Undeceptions with John Dickson

The 21st century has seen—and will continue to see—the rise of Christianity in the ‘Global South’, with surging conversion numbers in Asia and Africa. That’s according to Gina Zurlo, a leading authority on Christian demographics, and our guest on episode 75, ‘Global Christianity’. According to Gina, while the Western world is grappling with secularism, a new spiritual awakening of sorts is taking hold in the world’s two most populous nations, China and India. This is our next Undeceptions Rewind, where we resurface some of the best bits of our older episodes that might have been mostly forgotten (but hopefully not misunderstood!) In this episode, we feature snippets of both Episode 17 'Hindu Priest', and Episode 75 'Global Christianity'. 

We interviewed Tom Holland, historian and co-host of the extraordinarily popular podcast The Rest is History, back in 2021 for episode 45, Christian Revolution.At the time Tom wouldn’t have called himself a Christian (and we won't speak for him now), but he was adamant that not only is Christianity good, but our very sense of what good is comes from Christianity. Check out our first Undeceptions Rewind, where we resurface some of the best bits of our older episodes that might have been mostly forgotten (but hopefully not misunderstood!)

Artists have used their tools not just to capture beauty and transcendence, but also the essence of what it means to be human. In this episode, we learn from history's greatest artists about loss, hope, the ugly, and the sublime.What lessons can we take from these broken artists? What might their observations about the world tell us about God?(04:39) - - Creations and experiences (12:55) - - Albert Bierstadat (16:09) - - Artemisia Gentileschi (21:18) - - Vincent Van Gogh (31:33) - - The Yellow House and the Ear episode (38:35) - - Van Gogh and faith (46:21) - - Five Minute Jesus (51:09) - - Transcendence

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 (22:06) - - Our spiritual baggage (25:04) - - Reading The Bible above our own interests (29:01) - - Hermeneutics in The Enlightenment (32:05) - - Five Minute Jesus (38:09) - - The Transfiguration (43:50) - - The key to unlocking The Bible (50:50) - - Where to start when reading The Bible (55:22) - - Why is Kevin struck by The Bible?

Why did God make the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Can Christians smoke weed? Why does God allow natural disasters to happen? John Dickson tackles your questions in one of our best Q&A episodes yet!

Famed Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once (well, several times actually) claimed Christianity was irreconcilable with the science of the Universe. But there's plenty of scholars who beg to differ.Recorded live in Brisbane at the State Library of Queensland.(01:08) - Show begins (05:42) - Introducing Peter Harrison (08:41) - Did we used to have more Christian scientists? (21:30) - Introducing Sarah Sweet and Luke Barnes (23:23) - Is there room for the supernatural in science? (36:25) - 5 Minute Jesus (46:02) - Do we live in a finely tuned universe? (53:33) - What we've learned - and unlearnt - from science recently (01:00:02) - How far could science take us?

Is history under threat? Increasingly, the modern, individualistic global West is coming to see history as a discipline that's irrelevant, harmful, and divisive. Some are worried that we're becoming increasingly disconnected from a broader story. Can the past help us navigate our modern world? Or is it better if we let it fade into a "dark age"?(00:11) - What do you call a collective of historians? (05:40) - Why does history matter? (08:12) - What makes a good historian? (10:49) - Historical culture wars (14:32) - An Ahistoric Age (16:44) - Is history irrelevant? (18:59) - Historical ignorance (24:46) - Recovering facts from framing (30:11) - Looking back but moving forward (33:41) - Priests of History (35:56) - Sarah encounters rational faith (44:24) - The perks of Biblical meditation (47:02) - Make tradition cool again (47:52) - 5 Minute Jesus (54:07) - Why take history seriously in 2024? (58:19) - The good guys of history's bad Empires

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 begins42:23 - Regular interview resumes

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.

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?

There's a reason our guests have mentioned Augustine more than any other theologian or philosopher. St Augustine of Hippo was an intellectual giant whose shadow still hangs over Christianity and the Western philosophical tradition. But not everyone loves him. To some, he's a misogynistic pessimist whose work we're better off without. So - what's the truth? It's finally time for Undeceptions to take a deep dive into Augustine.

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.

Jazz is a genre of music steeped in tradition, culture, and most importantly, improvisation. According to some, the church can learn a few lessons from this wonderful art form.

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?

John faces down some of our most diverse - and controversial - questions yet. What's the deal with circumcision? Why does John hate the term apologetics so much? Is Director Mark sick of John picking on him all the time? 

If Christianity is one big conspiracy, we wouldn't find so many mistakes and inconsistencies in the Gospels! Surely if the faith was one big lie, the Gospels would have some uniformity to them, united to deceive readers.Well, that's one side of the argument. Others might point to the Gospel contradictions as proof the entire thing is made up.So, why are there contradictions in the Gospels? Does this undermine their credibility?

You can make a pretty good case that the Gospels are the four most influential - and controversial - books of all time. But who were the authors? How do we know who wrote them? And why was it that these four books were selected, and not others? 

In this special Undeceptions Single, Stan Grant shares his reflections on God and suffering in the wake of the Bondi Junction attacks that occurred on April 13 in Sydney, Australia.

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.

Theology: It's a dry term that conjures images of old academics writing dusty books that will never be read. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The study of theology is the study of who we are as humans, and how we can make sense of both God and the complexities of the world.So, who are the theologians we should all know about?