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...
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
Jesus was born in a manger, right? But what does that mean exactly? And how about that inn? Or the star hovering over the stable? How does history address our most cherished images of the birth of the King of Kings? And what did The Life Of Brian get right? Join John as he undeceives us about everything that can and can't be said about the birth of Jesus. 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. Lin...
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 Miracl...
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...
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 u...
In episode 4 of Season 1 of Undeceptions, John spoke with Professor Teresa Morgan about the ethic of love at the heart of the New Testament. It 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. Listen to the full interview with Professor Morgan, a Fellow and tutor at Oriel College in Oxford University in this special bonus episode. You'll ge...
Head to undeceptions.com to listen to Episode 3, 'God Science' with John Lennox.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains content that may be distressing for some listeners. The episode deals with the online sexual exploitation of children and is confronting and often disturbing. If you need to talk to someone, support is available: 1800RESPECT: In Australia, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 737 732. Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 anytime for confidential telephone crisis support. This episode of Undeceptions was a diff...
In episode 7 we ask: can we really trust the Gospels in the Bible? And how do the gospels - considered our best evidence for the existence of Jesus - stack up against the evidence for other historical figures of the day? John Dickson chats with Dr Peter Williams, the author of Can We Trust the Gospels? about how solid our sources for Jesus really are. Many would say they're not as solid as, say, sources for the Emperor Tiberius, the second Roman emperor who reigned from 14 AD to 37 AD during the...
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 ...
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 rem...
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 J...
We're talking to John Dickson's "favourite Northern Irishman", and one of Christianity's greatest "undeceivers". That's right, it's John Lennox. John Dickson sits down for tea in the gardens of Green Templeton College with renowned 'undeceiver' John Lennox. In his new book, 'Can science explain everything', Lennox addresses one of the greatest deceptions of our age: Science explains everything, so there's no need for religion. We sit down in the gardens of Green Templeton College to quiz him abo...
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 to...
Thousands of scraps of paper that have been buried in the sands of Egypt for over two millennia are now stored in museums and universities all around the world. These little scraps - often no bigger than your mobile phone - provide a powerful window into ancient life - its troubles, its personalities and its ethics. One of the most important of these pieces of paper - or papyrus - is 86 pages of the letters of the Apostle Paul, the author of much of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Thes...
Coming soon, a new podcast series from author and historian John Dickson. Prepare to be undeceived.
