Undeceptions with John Dickson
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Undeceptions with John Dickson
Every week on Undeceptions we’ll explore some aspect of life, faith, history, culture, or ethics that is either much misunderstood or mostly forgotten. With the help of people who know what they’re talking about, we’ll be trying to ‘undeceive ourselves’ and let the truth ‘out’.
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171. Without God
The cultural hangovers of Christianity are well attested.
Recently, people who were once describing themselves as ‘New Atheists’ h...
170. Evolution Revolution?
Since Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species, evolution has been considered by many to be the final nail in the coffin of religion.
...
169. Against Coercion
A popular myth is that when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he forced everyone else to embrace the faith - or else face deadl...
Virtue / Vice
In pop culture, we often enjoy watching - or reading - vice and virtue play out, with the former often far more exciting than the latter.
But wh...
REWIND: The Reformation
The Reformation remains a pivotal moment not just for the church, but for global history.
It permanently split the church, triggered wars, crea...
SINGLE: Concert Hymn
On November 2, 2024, Chris Tomlin performed the world premiere of The First Hymn at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ben Fielding joined him on...
SINGLE: Christmas Peace
We attempt to make sense of the silly season, to explain why there really is “more to life”, and why the traditional Christmas story still holds the a...
167. Nicene Creed
It’s probably the most significant of all church history’s debates: Was Jesus fully human, fully divine, or a hybrid of some sort?
...
Jesus Proof?
The first-century historian Flavius Josephus is the oldest source we have for the historical Jesus outside of the Bible.
His 90-wo...
Question Answer XV
Why don’t Christians still follow the Laws of the Old Testament? Why did God create humans if so many are apparently destined for Hell? Is the ‘Golden...
After Christendom
Christianity no longer has the cultural sway it once held. But there’s always been a long tradition of Christians being flexible in engaging their cul...
REWIND: Post Christian
Back in 2020, John caught up with author and journalist Greg Sheridan to talk about Christianity’s struggles in both Australia, and the global West mo...
163. Divine Comedy
In his Divine Comedy, Dante isn’t claiming to offer us a vision of what hell and heaven are actually like.
It might be set in the afterlife, bu...
Persecution Complex
Some claim Christian persecution is on the rise, while others find the idea of a modern persecution implausible. So, what’s the truth? It’s complex … ...
161. Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s words and books are well known. But what do we know of Jane herself - what she was like, and what she believed? What did she think of so...
Deep Learning
Christianity is sometimes branded as anti-intellectual, and its followers labelled unteachable. But in an increasingly divided age, the church - with...
African Jesus
African Christianity is almost as old as Christianity itself. Many of the early church's theological giants came from Africa, and today, Christianity...
158. Faith Factor
As the West undergoes a ‘de-churching,’ some are starting to wonder about the unintended consequences of a society with fewer believers.
...
REWIND: Mental Health
Season 15 of Undeceptions is coming really soon! And our latest REWIND will help you brush up on some of the issues we’ll be discussing in our first f...
REWIND: Decoding Dreams
Are our dreams full of messages and warnings?
John was sceptical, but for most of human history, that’s been the common view. In this Undecepti...
157. Why Believe?
The 18th-century philosopher David Hume famously predicted that, as the world grew more rational and scientific, people would stop having supernatural...
156. Question Answer XIV
Why does the church meet on a Sunday? How far is too far when it comes to self-defence, biblically speaking? Is it possible that Hell is temporary?
155. Good Pope
The world’s attention has recently been on the Vatican, and the election of the new Pope Leo XIV.
But what’s the history behind th...
REWIND: Emotional Intelligence
Some think we might not be too far away from Artificial Intelligence actually having feelings. If it does happen, what will it mean? Might it mean we...
154. Boy Jesus
The Gospels tell us about Jesus’ adult life, with scant references to his childhood.
We can catch glimpses of the younger Jesus' l...
153. The Chemists
According to the data, chemistry is the scientific discipline with the highest number of ”theists”.
Perhaps it’s not that surprisi...
152. God Laments
Like it or not, life will let us down. We all face disappointment.
Despite this, people spend their entire lives trying to avoid a...
151. Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene has played many roles throughout history.
She’s been a prostitute, a temptation, Jesus’ wife, Jesus’ lover, a cave-dwelling myst...
150. Jesus' Trials
This week, leading up to Easter, we’re looking at the most famous trial of all time: the trial of Jesus. It’s a courtroom drama like no other, and its...
149. Our Hymn
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...
148. The Anthropologists
Welcome to season XIV of Undeceptions!
Anthropology has a reputation for being the most “godless” of all the sciences.
The so-called Fath...
REWIND: Jesus Philosopher
The cliche: ‘faith’ is the antithesis of knowledge, of wisdom and therefore “Christian philosophy” is an oxymoron, right? For this Undeceptions rewind...
REWIND: Danger - Proselytising
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 Und...
Introducing Small Wonders season 4
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 opp...
147. On Hell
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 m...
REWIND: Kingdom Come
As we gear up for a special episode on the difficult topic of Hell, we first bring you this Undeceptions Rewind looking at what the Bible says about H...
146. Question Answer XIII
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 plac...
145. Second Act
The Acts of the Apostles is the epic sequel to Luke's Gospel.
It follows the dramatic events immediately after the resurrection of Jesus, and f...
144. Into Wine
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.
W...
143. Virgin Mary
There's just something about the Virgin Mary.
She stirs up big feelings - she has for millennia.
Some have perhaps given her more promin...