Undeceptions with John Dickson

The modern world was supposed to leave magic behind. But a new generation is searching for enchantment in paganism, folklore, and the supernatural. What’s driving this spiritual interest? Is it a doorway to darker practices, or could it lead somewhere unexpected — even back to Christianity?

What in the world do we do about slavery in the Bible?

We shouldn’t rush to William Wilberforce and the Christian abolitionists so quickly that we gloss over an uncomfortable fact: Christians really did use the Bible to keep slaves in their place.

Secular thinkers defended slavery using science, philosophy, politics, economics, and pragmatism. But there’s no doubt many Christians provided moral cover by quoting passages from the Old Testament that seem to endorse slavery, and passages from the New Testament that, at the very least, seem to put up with...

What do we do when we discover our so-called ‘Christian heroes’ did abhorrent things? What’s the difference between the soul and the spirit? Where does the idea of being a ‘missionary’ come from? Is the God of the Old Testament just a conglomeration of the gods from other cultures that came before?

It’s our seasonal Q&A, and John Dickson is in the hot seat answering your questions.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed and edited b...

We have a troubled relationship with disability. Even the term ‘disability’ is contested.

Perhaps disability is something to inspire us. Or something that calls for our compassion. Or simply something to accept and let be.

How should we think about disability? Should we be trying to cure it? And what about disability in Heaven?

In this episode of Undeceptions, we’re unpacking our assumptions about disability, dignity, suffering and difference—and asking what it means to be fully human.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

Christianity has a bit to say about ‘forgiveness’, both on a theological and a sociological level.

In short, God forgives us, and Christians are therefore called to extend this forgiveness to those who’ve wronged them.

But this raises a lot of questions.

What does forgiveness actually mean? How does it work? Does it involve forgetting wrongs? Can you forgive someone who isn't sorry? What about profound abuse and injustice?

The Christian emphasis on forgiveness has shaped our civilisation. But does it still make sense?

FOR...

John Lennox is one of Christianity’s greatest living “Undeceivers”. His Irish charm, kindness, and general approachability defuse even the most intense debates - and he’s had many intense debates in his lifetime (Dawkins! Hitchens!)

Through it all, Lennox has had one great aim … and it’s the aim of our podcast … to uncover the truth and beauty of Christianity in a world that doesn’t know what to make of it.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne a...

The Bible is full of tough texts that can be off-putting to the curious sceptic.

But at its best, Christianity stands smiling in the ring of history, science, culture, ethics, and all the rest, and invites anyone to take a swing.

Don’t let these tough texts put you off; treat them as an entry point to the Bible and, just maybe, you’ll be surprised by what else you find.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, prod...

Almost everyone can remember the exact moment they gave up on mathematics.

But for those who persist, many don’t just find maths useful; they find it beautiful.

Some even go so far as to claim that mathematics is the ‘language of God’.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed and edited by Mark Hadley. 

Sophie Hawkshaw is on socials and membership.

Alasd...

It’s high time for an episode on the fabulous Hildegard of Bingen.

This remarkable 12th-century nun’s work covered a vast amount of ground: she wrote about ecclesiastical history, science, medicine, botany, mineralogy and petrology, zoology and theology, mysticism, music, painting, and monastic architecture.

She was also a travelling preacher, visionary, and geopolitical manoeuvrer.

She’s now revered as a ‘Doctor of the Church’ - one of only 38 people awarded the title for their profound and lasting impact on Christian teaching.

Other Doctors include Augustine...

The West might be becoming less ‘religious’, but according to many it’s becoming a lot more ’spiritual’.

In fact, “spiritual but not religious” is described as a “rapidly growing faith group” in America, with as many as 20 per cent of people falling into the category.

And yet, there’s nothing new about being spiritual but not religious; it’s been Christianity’s dancing partner – or maybe sparring partner - for thousands of years.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, pr...

High performers - athletes, business professionals, artists, and the like - inspire and motivate us. They give us benchmarks to strive for and show us what sort of life we might lead if we were the “greatest of all time” in a given field.

But is striving to be the “greatest” actually good for us? Or does it do more harm than good?

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

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CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne, directed and edited by Mark Hadley. ...

Africa is home to over 1.5 billion people and some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but it still faces vast challenges.

Thousands of missionaries have moved to Africa and made it their life’s work to help bring about change.

John speaks with one of them.

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley. 

Alasdair Belling is a writer and researcher.

Sophie Hawkshaw is on socials and membership. 

Siobhan McGuiness is our online libr...

War is a horror – so how has Christianity, in its classical tradition, approached the human reality of war? Can it ever be justified on spiritual grounds?

We looked at these questions in episode 55, ‘Just War’, back in 2021 - and given recent events, we thought now was a good time to revisit that episode.

Wes Huff has made the historical case for Christianity to an audience of millions on some of the biggest podcasts in the world, including the Joe Rogan Experience and Diary of a CEO. 

It’s fair to say he’s having a bit of a moment.

But is all this big-name podcast interest in Christianity evidence of something deeper? Is Christianity itself having more than just a moment?

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne...

Is it ok for a Christian to enjoy secular music?

Why did Jesus have to get baptised?

And how does the church’s teaching on money compare to what the Bible actually teaches about it?

It’s Q&A time again at Undeceptions!

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley. 

Alasdair Belling is a writer-researcher.

Siobhan McGuiness is our online librarian. 

Lynd...

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the Bible as a “library,” not a single work.

But this library has been the most sold book in the world for millennia!

So should we call this ultimate best-seller “literature”?

There are many ways to read the Bible. But reading it as literature may help us see something easily missed: the Bible isn’t just a collection of texts any more than a symphony is just a collection of notes.

The literary approach asks a simple question: how might the Bible’s st...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.

This seems obvious to us today, but many people throughout history didn’t believe in these ideals.

Many would wonder how it could be that every human being, regardless of capacity or usefulness, could be considered equally valuable.

Truth be told, it's hard to find the logic behind the Universal Declaration of Human...

It’s hard to get a clear picture of the historical Jesus without projecting cultural tropes onto Him.

Jesus - perhaps more than anyone in history - is often co-opted to fit either personal or political agendas.

So this Easter, we’re trying to untangle the cultural Jesus from the real historical Jesus - by zeroing in on his famous last few days.

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley. 

Alasdair Belling is a wri...

There’s a certain collection of Greek and Roman writings - from roughly 800 BC to AD 200 - which, apart from the Bible, has shaped the Western world more than any other intellectual tradition.

Today, we call them the Classics.

Many are familiar with the names behind these ancient texts: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Livy … the list goes on.

But just because these works have a legacy doesn’t mean that people today actually like them.

For starters, they’re hard work. Mark Twain once described a Classic...

The First Hymn is coming to the big screens on both sides of the Atlantic!

Find tickets here.

The cultural hangovers of Christianity are well attested.

Recently, people who were once describing themselves as ‘New Atheists’ have gone as far as to call themselves ‘Cultural Christians’, due to the prevalence of Christian thought in modern ethics.

But what if the great dream of the New Atheists eventually succeeded?

What would a world where God was actually dead look like?

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - click here.

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark...

Since Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species, evolution has been considered by many to be the final nail in the coffin of religion.

Because evolution is supposedly random - or indeed, blind - the argument follows that there is no design.

But recently, a quiet revolution has been raging among the top tier of evolutionary scientists.

The apparent randomness of evolution has come into question, and some experts now suggest there may be patterns, agency, and even intention behind it all.

FOR FULL SHOW NO...

A popular myth is that when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he forced everyone else to embrace the faith - or else face deadly consequences.

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

It was under Constantine that the very modern-sounding ideas of freedom of religion and “justice for all” were first instituted.

These were revolutionary ideals, and they came from a very smart, learned Christian in the Emperor's inner circle.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - https://undeceptions.com/podcast/against-coercion/

In pop culture, we often enjoy watching - or reading - vice and virtue play out, with the former often far more exciting than the latter.

But what about real life? Do we still find vice “sizzling” (as one writer described it), and virtue stale?

At the heart of this lies a much deeper question: What good is there in pursuing the good?

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES: https://undeceptions.com/podcast/virtue-vice/

The Reformation remains a pivotal moment not just for the church, but for global history. 

It permanently split the church, triggered wars, created new city-states, and even led, in the opinion of many experts, to the Enlightenment, Science, and the secularisation of the West.

When it came to covering the topic on Undeceptions, there was so much to talk about that we needed two episodes just to scratch the surface.

In this Rewind, we’re revisiting some highlights of those episodes.

On November 2, 2024, Chris Tomlin performed the world premiere of The First Hymn at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ben Fielding joined him onstage that night to help gift this 1800-year-old song back to the world.

In this special, shorter episode, you get a front row seat to a fireside chat with Chris as he introduces the new First Hymn to the world, for the first time. 

We attempt to make sense of the silly season, to explain why there really is “more to life”, and why the traditional Christmas story still holds the answers.

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadl...

It’s probably the most significant of all church history’s debates: Was Jesus fully human, fully divine, or a hybrid of some sort?

1700 years ago, bishops from across the Christian world gathered in the city of Nicaea to settle this once and for all.

The outcome was three paragraphs which went on to represent the core of Christianity, and spell out who Jesus is - and who he isn’t.

The first-century historian Flavius Josephus is the oldest source we have for the historical Jesus outside of the Bible.

His 90-word paragraph about Jesus - where he calls Jesus “the Christ”, and says Jesus “appeared to them [the disciples] alive again on the third day", spending a third day restored to life - has sparked centuries of debate.

Most experts think this paragraph has an authentic core, but has been embellished by a later Christian scribe.

But new scholarly evidence has emerged that might turn our understanding of Jos...

Why don’t Christians still follow the Laws of the Old Testament? Why did God create humans if so many are apparently destined for Hell? Is the ‘Golden Rule’ actually a Christian idea? John answers all these - and more - for our Season XV Q&A!

Christianity no longer has the cultural sway it once held. But there’s always been a long tradition of Christians being flexible in engaging their culture—whether in ancient Rome, Viking Scandinavia, or modern America. So what does a ‘relevant’ Christianity look like in the 21st century?

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley. 

Alasdair Belling is a writer and researcher. 

Siobhan McGuiness is our online librarian. 

Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful a...

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

In his Divine Comedy, Dante isn’t claiming to offer us a vision of what hell and heaven are actually like.

It might be set in the afterlife, but it’s really about how we live life here and now.

Even if you’ve never read one line of the epic poem, you’ve been influenced by The Divine Comedy. 

It’s time we learned more about one of Western literature’s greatest works … and how it might just change our lives. 

CREDITS

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kale...

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 … 

Undeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directe...

Jane Austen’s words and books are well known. But what do we know of Jane herself - what she was like, and what she believed? What did she think of society and class, ethics, literature, romance, and faith?

Christianity is sometimes branded as anti-intellectual, and its followers labelled unteachable. But in an increasingly divided age, the church - with its rich history of learning - might be able to help the world recover what it means to have a teachable spirit … and to know who to learn from.

African Christianity is almost as old as Christianity itself. Many of the early church's theological giants came from Africa, and today, Christianity is exploding across the continent. In this episode, we look at Jesus through African eyes.

As the West undergoes a ‘de-churching,’ some are starting to wonder about the unintended consequences of a society with fewer believers.

After all, some of history’s greatest humanitarians all had one thing in common: a Christian faith.

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 full episode of next season.

There’s a growing body of research – authoritative, real-life, peer-reviewed research – that reports a significant benefit to wellbeing if you are religious. And not just religious, but part of a faith community.

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 Undeceptions REWIND, we take a closer look. 

If you like what you hear, listen to the episode in full: Episode 105 'Decoding Dreams'.