Rebel, by Albert Camus

QUESTIONS 

• Is the punishment of Hell proportional to our acts on Earth? 
• Are there levels of Heaven? 
• Why do we know so little about Heaven? 
• What are we to think of God who is always present, even in the face of evil and abuse? 
• Why is it considered Good News, if so many who don’t believe will end up in Hell? 
• Do we lose our free will in heaven? 
• Are demons real? 
• Should Christians eat meat? 
• Is there any benefit in reading the Apocrypha?
• Even if I believed in God, why would I believe in the Christian God? What makes Jesus so special as opposed to, say, Islam?
• Has the modern church tried to white-wash Jesus?
• Is the church trying too hard in its attempts to persuade same-sex attracted church people to live holy lives rather than relying on God and the power of the gospel?
• What should we do about the health, wealth and prosperity gospel? 

Extra questions John answered this season

Drew asks,

The highly regarded scholar David Bentley Hart’s somewhat recent translation of the New Testament translates the Greek work ‘aion’ [i-on] or ‘aionios’ [i-on-ios] to be the more temporal description of ‘of the Age’ rather than the traditional ‘eternal’.

This seemingly impacts the well-established Christian doctrines of heaven and hell. Is the claim of life eternal through Jesus now seriously up for debate?

Listen to John’s answer at undeceptions.com 

Follow up this question with some extra reading: 

• David Bentley Hart’s translation of the New Testament 
• A review of Bentley Hart’s translation in The Atlantic.
• More about Universalism.
• How Universalism, ‘the Opiate of the Theologians,’ Went Mainstream, Christianity Today.

Steve asks, 

I just listened to the first podcast - Old Papers. I had always thought Paul wrote Hebrews, lately my various pastors have suggested that, no, Paul did not write Hebrews. Hearing that Hebrews was in these old papers of Paul’s writings made me think,  I wonder what the answer is?

Listen to John’s answer at undeceptions.com

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 he described the flames, the smoke, the hurtling bodies.

It is how he talks about the kindness of a stranger - the hope amidst the chaos of what was the most traumatic day of his life.

Sam Allberry was involved in environmental activism when he became a Christian - a development that his activist friends saw as bad news. 

After all, why would a follower of a religion that looks forward to the coming of a new Earth be concerned with the state of the current world? 

For Sam though, becoming a Christian led him to a very different conclusion. 

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's new book Bully Pulpit by Michael J. Kruger.

How we think about time, the value we give to the three parts of time (past, present, and future) really matters. And our special guest reckons it’s part of what makes for the good life.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

There aren’t many parts of the Bible that excite the imagination more than its thrilling climax in the book of Revelation. Amidst the imagery, fantasy and controversy, how do we sort truth from fiction?

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

There's just something about the Virgin Mary. 

She stirs up big feelings - she has for millennia. 

Some have perhaps given her more prominence than she would feel comfortable with.

Others have hacked down her statues in reforming zeal. 

Others never think about her, except when they come across a nativity scene in a shopping mall (and even that’s becoming a rarity).

So, it’s time we met Mary properly this Christmas. 

• (06:10) - - Mary in the New Testament
• (08:50) - - Daily life for Mary
• (13:46) - - The conception of Jesus
• (18:42) - - Science vs. the Virgin Birth
• (24:54) - - The Incarnation
• (32:24) - - Was Mary always a virgin?
• (42:35) - - Mary as mother
• (45:04) - - The Magnificat
• (51:02) - - Mary the prophet
• (53:36) - - Mary, after the Bible
• (54:47) - - The Assumption
• (01:00:14) - - Can Mary hear our prayers?
• (01:06:19) - - Have we sidelined Mary?
• (01:10:04) - - Mary for the modern church
• (01:12:52) - - Christianity and sexism

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 how early Christians valued and celebrated women in the first centuries of the church. 

Director Mark recommends it because unveils a side of feminine history he'd missed, gets us outdoors again in the middle of an Australian lockdown, and includes a whole gamut of contributions, including Producer Kaley's favourite music.

This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book The Sexual Reformation by Aimee Byrd. 

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

Proselytise: to convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

Why are Christians such god-botherers? Is it possible to share your belief system with someone who doesn’t accept without being a jerk?

Many people today would have you believe that there is no context in which proselytising could be considered a good thing. 

This episode is supported by Zondervan's MasterLecture Series. 

LINKS

• Find out more about our guest, Dr Sam Chan 
• And check out his latest book, How to talk about Jesus (without being THAT guy) 
• And here's a rather extensive review of Sam’s book here.
• Sam's book Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News About Jesus More Believable won Christianity Today's Book of the Year in evangelism and apologetics. 
  • PS -- How to Talk about Jesus (without being THAT guy) is the popular-level version of the more textbook-style Evangelism in a Skeptical World.
• ​​​​​​​Sam quoted Mark Sayers, co-host of the podcast This Cultural Moment.

Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!

Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

One of the surprises when we turn the pages of the New Testament is how little the word “Christian” actually comes up. Given this is the book for Christians you’d expect it to be littered with the words “Christian” and “Christianity.” 

But the word “Christian” only comes three times, whereas the language of being “in Christ” comes up over 200 times. It’s pretty much everywhere.

This episode was sponsored by Zondervan's new book Believing Philosophy by Dolores G. Morris.

OUR GUESTS

Douglas J. Moo is a New Testament scholar who, after teaching for more than twenty years at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, has served as Blanchard Professor of New Testament at the Wheaton College Graduate School since 2000. His latest book is A Theology of Paul and His Letters.
 
Lynn H. Cohick is an American New Testament scholar and author. Since January 2021 she has been Provost, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary.

For the full (and often rather extensive) show notes, head to Undeceptions.com.

Is there room for the supernatural and the advancing world of medicine? According to some scientists - absolutely!

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

COMPETITION!

We’re celebrating our 500,000th download this month - half a million! And so, with the help of our major sponsor, Zondervan, we are giving away a book pack of five of Zondervan’s newest titles. We’ll throw in a copy of my new book Bullies and Saints AND an Undeceptions T-Shirt. 

To WIN, all you have to do is leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (what used to be called iTunes), take a pic of the review and send it to Producer Kaley at kaley@undeceptions.com. We'll pick the best-written review on October 25 (and I mean ‘best-written’ not necessarily most glowing). So be quick, you’ve got two weeks! 

LINKS

• Read the CNN report about the happiest country in the world for 2021.
• Watch the full report from VICE News on whether Finland is actually  that happy. This one's from 2019 - Finland has been the happiest country in the world for four years running.
• Read a little more from 20th Century philosopher Bertrand Russell on the conquest of happiness from Brain Pickings (one of those websites you'll get lost in ... see you next Tuesday).
• Meet our guest, Miroslav Volf.
  • Read more about one his courses at Yale, 'Christ and the Good Life' here.
  • And check out the centre he helped set up, the Yale Centre of Faith and Culture
• Watch this video chat between Volf and his teacher, Jürgen Moltmann (who John calls "one of the great theologians of the 20th Century)
• Read Flourishing by Miroslav Volf.
• Read this New York Times article, 'The other side of languishing is flourishing. Here's how to get there.'
• Languishing, by the way, is the emotion that the NYT reckons may just be the dominant emotion of 2021. Good thing you've listened to this episode, then.
• If you want to read more about Asceticism, go here.
• Other Undeceptions episodes mentioned in this ep are: 
  • Everyday Sacred (Ep 47), where we talk to Andrew Wilson and Tish Harrison Warren about finding God in "stuff". 
  • Guilty Conscience  (Ep 39), where we speak to Tyler VanderWeele towards the end about the health benefits of forgiveness.
  • Mental Health (Ep 38), where we speak to Tyler VanderWeele on the impact of religious communities on mental health.
  • Social Capital (Ep 5), where we to Andrew Leigh about the benefits of religious communities not just on individuals but society more generally.
• More on Francis of Assisi here. Or read his writings for yourself, here.
• The Michel Onfray quote, "Religions' glorification of a fictional beyond prevents full enjoyment of the real here below. They establish death on earth for the sake of eternity in heaven and seek to promote self hatred to the detriment of the body" is from The Atheist Manifesto. 
• More on Dionysus, here.
• Meet our next guest, Tyler VanderWeele.
  • Tyler heads up Harvard University's Human Flourishing Program.
  • His latest book was published in 2021, called Measuring Well-Being
  • You can find most of Tyler's research on religion, health and flourishing here.
• For an introduction on Aristotle, the Oxford Very Short Introduction series is good.
• Read (or re-read) Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.

Us Aussies tend to mock players who thank the Almighty for their victories on the field.

But when John Dickson was invited to speak to the Green Bay Packers - a professional American football team in the NFL - on humility, he was suddenly thrust into an alternate reality. Religion was everywhere in the NFL. Chapel services, team chaplains, prayers before the games, prayers after the games. What's that all about?

Are we right to be cynical about the displays of faith we see in our sportspeople today? Are they deceiving us - and themselves - about whether God really cares for football ... or baseball ... or cricket? 

This week, John speaks with members of his favourite team - the Green Bay Packers - about how they navigate their faith in God with their love of the game.

Links related to this episode:

• Become a Green Bay Packers fan, just like John!
• Pepper Burruss retired this year after 42 years in the NFL. Read about his career here.
• During his time with Centre for Public Christianity, John interviewed Troy Murphy about his chaplaincy of the Packers. Watch that interview here. 
• Find out more about Vincent Lombardi's legacy at the Green Bay Packers, and the imprint of faith he left on the team.

Get to know our guests

Mason Crosby is entering his 13th year with the Green Bay Packers, after being picked in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers' Super Bowl XLV championship team when the won against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A kicker for the Packers, Crosby's field goal stat is 80.4%.

Troy Murphy is the Green Bay Packers chaplain and a former US Marine. He has been a church planter, motivational speaker and entrepreneur.

Pepper Burruss was the long-time Packers athletic trainer. He retired this year after 42 years in the NFL. He was with the Packers for 26 years after spending 16 years with the New York Jets. That's 883 NFL games, 567 of those with the Packers. He was named NFL Physicians Society’s Outstanding NFL Athletic Trainer in 2012.

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

Andrew Leigh thinks Australia is disconnected, and he’s written a book about it. In Disconnected, Andrew spends a whole chapter outlining why the decline of religion is making social cohesion worse, and the benefits to society of having more religious believers.

 "I just had a cracking conversation with Australia’s ‘social capital’ expert Dr Andrew Leigh, the Member for Fenner and Shadow Assistant Minister for Charities. We explored the sad decline of community connectedness in Australia, the remarkable effect church attendance has on volunteering and philanthropy in this country (for secular as well as religious causes), the logic of seeing ‘advancing religion’ as a genuine charitable cause, and the importance of street parties for your neighbourhood!" -- John Dickson

To be clear, Andrew says in his book that he’s an atheist. That made John Dickson want to speak to him more.

While Andrew can’t sign on to the churches’ theological views, he can see the good that religion does in society. And he’s done a bucket load of research to prove it.

Links related to this episode:

• Listen to Andrew Leigh's podcast The Good Life. 
• A social capital primer from social capital expert Robert Putnam.
• Check out the photo of Andrew and his family that John mentions in the episode.
• Get Andrew's book, Disconnected. 
• Check out some of Robert Putnam's books, also mentioned in this episode: American Grace (2012); Better Together (2004)
• More on Andrew's updated research on Australia's social connections:

• Read the Sydney Morning Herald article that outlines more of Andrew's research: "Loneliness is a problem we can only tackle together."
• Organise a street party! Here's some tips from Andrew Leigh, including a template invitation. 
• Neighbour Day -- it's a thing. Relationships Australia is encouraging people to get together with their neighbours on Neighbour Day, which they have declared as Sunday 29 March 2020. There's a bunch of resources to help you get started connecting with your neighbours, here.
• Why not consider giving blood. Find out how (it's really easy ... and remember the snacks!) here. 
• Read Alain De Botton's Religion for Atheists
• Read this article from Centre For Public Christianity's Natasha Moore about churches and tax exemptions (which also gives a shout out to our 'phone a friend' guest this episode, Anne Robinson).
• Meet Anne Robinson, who gave us a rundown on churches and tax.
• Curious about charities and the category of 'Advancing religion'. Head to the ACNC website to find out more.
• Read the parable of The Good Samaritan.

Get to know our guests

Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences.

His books include Disconnected (2010), Battlers and Billionaires (2013), The Economics of Just About Everything (2014), The Luck of Politics (2015), Choosing Openness: Why Global Engagement is Best for Australia (2017) and Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World (2018). Andrew is a keen marathon runner, and hosts a podcast titled "The Good Life: Andrew Leigh in Conversation", which is available on Apple Podcasts.

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

We’re talking all things animals in this episode, starting with why God would create a world that seems to embed animal suffering into the fabric of things. And we’ll get to some practical questions too: do animals go to heaven? Is it OK to keep pets? And, should we all, actually, be vegetarian?

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 unicorn or two, slavery, misogyny, and much more. But there is way to read this stuff, and there’s a way not to.

And we reckon today’s guest can help us with both, and make 2021 TO ETOS TES BIBLOU, the year of the Bible.

This episode is brought to you by Zondervan Academic’s new book How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby.

LINKS

• Meet our guest Dan Kimball
  • And get his new book How NOT to read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Violence, Pro-Slavery and Other Crazy Sounding Parts of Scripture
• Read more of the Finder survey that explored how many Americans make NY resolutions.
• And that Forbes Magazine article about how many will actually accomplish those resolutions.
• Here’s the full list of the most common NY resolutions according to “Polly” the artificial intelligence operated by the market research firm Advanced Symbolics Inc.
• Read the study that found that for around a half of adults today and two-thirds of under-25s, the Bible has absolutely no significance in their personal lives.
• Here's why might you want to read the Bible, even if you’re not a Christian. Dr Meredith Lake from the ABC wrote this piece for The Conversation in 2017 about why our decline in biblical literacy matters:

"Among Australian creatives, too, literary lights such as Patrick White, Elizabeth Jolley, Tim Winton, Helen Garner and Christos Tsiolkas all make powerful use of biblical narratives and imagery. Songwriters from Nick Cave to the late Yolngu star Gurrumul have drawn on the scriptures in their lyrics.

"Biblical stories and symbols have also inspired visual artists such as Grace Cossington Smith, Arthur Boyd and Margaret Preston. Reg Mombassa’s popular creation, “Australian Jesus”, offers a subversive take on the gospels.

"Each of these Australians has found the Bible an enlarging influence on the imagination. Audiences can easily miss key elements of their work without a degree of biblical literacy."

• Or check out this book by John Dickson’s friend, and co-founder of The Centre for Public Christianity Dr Greg Clarke, The Great Bible Swindle, written especially for those who feel that they should know something about the world's most influential text, but may have been afraid to ask.
• Watch The West Wing scene about the Old Testament in modern times.
• Were footballs ever made of pigskins?
• Meet our 5 Minute Jesus author this episode, Laurel Moffatt.
• Christopher Hitchens speaking to Vanity Fair on the Ten Commandments

Undeceptions Single series on slavery:

Swing low: The campaign against slavery was a shining jewel in the collection of social changes that swept the 19th century. However history shows us it was clearly not a secular viewpoint that set people free.

First Abolitionist: Gregory of Nyssa could have been the man who changed history, if history had listened to his theory on slavery.

Freeing Slaves: The early church adopted many approaches to rescuing people from the scourge of slavery and, when legal means failed, its members were ready to risk themselves on slave raids.

Medieval Manumission:What would you be prepared to give in order to set a slave free? How much would it be worth to you? One medieval man gave everything he had, right down to the shirt off his back. 

Indigenous slaves: Was Australia built on slavery, or wasn't it? It depends very much on who you ask.

Make 2021 TO ETOS TES BIBLOU, ‘The Year of the Bible’

Take up John Dickson’s challenge of reading at least 100 pages of the Bible this year. Here’s his Top Ten Old and New Testament Bible passages to get you started. 

Here’s some links to translations John Dickson recommends: 

• New International Version (NIV)
• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
• English Standard Version (ESV)

Learn more about Greg Koukl’s Never Read a Bible Verse which he says is his attempt to His “rescue believers from a superstitious way of reading their Bibles that causes silliness, confusion, and sometimes even disaster.”

Here’s an overview of the storyline of the Bible.

The visual was created by a church here in Sydney, based on a book by friend of the podcast, Vaughan Roberts, titled God’s Big Picture.

Undeceptions T-Shirts are coming really soon!
We've got top quality Ts in medium, large and x-large that will help you promote the show and do your own bit of undeceiving. Head to undeceptions.com later this week - they'll be ready for purchase soon. 

John Dickson delves into the history of the abolition of slavery in the 19th century and discovers its deep roots in Christian theology.

His investigations reveal secular claims that Christianity was a leading cause of slavery are without foundation. In fact, the campaign for freedom arose from a distinctly Christian world view that had existed for well over a thousand years.

Yet the church could clearly have done a lot more, a lot sooner.

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 about the peculiar way in which God knows His creatures.

In memory of Timothy James Keller (1950-2023).

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

What happens beyond death is one of those areas—like the idea of a Rapture prior to a Second Coming—where myths have crept into popular Christian thought which have little connection either with the Bible or with what the church has taught throughout the centuries.

The modern myth is: When Christians die, their bodies decay once and for all, while their spirits (whatever they are) go eternally into God’s presence in heaven. 

The Bible’s claim is: When Christians die, they rest safe in God’s presence, until they are bodily raised to life to enjoy forever a new creation.

This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us by Michael Horton.  

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

Half a billion people alive today speak English as their first language. But how you speak English depends on where you live, where you come from, and how it was taught to you. It's truly a universal language. So - what's its history? If this is the language that has done the most to spread Christianity (as some claim), how have its quirks influenced our understanding of the Bible?

This episode was sponsored by Zondervan's new book Religious Freedom in a Secular Age by Michael F. Bird.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

If we’re talking only about liquids you drink—because the water in the Bible is washed in, crossed over, and even walked on once—wine is no.1.

Wine appears more than 200 times in the Bible. And almost all of them are positive references—not critiques. 

Christianity has a long, rich history with wine. But oftentimes, we’ve made it much more complicated and, at times, harmful.

• (00:00) - Chapter 1
• (02:36) - - Wine in the Bible
• (04:52) - - Meeting Gisela
• (09:16) - - Different drinking cultures
• (13:32) - - Alcohol in America
• (17:54) - - Wine in the Old Testament
• (24:59) - - Jesus and the wedding of Cana
• (28:53) - - 5 Minute Jesus
• (36:42) - - Early Christianity and wine
• (42:20) - - Monks, nuns, and booze
• (48:56) - - When to stop drinking
• (51:43) - - Drinking as a sin
• (57:39) - - Holy tipsiness
• (01:01:48) - - Alcoholism
• (01:04:52) - - The Godliness of wine

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 he has learned from decades of standing beside him.

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-to-earth perspective you could imagine. 

LINKS

• Winnie The Pooh loves honey in the books and every movie he's in, but particularly the 2011 version we quoted from. 
• This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book, Becoming All Things by Michelle Ami Reyes
• Meet our guests for this episode:
  • Andrew Wilson, London pastor and author of a new book called God Of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World
  • Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest and author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life
• Read Psalm 19, which begins "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 
• Read more about CS Lewis' "supposals" ... and check out The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe while you're at it. 
• Watch the heartwarming Old People's Home for Four Year Olds. This one's the Australian version. 
• Or, for a similar feeling, watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV. John Dickson called it "the best show since The West Wing" ... and that's high praise!
• Read more from James K.A. Smith on cultural liturgies.
• Read more about CS Lewis' conversion to Christianity.
• More reading, this time on Wendell Berry from the New Yorker.

In this episode we’re delving into that frightening world. 

According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the second leading cause of death internationally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million fatalities in 2018 - that’s 1 in 6 deaths. Cancer is an undiscriminating disease. It can appear in almost any part of the body, and any age group. Each year, 300,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed in children alone. And the costs for those who can pay for treatments and preventative measures are staggering - cancer costs the world economy 1.16 trillion US dollars a year. 

But cancer isn’t just a medical battleground, it’s a spiritual one as well. Through the ages, myriad human voices have cried out, “My God, why!?" How do people who reckon there is some kind of good God in the world - which surveys say is most human beings - cope with cancer in the world? Meet Ben Shaw and his wife Karen who heard those two words in the title, and the epic faith journey they travelled together.

LINKS

• Find out more about Ben Shaw through his page at The Boathouse Church, Putney
• This episode is brought to you by Zondervan Academic and its new book The New Testament in Its World by N. T. Wright and Michael Bird
• A special just for Undeceptions listeners! Get free access to Zondervan Academic's Master Lectures for 14 days, and then save 25% for the next 6 months. Just type in the code UNDECEPTIONS at the check-out.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• The podcast Salt (conversations with Jenny Salt) is available on The Eternity Podcast Network

Is Christianity an offshoot of an ancient fertility cult? Why do the Gospels only talk about Jesus' genealogy in connection to Joseph? Is there a place for Christian patriotism?

John answers all these and more in our Season XIII Q&A!

• (00:00) - - Intro
• (04:16) - - Missionaries
• (12:02) - - Anglicanism
• (16:06) - - Resurrection science
• (25:02) - - Intellectuals who don't convert
• (31:01) - - Jesus' genealogies
• (34:59) - - Christian fertility cult
• (42:46) - - Biblical patriotism
• (52:18) - - Just war

It’s a popular misconception. If science is your guiding light, you’re going to see the world a particular way. And if you hold to religion well, you’re going to imagine the world a particular way. At least that’s how it seems.

But Alister McGrath is the Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, and he makes a pretty convincing case that, while science and religion are fundamentally different, they remain complementary. 

So what does Alister do with the all the objections scientists throw at him? Play them back with a perfectly straight British bat. Tune in and tally the score for yourself!

LINKS

• For more on Dr. Alister McGrath, check out his web site.
• Check out the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• A special just for Undeceptions listeners! Get free access to Zondervan Academic's Master Lectures for 14 days, and then save 25% for the next 6 months. Just type in the code UNDECEPTIONS at the check-out.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the With All Due Respect podcast with Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

Dr. Laurel Moffatt makes a return to Undeceptions with a single aimed at making us consider the level of our indifference.

The Black Lives Matter campaign has focussed America's attention on statues that commemorate the great military leaders and politicians of the slave-supporting Confederacy. 

Should these symbols be taken down and our values rebuilt? Or would that leave a greater human failure still standing? 

Many believe Christianity is all about following rules and not having any fun.

However, this is a huge misunderstanding; Christianity is actually about living life to the fullest.

John Dickson brings you part two of his friend Ben Shaw's work about reconsidering the Christian faith, pointing out that for years, millions of people have misheard the beautiful lyrics of Christianity. 

Evangelicalism has always been a politically loaded word - but especially since the turn of the century. 

This is especially true of American evangelicalism. 

But if we strip away all the nationalistic and political weight, what is evangelicalism? What makes the American strain of evangelicalism particularly unique? How does it compare to other types of evangelicalism?

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.

Throughout history, humans have looked for hidden meanings behind dreams. But in this modern, scientific age, surely we don't believe dreams could hold spiritual significance anymore? God wouldn't speak to people through a medium as unreliable as dreams ... right?

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling
Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuinness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

"We know less than ever about history and are losing the ability to grapple with the ethical complexities of the past - the entwining of good and evil - in the same historical figure, or empire." 

In the 3rd century, in the Ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, a group of Christians composed a song of praise set to the pagan music of the time. 

Now, 1800 years later, John Dickson is working with two of the world's best songwriters to bring this lost song - this First Hymn - back to life. 

Along the way, they make some incredible discoveries about early church music, shedding light on what the earliest Christians believed. 

This is the first in a three-part podcast series on The First Hymn Project - taking its name from the forthcoming Undeceptions documentary, to be released at Easter 2025. 

• (00:10) - - Singing the First Hymn
• (06:31) - - How the project began
• (09:10) - - Music in the ancient world
• (16:20) - - Christian music in the ancient world
• (20:22) - - Egyptian Christianity
• (24:02) - - The Oxyrhynchus discovery
• (29:24) - - The music of the First Hymn
• (37:14) - - The message of the First Hymn
• (45:24) - - Hymns throughout the New Testament
• (50:57) - - 5 Minute Jesus
• (56:57) - - The purpose of hymns
• (58:54) - - The First Hymn performed by the Wheaton Choir
• (01:00:28) - - Connecting Christians through history
• (01:01:46) - - Chris Tomlin, Ben Fielding, and the First Hymn

The ethic of love at the heart of the New Testament sounds like ‘common sense’ to many today - it’s what any rational person would think about the good life.

But it certainly wasn’t ‘rational’ in the Roman world, and it hasn’t been for most of world history.

In episode four of Undeceptions, John Dickson speaks with Teresa Morgan, a professor of Graeco-Roman History at Oriel College, Oxford University about what life was like for the average person living on the outskirts of Rome at the time of Jesus. What did they believe and what shaped their ideas of the 'good life'. And how did the arrival of Jesus change everything?

Links related to this episode:

• Check out Professor Morgan's books Roman Faith and Christian Faith: Pistis and Fides in the Early Roman Empire and Early Churches (2015) and Popular Morality in the Early Roman Empire (2007)
• Professor Morgan was in Australia earlier at University of New England to give the Keynote Lecture at the 2019 ASCS (Australasian Society for Classical Studies) Conference. Watch that address here.
• Find out more about Oriel College.
• Some of Aesop's Fables have been made into a series for children on the BBC. Listen here.
• More on Zeus, Demeter.
• More on Turtullian.
• More on Emperor Constantine.
• Watch John Dickson in Centre For Public Christianity's documentary For The Love of God. In episode 1, John talks about Christianity's radical ethic of non-violence and 'loving your enemies'.
• If it's been a while, you should definitely take a look at the New Testament of the Bible, here.

Get to know our guest

Professor Teresa Morgan has been a Fellow and Tutor at Oriel College in Oxford University since 2000, having studied classics at Cambridge, Theology at Oxford, and violin and viola at the Royal Academy of Music. She teaches and writes on Greek and Roman history from the eighth century BCE to the Byzantine era. She is currently working on the evolution of Christian faith between the second and fifth centuries and its impact on the later Roman empire.

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

Greg Sheridan is one of Australia's most influential foreign affairs analysts, as well as an acclaimed author. In short, he's not afraid of sharing an opinion.

He and John Dickson take a stroll through his latest book, Christians: The urgent case for Jesus in our world, and take a close look at the key elements of the faith.

Greg bravely shares how he thinks the Christian faith makes perfect sense to the rational mind.

Reasoning can take us to almost any conclusion we want. We ask "Can I believe?" if we want to believe, or "Must I believe?" if we don't. We can persuade ourselves easily. Only through humility do we stand a chance of approaching something more in line with the truth.

In the first episode of our third season, we're taking a close look at the New Testament - the second part of the Bible. Many scholars have pointed out historical inaccuracies in the gospels, or inconsistencies between the gospels that would surely call into question their reliability as sources for the historical Jesus. Some have suggested that the gospels weren't actually written by who we think they were written by. Or claim that many of the letters written by Paul that appear in the Bible weren't penned by Paul at all. 

Professor Craig Blomberg has spent a lifetime digging around these 'Bible mistakes'. And he's not convinced that they are, in fact, mistakes. 

LINKS

• For more on Professor Craig Blomberg, check out his website.
• And while you're clicking, have a look at Undeceptions.com for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world.
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor, publishers of the Collected Essays of N.T. Wright.
• Read more about the famous 'Wicked Bible' in this Washington Post article.
• Grab Craig Blomberg's latest book, The Historical Reliability of the New Testament, here.
• Other scholars who have written about the Book of John: Martin Hengel and Richard Bauckham.
• Episode 7 of Undeceptions, called Gospel Truth with Peter Williams is a good sister-podcast for this one. Check it out.
• Read Saint Saul: A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus by Donald Harman Akenson (mentioned in this episode's 5 Minute Jesus)

Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!

Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

The Middle Ages saw an explosion of literature, art, and thought around the personhood of Jesus. What can we learn from these centuries-old understandings of the central figure of the Bible?

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling
Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuinness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

John Dickson's Bullies and Saints is a super-podcast providing excerpts of the book by the same name - a no-holds-barred look at the best and worst of church history.

In this episode, John up-ends a four-hundred-year-old fallacy that has been promoted since the Enlightenment: the Christian faith is a brake on scientific and literary progress. The Dark Ages - were they really that dark?

Click here to buy a copy of Bullies and Saints, or here to own the entire audiobook.

And for even more on the history of Christianity, and how well the church is mirroring the message that Jesus handed on, head over to the Undeceptions website.

The end of the second season of Undeceptions is drawing night, so it's time to start unpacking all of the questions we've collected.

This episode John Dickson tackles everything from is the Old Testament History to is the New Testament a re-write of Jesus' real perspective?

If you enjoy listening to hosts squirm, you'll love season's two's Undeceptions Q and A.

LINKS

• Both atheistic evolutionists and literalistic creationists want you to read Genesis the same way, but is there a different take on the foundational book of the Bible? John asks Professor C. John Collins, Professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, in the Undeceptions episode Six Days.
• Undeceptions brings to life the forgotten women of the early church so we can learn just how significant the fairer sex were for the spread of the Gospel with international expert Dr. Lynn Cohick in our episode Remembering Women.
• Studies continue to show that most people have a fairly positive view of the founder of Christianity. But that’s a long way from accepting that there’s any history - let alone relevance - in the alleged events of Easter. John tackles the top questions in Easter Myths.
• While you're clicking, have a look at the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• We encourage you to especially check out Zondervan's new book, 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity by John Lennox.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the Life In Wartime podcast with David Robertson and Stephen McAlpine.
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

How did the New Testament actually come together? Some have argued that is a “chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents” that has been revised and ‘improved’ over centuries.

Others have argued it is a deeply political document, created to quell rebellions and placate a growing and agitated movement. 

Millions of people put their trust in the New Testament. It’s time to get to the bottom of how it was created. 

This episode of Undeceptions is brought to you by Zondervan Academic, publishers of 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity by John Lennox. 

LINKS

• Producer Kaley is actually the one who likes Survivor. She thinks you should watch it, too. 
• Richard Dawkin’s quote about the Bible being a cobbled-together anthology was from The God Delusion. 
• If you really have to, you can read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown or watch the movie. 
  • But then listen to this 5-part series with John Dickson on Hope 103.2FM (Sydney Christian radio station), Why the Da Vinci Code is a very novel history​
• ​​​​​​Find out more about our guest Dr Chris Forbes, who has actually just retired from Macquarie University. 
• Find out more about Dr Michael Bird from Ridley College.
  • And check out Michael's latest book The New Testament in It's World (with N.T. Wright) 
• Watch John Dickson talk about the conversion of Constantine the Great from this clip from the Centre For Public Christianity’s documentary For the Love of God
• Learn more about Justin Martyr, the first Christian apologist. 
• What’s with the ending in the gospel of Mark? Check out this article from The Gospel Coalition, written by Elijah Hixson from Tyndale House in Cambridge: Was Mark 16:9-20 originally part of Mark’s Gospel?
• Get to know Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon
• More on the Muratorian Canon
• Here is John’s beloved copy of The Apostolic Fathers
• Read the New York Times report on the discovery of the Gospel of Judas, from 2006 
• Read more about the Gospel of Judas in this article by John Dickson in 2008 from The Centre for Public Christianity 
• For more on the Gnostic Gospels, get your hands on The Christ Files, a documentary with John Dickson. Here’s a preview.
• You can have a look for yourself at the beautiful Codex Sinaiticus at this link. You can scroll through the pages online -- so go check out the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas at the back! 
• Get to know Eusebius of Caesarea 
  • And read his Ecclesiastical History too.

Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!

Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

This Christmas, as you rightly enjoy the good things God's given you and share them with your nearest and dearest, spare a moment to consider how your generosity might spread further afield. 

Links that might prove helpful:

• World Vision
• International Justice Mission
• Anglican Aid
• Open Doors Australia
• Tear Australia
• Save The Children

Ian Hutchinson is Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Among many, many other things he wrote the standard monograph on measuring plasmas, Principles of Plasma Diagnostics. That's right, he literally wrote the book on plasmas.

He’s also a fellow of the American Physical Society, a fellow of the Institute of Physics, and of the American Scientific Affiliation.

And… he believes in miracles - healing, resurrection, all of it.

Find out why.

LINKS

• For more on Professor Ian Hutchinson, check out his web site.
• Check out his book, Can A Scientist Believe In Miracles? by Ian Hutchinson
• And while you're clicking, have a look at the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the With All Due Respect podcast with Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

Apathy has seeped into every part of society. We've become a "Seinfeldian culture"; alive to the trivial, and numb to the meaningful. How can we find ways to care more, and how might Christianity's history of grappling with apathy help us, whatever we believe?

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

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 did they start? What did they achieve? Why did they stop? 

And does their shadow really fall over modern tensions between the West and Muslim lands?

LINKS

• Get John Dickson's new book Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History, published by our sponsor Zondervan. It's got a heap more on the Crusades than we could fit into this episode.
• Meet our distinguished guest, Professor Christopher Tyerman. 
• Check out Tyerman's magnum opus, God's War: A New History of the Crusades. He has a written a bunch more, too. 
• Watch the full news segment from France 24 about the Charlie Hebdo caricatures that enraged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• Listen to this fascinating episode of The New York Times podcast The Daily, all about the killing of French teacher Samuel Paty and the raging debate in France over the relationship between government and religion - primarily the idea of Laïcité - the constitutional principle of secularism in France. 
• Listen to the Undeceptions Single all about 'The Troubles' of Northern Ireland. 
• Here are the Old Testament references where God commands violence:
  • In 1 Samuel, when God commands Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites. 
    • Read this article from The Gospel Coalition writer and blogger Steve McAlpine, Indefensible? Saul and the Amalekite Genocide
  • In the book of Joshua, God ordains a holy war against the Canaanites.
    • And then check out this article 'But, what about Canaan?' quoting John Dickson giving an explanation about what in the world is God doing in the Book of Joshua with the Canaanites.
    • You might also like to check out this explanation, Why did God demand the invasion of Canaan in the Book of Joshua? by The Bible Project.
• Check out Saint Augustine's City of God for more on his broad principles of just war. 
• Read Pope Urban II's full speech at the Council of Clermont in 1095, where he officially called for the First Crusade.
• Here's more on Ridley Scott's 2005 film, Kingdom of Heaven. 

It's our first season in the run down to Season 6 of Undeceptions, and John Dickson asks friend of the show Laurel Moffatt to share some uncommon wisdom earned from teaching her daughter music during the COVID lockdown.

Laurell tells us how listening to Bach's Goldberg Variations - the way they chop and change but still stay the same - has given her a new way of viewing life during a pandemic.

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 cancer has brought on new spiritual insights.

There are sophisticated, academic arguments for the resurrection of Jesus. It’s not just a matter of accepting on the basis of faith. The modern industry of Christian apologetics doesn't get us much closer to the historical reality of Jesus' resurrection - but there are solid, investigative ways of examining this seemingly miraculous event.

J.R.R. Tolkien needs no introduction. The Oxford Philology Professor who would go on to create the world of Middle Earth is rightly hailed as one of the greatest writers of all time. In this episode, we unpack the inspiration behind his work, meet the people who helped him along the way, and examine the faith that drove him to create the world of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and more.

We're launching our longboats on to the seas of myth and popular culture… and discovering over two in-depth episodes what we can actually say with some confidence about the Vikings - their origins, exploits, culture, religion and - perhaps the best-kept Viking secret - their eventual decision (and it was their decision!) to become Christians.

This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book Four Views of Heaven edited by Michael Wittmer.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

Greg Sheridan cut his teeth at the legendary news magazine, The Bulletin, before moving on to the national daily newspaper, The Australian, where he’s been the foreign editor since 1982.

John catches up to talk to him about Christianity's struggles in Australia and why, of all times, he would choose to out himself as a believer.

However, Greg is not so glum on the future and underlines that because the faith is beholden to no particular political party it has the ability to reinvent itself that is more inline with its roots.

LINKS

• For more on Greg Sheridan, check out his web page at The Australian
• Check out the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• A special just for Undeceptions listeners! Get free access to Zondervan Academic's Master Lectures for 14 days, and then save 25% for the next 6 months. Just type in the code UNDECEPTIONS at the check-out.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the Salt podcast with Jenny Salt
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

When Sarah first arrived at Cambridge on a scholarship, and then later took a job at Oxford, she thought Christians were anti-intellectual.

And perhaps that’s what we’ve come to expect. Smart people have no time - no headspace - for God. They know too much. They think too deeply for the ‘shallows’ of theology.

This episode, we’re talking with people who’ve witnessed the opposite. Universities like Oxford and Cambridge are melting pots, where people can find their beliefs - or unbelief - turned upside down, just like Sarah.

Thanks to our season sponsor - Selah - for all your travel needs, whether you're a doubter or a believer. Find out more at myselah.com.au.

Links related to this episode:

• Read more of Sarah's conversion to Christianity during her studies here.
• Check out Vaughan Robert's ministry at St Ebbe's in Oxford.
• Read Peter Harrison's The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science
• Find out more about philosopher Peter Singer
• John Dickson's 5 minute Jesus in this episode is all about Christianity and the Apostles' Creed. Learn more about the creed here.
• Read more about CS Lewis' conversion to Christianity while at Oxford
• Get GK Chesterton's book The Everlasting Man
• More on Oxford banning the Christian Union at Fresher's Week in 2017

Get to know our guests

Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker is senior lecturer in Modern European History at Western Sydney University. She was awarded a PhD in History from Cambridge University in 2007.

Vaughan Roberts is Rector of St Ebbe's Church in Oxford. He studied law at Cambridge University and theology at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford before entering ministry. Roberts is also Director of the Proclamation Trust, an organisation that encourages and equips Bible teachers. He is a popular conference speaker and author of several books.

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

Trust is everywhere. It underpins our institutions, our health, and our relationships. However, experts are worried that the world is facing a trust crisis. If so much of our lives depend on it, what could happen if trust starts to break?

In this episode, we spend some time talking about institutional church abuse. Check the time codes below if it would be helpful to skip past this section.

39:15 - Section begins
42:23 - Regular interview resumes

This episode was sponsored by Zondervan’s new book The Beauty Chasers by Timothy Willard.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

The Reformation: one of the greatest ruptures in European history, a rupture that 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 secularization of the West.

It's such a big deal we’re going to take two whole episodes to examine it—and still only scratch the surface. 

How did one man go from a pious local friar in an obscure backwater town to the leader of a global movement that ripped Christianity in two (and then three, then four, and ultimately thousands of Protestant denominations!). 

And what is the real legacy of this thing we call The Reformation?

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

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 devastated that ancient civilisation. The blood of the passover lamb protecting the houses of Israel from the plagues. And, of course, the deliverance of the people of Israel en mass from the slavery in Egypt.

They all lack direct historical evidence outside the Bible. 

So it’s just made up, right? 

Well, sort of … not really! 

LINKS

• This episode is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's new book ‘God of All Things’ by Andrew Wilson.
• Meet our guest, James Hoffmeier, Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology at Trinity International University, Divinity School (Deerfield, IL).
• Check out the new book Five Views on the Exodus: Historicity, Chronology and Theological Implications, which showcases (as it says on the packet) five different views on the Exodus, including Hoffmeier's. 
• Read Rick Watt's "gamechanger" book, Isaiah's New Exodus in Mark (the super expensive, textbook like one!) 
• Connect the dots between The Exodus and the Gospels with John Dickon's A Doubter's Guide to Jesus. 

LISTEN

• Bonus Five Minute Jesus for this episode, listen here.

Some would say that an ancient faith like Christianity won’t survive outer space -- especially as we explore further than we ever have before. 

This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book 'The Theology of Paul and His Letters' by Douglas J Moo.
 
For the full show notes, with links to everything we mention in this episode, go to undeceptions.com.

True Crime is one of the most popular genres of film, podcasting, literature, and TV worldwide. 

We are obsessed with tales of the morbid, dark, and most importantly, true. 

As one cold-case detective believes, we can't get enough true crime because of what it teaches us about our human nature. 

But that same detective found that these lessons on humanity could also be found in - what was for him -  the unlikeliest place: The Bible.

You might think the Chronicles of Narnia are just for kids. But scholars have discovered some amazing historical, literary, and theological keys in the stories that Lewis never talked about openly, and that bind the 7 stories together in a way only Lewis could have imagined.

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's Masterlectures. Check out Delores Morris' course Believing Philosophy. Get 50% off your first three month subscription with the code 'Undeceptions50'. 

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

The death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century. Turns out, they were wrong. Religion is not dead. It’s still here. Actually, it’s growing.

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's new book The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets by John Goldingay.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

Is there a "right" way to read The Bible?

Millennia of Ink has been split trying to answer that question.

Surely if The Bible is God's word it should be easier to understand, right?

Well, some experts think there is a right way to read scripture. What we need is a key to unlock The Bible for us.

• (00:48) - - The Rossetta Stone
• (05:02) - - Reading theologically
• (07:43) - - What are hermeneutics?
• (13:28) - - The three laws of hermeneutical motion
• (17:16) - - Reading cultures
• (19:16) - - Frames of reference
• (23:29) - - Our spiritual baggage
• (26:27) - - Reading The Bible above our own interests
• (30:24) - - Hermeneutics in The Enlightenment
• (33:28) - - Five Minute Jesus
• (39:32) - - The Transfiguration
• (46:29) - - The key to unlocking The Bible
• (53:29) - - Where to start when reading The Bible
• (58:01) - - Why is Kevin struck by The Bible?

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 our anger healthy.

The pursuit of celibacy is seen as strange, taboo, and repressive in modern society. But that's what David Bennett, a gay man, decided, after becoming a Christian during a night out in Sydney's gay quarter. 

Since then, he's become a scholar of "holy virginity", and the queerness of his Lord, Jesus. This is his story.  

The Joshua Tree National Park in California is a good starting place for Laurel Moffatt's reflection on our struggles to see the light.

The park is full of interesting characters as well as a compelling number of stars - most of which are invisible to the outside world. Because of the amount of artificial light we use each night, more than a third of people can no longer see the Milky Way.

But the brightness of the light in deep darkness can show us how faint, how small, how very weak and narrow our own attempts at lighting our own way are.

LINKS

• Paul Bogard, The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light.
• Emily Dickinson, “I saw no Way – The Heavens were stitched –” Fr633 (1863) J378
• Fabio Falchi, et al. “The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness”, Science Advances, 10 Jun 2016, Vol 2, Issue 6

WHAT IS SMALL WONDERS?

The clarity the desert brings. Hurricanes and hard relationships. Finding reason in the middle of a ruin. Small Wonders are quiet but profound observations about life from Dr Laurel Moffatt. In each fifteen-minute episode, Laurel uncovers lessons learned from broken and beautiful things that are polished to perfection and set in rich audio landscapes for your consideration.

Hell is one of the most difficult parts of Christian belief - but of all the characters in the Bible, no one comes close to using the word "Hell" as much as Jesus does.

So, what did he mean, how is it plausible, and what does it matter?

Welcome to season XIV of Undeceptions!

Anthropology has a reputation for being the most “godless” of all the sciences. 

The so-called Father of Anthropology, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, abandoned his faith as an anthropologist, declaring religion was “animalistic”. 

But religion hasn’t gone away - and many anthropologists are now realising there might be something to belief after all …

• (00:00) - - Coffee and anthropology
• (09:08) - - What is anthropology?
• (14:25) - - Edward Tylor, the 'Father of Anthropology'
• (19:28) - - Why is anthropology so godless?
• (21:25) - - James Frazer
• (34:35) - - E.E. Evans Pritchard
• (41:52) - - Mary Douglas
• (49:03) - - How Christine became a Christian anthropologist
• (52:39) - - What is the "good life"?
• (54:31) - - Victor and Edith Turner
• (58:59) - - Cultural relativism
• (01:02:41) - - Five-Minute Jesus
• (01:09:34) - - Good God, good anthropology

This episode, we're visiting some of the ancient Christians to see that they were actually real human beings, with flaws and hang ups … and virtues … that we might recognise in ourselves today. 

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic's Masterlectures. Get 50% off your first three month subscription with the code 'Undeceptions50'.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 

Hosted by John Dickson

Produced by Kaley Payne 

Directed by Mark Hadley 

Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw

Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling

Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

The Apostle Paul writes that Christians must battle against "powers and principalities". But what are they? What does the Bible say about political power?

Special thanks to our season sponsor Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Check out more of N.T. Wright's work - including his writing, and Bible studies - here.

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please note, that due to software not all exchanges between guests will be completely accurate.

For the full episode shownotes, head to undeceptions.com

This episode, we've put John Dickson in the hot seat to talk about his new book: Is Jesus History. Anita Savage is our guest host, and she grills John on one of the greatest questions out there: did Jesus really exist?

Thanks to our season sponsor - Selah - for all your travel needs, whether you're a doubter or a believer. Find out more at myselah.com.au.

Links related to this episode:

• Get John Dickson's latest book Is Jesus History? 
• Read more about the supposed 'lost tomb of Jesus' in this CNN report. And watch James Cameron's documentary here.
• Read more about the 'lost gospel of Judas' from the National Geographic Society.
• Jeffrey Archer's fiction book, The Gospel According to Judas
• After The Da Vinci Code, John Dickson wrote several articles responding to some of the conspiracies theories that surrounded the book and the life of Jesus. Here's one of them on The Secret Gospels.
• Read the article from Time Magazine listing Jesus as the most influential person of all time.
• In Episode 7 of Undeceptions, John interviewed Peter Williams, author of Can We Trust the Gospels. You should definitely go back and listen to that episode if you enjoyed this one!

Get to know our guest host

Anita Savage is a TV and radio journalist who has worked for 2UE, Sky News, Channel 9, Bloomberg Television and ABC TV and radio. In 2019, Anita joined the Hope Media team to lead the new Hope Media News Service. She joins us for this episode of Undeceptions as guest host, interviewing John Dickson.

Send us a question

Oh boy, does John love questions. So don’t be afraid to send them in. In season one, we’ll be dedicating an episode or two for John to answer all your burning questions about Christianity. Want to know something more about a previous episode? Or perhaps you’ve got a question about faith that you’ve been struggling to find an answer for? Let us know here, or leave your question as a voicemail at 02 9870 5678.

This episode was sponsored by Zondervan's new book Urban Apologetics by Eric Mason.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2021

For years, people have argued that our minds’ natural default position is non-belief. Left to ourselves, we would never grow up thinking about God.

Religion is, therefore, an imposition on the susceptible minds of children. Some have suggested that teaching kids about God comes close to a form of brain washing.

Our guest for this episode, Justin Barrett, says that is actually getting harder to argue.

Research from the last 20 years indicates that thoughts about God aren’t by-products of American or Western culture. It’s not indoctrination. These thoughts are natural.

Believing that someone - not something - governs the world comes as easily to kids as curiosity, imagination and play. 

Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor, publishers of How NOT to read the Bible, by Dan Kimball.

LINKS

• Find out more about our guest Professor Justin L Barrett.
• Get Professor Barrett’s book, Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Belief
• More on Ludwig Feuerbach and his ideas on religion as “wish fulfillment’
• Watch more of comedy trio Just These Please here.
• Read more about Sigmund Freud’s views on religion in this New York Times Magazine piece called 'Defender of the Faith'.
• Professor Barrett is a big fan of Deborah Keleman’s work from Boston University. Find out more about Keleman, here.
  • And read this article from New Scientist about one of Keleman’s studies from 2009, 'Humans may be primed to believe in creation'.
  • And this article from American Pscyhological Association titled ‘A Reason to Believe’
  • Keleman’s findings about children in China who endorse teleological explanations of natural phenomena can be found in the May 2017 Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
• What in the world does ‘teleological’ mean? It’s an explanation by reference to some purpose, end, goal or function. So, a teleological explanation is an account of a given thing’s purpose. Check out this explanation on Britannica.
• Keleman, with other researchers, has only completed studies on whether non-religious adults have a tacit tendency to view nature as purposefully created by some being. They conducted research in Finland (a notoriously secular country) and the US and compared results. Read the report here.
• How the Borks Became: An Adventure in Evolution by Jonathan Emmett
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• The Atlantic interviewed Philip Pullman about His Dark Materials, which has recently been made into an HBO series:

“Storytelling, for Pullman, is a way into our world—not out of it. He loves folktales and fairy tales for their clarity and everydayness; he loves William Blake; he loves what we might call the Luciferian or deity-defying side of John Milton. He even, in a cranky and rather beautiful way, loves Jesus. But he hates the bloody Church.

“You’ll pick this up quite quickly when you watch the first episode of HBO’s new dramatization of His Dark Materials. A body called the Magisterium holds a centuries-long dominion over the earthly realm. It spews doctrine; it crushes heresy; it circumscribes knowledge and inhibits discussion. Its priests are everywhere, like secret police. It’s also stealing children.”

• Here's a different take on His Dark Materials, from Christianity Today: 

"The church without a Savior is an empty shell, a vacuum that inevitably seeks power. And in His Dark Materials, the absence of Jesus is strikingly conspicuous even though he is never named. Pullman told Williams in 2004 that Jesus does not exist in the realm of his Magisterium, an acknowledgement that his church offers no redemption and is only an organization of human power. And in a world where the church controls the government, it is hardly a fantasy that the human authorities use religious manipulation to cement their control.

"The New Testament has a fair amount to say about structuring the church so that it supports the goal of pointing its people to Christ and it describes a church body with dispersed power. Without Christ at the head, the church is a slave to sin instead of proclaiming its purpose: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1)."

• John Dickson was on ABC’s Q&A program in 2013. Watch it here.
• Justin Barrett has written a research paper on Why Santa Claus is not a God. Check it out here.
• Read A.C Grayling’s attack on Professor Justin Barrett in The Guardian here (from 2008)
• And then read Professor Barrett’s response.
• Watch the Centre For Public Christianity’s interview with Olivera Petrovich

Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!

Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

It’s Easter, and billions of people pause to contemplate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Alongside them are plenty of folks who look at Christ quite differently.

Studies continue to show that most people have a fairly positive view of the founder of Christianity. But that’s a long way from accepting that there’s any history - let alone relevance - in the alleged events of Easter.

We had a lot of fun looking at the Christmas Story through the lens of history. We thought it would be good to do the same for Easter. Bring on all of your questions about the historical authenticity of this central Christian celebration, and listen to what happens when they collide with the evidence of history.

LINKS

• Check out the Undeceptions web site for all sorts of cool stuff related to undeceiving the world
• Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor
• A special just for Undeceptions listeners! Get free access to Zondervan Academic's Master Lectures for 14 days, and then save 25% for the next 6 months. Just type in the code UNDECEPTIONS at the check-out.
• Ridley College, where John lectures in Public Christianity
• Click here to listen to the FULL interview with Dr. Chris Forbes, courtesy of The Centre for Public Christianity
• You can click here to sign up for the With All Due Respect podcast with Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit
• Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!
• Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

What is music and what is it about music that stirs the human soul?

Is it just a series of sound waves producing neurological responses … or could music be - as so many ancients believed - a signal from God?

Join us for this episode as we take a look at the enduring love affair between music and the human heart. 

Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor, publishers of Evangelical Theology by Michael F Bird.

LINKS: 

• Find out more about our guest Professor Dr Jeremy Begbie here.
• Find out more about our guest Professor Dr Kirsty Beilharz here.
• Check out this interview Professor Begbie did with Christianity Today in 2018, about Christian artists and their need for a firm grounding in Scripture.
• Read more about the conundrum of consciousness here.
• Seek out Jeremy Begbie's book Theology, Music and Time. 
• Want to start listening to St Matthew Passion but don't know where to start? Check out this helpful guide from NPR (America's National Public Radio). 
• Get your hands on Kirsty Beilharz's book Music Remembers Me: Connection and Wellbeing in Dementia. 
• Kirsty spoke to Eternity News in 2016 about dementia care and music. Read the article here.
• Do Mark Hadley a favour and read The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.
• Centre For Public Christianity fellow Barney Zwartz wrote this piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, titled 'The power of music is a path to God'. 
• Read the story of AN Wilson's conversion back to Christianity in The New Statesman, where he says "The existence of langauge is one of the many phenomena - of which love and music are the two strongest - which suggest that human beings are very much more than collections of meat. They convince me that we are spiritual beings, and that the religion of the incarnation, asserting that God made humanity in His image, and continually restores humanity in His image, is simply true." 
• From this episode's 5 Minute Jesus, read the Parable of the Prodigal Son. 

Want to send John Dickson a question? He loves them. Just click here to provide a query for our next Q and A show!

Undeceptions is part of the Eternity Podcast Network, an audio collection showcasing the seriously good news of faith today.

This episode of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan’s new book Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe by Gina Zurlo.

Visit the undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.
Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Email the show with your comments / feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.
Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Librarian: Siobhan McGuiness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2022

Is there a place for pessimism in the Christian life? Is Halloween evil? Does God have 'mothering' characteristics, too? Why won't there be marriage in heaven? Yes, it's this season's Q&A episode, and John is having a crack at a heap of listener questions.

This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Visit undeceptions.com for more content, including the full show notes for this episode.

Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Email the show with your comments/feedback: admin@undeceptions.com

Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com: Letting the truth out.

Theme music: JS Bach's Cello Suites, Prelude, performed by the Undeceptions Band. 
Hosted by John Dickson
Produced by Kaley Payne 
Directed by Mark Hadley 
Audio Editing by Richard Hamwi
Social Media by Sophie Hawkshaw
Administration by Lyndie Leviston
Writer and researcher: Alasdair Belling
Online Librarian: Siobhan McGuinness

Copyright Undeceptions Ltd 2023

Author and highly sought-after speaker Sam Allberry talks us through 'intersectionality' and ponders the wisdom and boundaries of this way of bestowing moral authority.

"Just as those who stand at an intersection can see in more directions than those who don't, so too - according to this thinking - those at the intersection of multiple minority and victim groups have more insight to bring to society."