Podcast
Undeceptions with John Dickson
Hosted by Undeceptions Ltd · EN
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’.
23episodes
Episodes
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173. Good Friday
Mar 2900:49:59Tap to summarizeIt’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.CREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actorS today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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172. Reading Classics
Mar 2201:07:12Tap to summarizeThere’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 as “something that everybody wants to have read, and nobody wants to read”.Others dislike the very concept of the Classics because they privilege the writings of (presumably) white men over other rich, non-Western traditions.But like it or not, the Classics still matter in their own right today - especially if you’re interested in Christianity.FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - click hereCREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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First Hymn US / UK Release
Mar 1700:04:53Tap to summarizeThe First Hymn is coming to the big screens on both sides of the Atlantic!Find tickets here.
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171. Without God
Mar 1501:10:01Tap to summarizeThe 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.CREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actor today was Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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170. Evolution Revolution?
Mar 801:05:24Tap to summarizeSince 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 NOTES - click here.CREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actor today was Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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169. Against Coercion
Mar 101:12:25Tap to summarizeA 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/(00:00) - - One of history's great persuaders (06:17) - - Persecution and the Crisis of the Third Century (09:52) - - Christianity and Neoplatonism (17:44) - - Lactantius: The Christian Cicero (29:42) - - Lactantius and Constantine (37:58) - - Constantine and religious tolerance (46:38) - - Arguing Christian ethics from pagan philosophy (50:13) - - Freedom of religion and Thomas Jefferson (54:56) - - Lactantius and justice (01:03:29) - - Five Minute Jesus (01:07:58) - - Lactantius' legacy CREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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168. Virtue / Vice
Feb 2201:10:14Tap to summarizeIn 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/(00:08) - - Is virtue boring? (05:18) - - What is virtue? (11:14) - - What's valuable about the Middle Ages? (15:23) - - Aristotle and the virtues (18:10) - - Vice vs. Virtue (30:42) - - The root of all evil (34:38) - - The root of all good (41:56) - - Rapid Fire Round: Virtue/Vice pairs (49:58) - - Cultivating virtue (58:59) - - Why pursue Christian virtue? (01:02:40) - - Five Minute Jesus CREDITSUndeceptions 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. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative, a contact point for church pastors who are interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out
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REWIND: The Reformation
Feb 1500:22:37Tap to summarizeThe 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.
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SINGLE: Concert Hymn
Feb 800:19:15Tap to summarizeOn 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.
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SINGLE: Christmas Peace
Dec 1400:36:11Tap to summarizeWe 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.(00:00) - - Unwanted Christmas cards (04:41) - - Diagnosing our festive illness (08:49) - - Happiness or peace? (10:35) - - Jesus the umpire (13:10) - - The Prince of Peace (18:55) - - Christmas and the Gulag Archipelago (22:56) - - Christmas is good enough without Jesus, right? (30:39) - - Jesus turns his face towards us CREDITSUndeceptions 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 librarian. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actors today were the Undeceptions Team - wishing you a happy Christmas!Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.
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