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In the 3rd century, in the Ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, a group of Christians composed a song of praise set to the pagan music of the time.
Now, 1800 years later, John Dickson is working with two of the world's best songwriters to bring this lost song - this First Hymn - back to life.
Along the way, they make some incredible discoveries about early church music, shedding light on what the earliest Christians believed.
This is the first in a three-part podcast series on The First Hymn Project - taking its name from the forthcoming Undeceptions documentary, to be released at Easter 2025.
(00:10) - - Singing the First Hymn(06:31) - - How the project began(09:10) - - Music in the ancient world(16:20) - - Christian music in the ancient world(20:22) - - Egyptian Christianity(24:02) - - The Oxyrhynchus discovery(29:24) - - The music of the First Hymn(37:58) - - The message of the First Hymn(46:08) - - Hymns throughout the New Testament(52:33) - - 5 Minute Jesus(58:33) - - The purpose of hymns(01:00:30) - - The First Hymn performed by the Wheaton Choir(01:02:04) - - Connecting Christians through history(01:03:22) - - Chris Tomlin, Ben Fielding, and the First Hymn -
With 66 different books composed across literally thousands of years, it's fair to say the Bible is a complex read. But it doesn't have to be. The key to understanding the Bible is understanding the different literary genres.
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The great project of the Enlightenment was to bring reason to the forefront.
No more would humans be held back by superstitions: the power of the mind was all that was needed for advancement.
Three centuries on though, and some people are beginning to think the pendulum has swung too far.
Celebrated journalist and public intellectual Stan Grant joined John onstage in Sydney for a live recording of Undeceptions to discuss this new disenchanted age.
(02:19) - - Introduction: Everything we wished for is here, and that's a problem(07:55) - - Stan Grant arrives(08:56) - - The Voice to Parliament(14:38) - - Stan on St Augustine(16:43) - - Stan's early life(19:48) - - Beginning a career in journalism(33:45) - - What makes you 'Australian'?(37:04) - - Deconstructing the Enlightenment(43:52) - - Truth-telling(45:35) - - Stan's theological journey(53:58) - - Reflections of suffering(01:00:16) - - 5 Minute Jesus(01:04:17) - - Hasn't Christianity done terrible damage to Indigenous cultures? -
A new movie has been released this week about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was killed by the Nazis for his involvement in a plot to kill Hitler.
Bonhoeffer's fame has ballooned into a kind of mythology that has seen people of all stripes "claim" him as their own. But our guest for this episode says that if we only think of him as a “hero” for our cause, we may miss important pieces of Bonhoeffer’s complex life and thinking.
So, who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer and why does he still matter?
(04:47) - - Bonhoeffer's Germany(13:13) - - The Nazi Church(22:59) - - Bonhoeffer's career begins(32:43) - - Bonhoeffer begins to speak out(42:27) - - Bonhoeffer joins a resistence(49:02) - - The plot to kill Hitler(55:06) - - Bonhoeffer's ethical theory: how he might have justified killing Hitler(01:02:24) - - Imprisoned by the Nazis(01:04:36) - - Bonhoeffer is executed(01:09:14) - - What we get wrong about Bonhoeffer(01:12:26) - - Jesus: the man for others -
Sam Allberry was involved in environmental activism when he became a Christian - a development that his activist friends saw as bad news.
After all, why would a follower of a religion that looks forward to the coming of a new Earth be concerned with the state of the current world?
For Sam though, becoming a Christian led him to a very different conclusion.
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The Old Testament is sacred not just to the Christian but also to the Jewish religion. Its 39 books cover thousands of years with an array of literary genres including poetry, history, creation myth, apocalyptic, and song.
It can be confusing and overwhelming - but luckily, John happens to work in the same building as a leading expert on it all who gives us a quick rundown in this special Single.
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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'.
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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!)
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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 (23:25) - - Vincent Van Gogh(33:40) - - The Yellow House and the Ear episode(42:50) - - Van Gogh and faith(50:36) - - Five Minute Jesus(55:24) - - 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(24:13) - - Our spiritual baggage(27:11) - - Reading The Bible above our own interests(31:08) - - Hermeneutics in The Enlightenment(34:12) - - Five Minute Jesus(40:16) - - The Transfiguration(48:05) - - The key to unlocking The Bible(55:05) - - Where to start when reading The Bible(59:37) - - 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!
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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?(23:37) - Introducing Sarah Sweet and Luke Barnes(25:30) - Is there room for the supernatural in science?(38:32) - 5 Minute Jesus(50:17) - Do we live in a finely tuned universe?(57:48) - What we've learned - and unlearnt - from science recently(01:04:17) - 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(35:48) - Priests of History(38:03) - Sarah encounters rational faith(46:31) - The perks of Biblical meditation(49:09) - Make tradition cool again(49:59) - 5 Minute Jesus(58:22) - Why take history seriously in 2024?(01:02:34) - 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 begins
42:23 - 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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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