Whether you’re a believer or doubter in Christianity, this episode is really more about whether you’re a ‘believer’ or ‘doubter’ in climate change … and the things that often lie behind such beliefs (hint: faith is just one factor!) But, if you listen to Katharine, climate change shouldn’t be about belief anymore. It’s real. It’s happening. The question now is, what can we do about it? Special thanks to Zondervan Academic, our show sponsor, publishers of How To Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby. LINKS...
Oct 25, 2020•56 min•Season 3Ep. 1
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 we...
Oct 19, 2020•54 min
We're back with a new season of Undeceptions. Join us as we chase down facts and explore the best arguments, to explode some of the myths about history, science, psychology, and the good life … and how it all relates to the Christian faith. This season, we're talking climate change, public health, why belief in God is natural, how music points to the divine, mistakes in the Bible, and … the end of the world.
Oct 14, 2020•5 min
John Dickson takes a deep dive into the murky world of church finances to discover the pagan ruler responsible for granting Christian congregations their special financial privileges. When the most powerful man in the world becomes a believer, things are definitely going to change. But what did this ruler actually have in mind when he gifted churches and clergy their tax free status? Press play to find out.
Oct 04, 2020•12 min
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?
Sep 27, 2020•9 min
Matt Andrews makes a guest appearance on Undeceptions, tackling the thorny topic of slavery in Australia. Have Aboriginals been enslaved at various times in Australia's history? Certainly. Was that the intention of its British leaders? Certainly not. There are two key things to undeceived of here, but you'l have to click play to find out what they are.
Sep 20, 2020•10 min
Eligius of Noyon was a French jewellery smith of uncommon talent who counted royal families and the highest nobility amongst his clients. As a young man, his success allowed him to dress so exorbitantly, his sense of luxury made it into the history books. However when Eligius' attention turned from kingly clients to the Kingdom of God, an incredible transformation took place. He became so concerned for the slaves around him, that his finery became the means for setting them free. In this fourth ...
Sep 13, 2020•9 min
St. Augustine was the Bishop of Hippo and the leader of the Christian church in a city that had become a hub in the ancient world's slave trade. He led his followers in an ambitious buy-back program for those captured by unscrupulous traders. But when church funds failed, these meek and mild believers didn't hold back from carrying out dangerous slave raids. Join John Dickson as he takes us through a first hand account of what early Christians risked to save less fortunate men and women....
Sep 06, 2020•8 min
The fourth century bishop, Gregory of Nyssa, led the charge on ending slavery centuries before modern champions like William Wilberforce and Frederick Douglass ever stepped on to the stage. His arguments regarding the value of human beings would fuel abolitionists and civil rights movements fifteen hundred years after he was dead. If only we'd listened sooner.
Aug 30, 2020•6 min
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.
Aug 16, 2020•11 min
Dr. Laurel Moffatt is a writer and researcher based in Sydney, and a special guest for our Undeceptions 'Single' this week. On a recent kayaking trip, she discovered a connection between our desperate need for 'places of safety' during this pandemic, and international statistics that show a growing desire to communicate with the Almighty. Leveraging the wisdom of Augustine, she shares how prayer can become your safest place.
Jul 26, 2020•8 min
A remarkable event occurred on this day at 11:30am, 25 June, 1788. The 21 year old convict, Samuel Peyton, entered into eternity courtesy of the hangman's noose. But unlike many of his convict comrades who suffered a similar fate, Peyton left behind a testament to his belief that, even in death, he was “firmly relying on the merits of a Blessed Redeemer.” Listen in for one of the most heartfelt stories of repentance Australia's colonial history has to offer, as well as a pointer to a Christian h...
Jun 25, 2020•8 min
Rachel Gilson says she grew up knowing two things instinctively: she was romantically attracted to women and Christians were NOT ok with that. Smart, sophisticated, with a love for big ideas not small minds … Rachel Gilson sounds like she’s the poster girl for that common critique of Christianity - that it’s unhelpful and unhealthy for those with lesbian, gay, or bisexual orientations. But that is not her story. Rachel discovered that it was possible to walk a round that led between her same-sex...
May 31, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 12
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...
May 24, 2020•54 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This episode, we’ll be zooming in on the early Christian women, for whom we have good evidence, and who had a profound impact on the church and its teaching in their time. Our guide is Dr. Lynn Cohick, who's written books on the topic, including Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through the Fifth Centuries (co-authored with Amy Brown Hughes) and Women in the World of the Earliest Christians . She paints a vivid picture for us of what lif...
May 17, 2020•58 min•Season 2Ep. 10
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 tha...
May 10, 2020•51 min•Season 2Ep. 9
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...
May 03, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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...
Apr 26, 2020•46 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 sinc...
Apr 19, 2020•50 min•Season 2Ep. 6
What do you do if you devote your entire life to one religion, then slowly realise you belong somewhere else? This episode isn’t an exploration of a forgotten piece of history, a tricky topic, or an ethical dilemma, but a story, plain and simple about a search for personal peace, which is just what our anxious world needs right now. Rahil Patel was one of the Hindu world's leading evangelists, who spent decades establishing temples all over Europe and Russia, until one day he woke up to discover...
Apr 12, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 d...
Apr 05, 2020•44 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In ancient Carthage, those who faced the Cyprian Plague discovered that there were two sets of symptoms to contend with: those that afflicted the outer body, and those that afflicted the inner person. COVID-19 is having a similar effect. It is turning out to be not just a physical trial but a moral test. The pandemic is revealing the best and the worst of our characters. The former we can celebrate together. Our faults, though, are also worth our contemplation.
Apr 01, 2020•8 min
If you’re preparing yourself for an assault on conservative Christian doctrine regarding women in church leadership, or different approaches to women teaching … you’re going to be disappointed. This is an episode about a more fundamental ‘deception’ the western world seems to hold: that Christianity places no value on the contribution of women, or offers them any pride of place. However, Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing is the Joint Director of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and the counter to tha...
Mar 29, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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.
Mar 26, 2020•8 min
Last season we brought you John Lennox, talking about the compatibility of faith and a scientific mind, and Ard Louis discussing the evidence for a rational universe … but we sidestepped one obvious debate. Creation versus evolution - 6 days versus 13.8 billion years - young earthers vs. ancient universe-ers. It’s a pretty hot argument in the minds of some believers and non-believers alike. Sometimes both sides think there’s only one way to take Genesis, and that’s at face value. This episode, t...
Mar 22, 2020•50 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Simply taking care of yourself and those closest to you might seem enough - even the most important thing - at this time of international concern. But John Dickson picks out the story of a wealthy, ancient woman to suggest another way. Rome's Fabiola powerfully demonstrated the level of sympathy that hearts changed by Christ can hope to rise to.
Mar 18, 2020•7 min
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 ...
Mar 15, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The return of Undeceptions for 2020, kicking off with God and cancer, a better way of reading Genesis, woman leading the charge in explaining Christianity, Easter myths exploded and proof the faith you grow up with isn't the final word on what you believe. Plus much, much more! Let the Undeceptions begin... Monday, March 16.
Mar 10, 2020•45 sec
It's February 4, and the anniversary of Australia's first church service. But this wasn't a morality lesson from the chaplain to the prison colony. The Rev. Richard Johnson had something much more significant on his mind.
Feb 02, 2020•15 min
On the day we commemorate the history and character of our nation, it may be worth considering how we build healthy, respectful lamenting into our national celebrations.
Jan 25, 2020•7 min
