It’s high time for an episode on the fabulous Hildegard of Bingen.This remarkable 12th-century nun’s work covered a vast amount of ground: she wrote about ecclesiastical history, science, medicine, botany, mineralogy and petrology, zoology and theology, mysticism, music, painting, and monastic architecture.She was also a travelling preacher, visionary, and geopolitical manoeuvrer.She’s now revered as a ‘Doctor of the Church’ - one of only 38 people awarded the title for their profound and lasting impact on Christian teaching.Other Doctors include Augustine of Hippo, Gregory the Great, and the Venerable Bede. So, Hildegard is in good company.FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE CREDITSUndeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne, directed and edited 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 my wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Our voice actors for this episode were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah LoveUndeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com – letting the truth out.

The West might be becoming less ‘religious’, but according to many it’s becoming a lot more ’spiritual’.In fact, “spiritual but not religious” is described as a “rapidly growing faith group” in America, with as many as 20 per cent of people falling into the category.And yet, there’s nothing new about being spiritual but not religious; it’s been Christianity’s dancing partner – or maybe sparring partner - for thousands of years.FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE CREDITSUndeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne, directed and edited 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 my wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com – letting the truth out.

High performers - athletes, business professionals, artists, and the like - inspire and motivate us. They give us benchmarks to strive for and show us what sort of life we might lead if we were the “greatest of all time” in a given field.But is striving to be the “greatest” actually good for us? Or does it do more harm than good?FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - CLICK HERE'CREDITSUndeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne, directed and edited 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 my wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com – letting the truth out.

Africa is home to over 1.5 billion people and some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but it still faces vast challenges.Thousands of missionaries have moved to Africa and made it their life’s work to help bring about change.John speaks with one of them.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 my wonderful assistant. Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com – letting the truth out.

War is a horror – so how has Christianity, in its classical tradition, approached the human reality of war? Can it ever be justified on spiritual grounds?We looked at these questions in episode 55, ‘Just War’, back in 2021 - and given recent events, we thought now was a good time to revisit that episode.

Wes Huff has made the historical case for Christianity to an audience of millions on some of the biggest podcasts in the world, including the Joe Rogan Experience and Diary of a CEO. It’s fair to say he’s having a bit of a moment.But is all this big-name podcast interest in Christianity evidence of something deeper? Is Christianity itself having more than just a moment?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 my wonderful assistant.  Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant.  Peter Kozushko is our North American representative. Editing by Richard Hamwi. Our voice actor today was Yannick Lawry.  Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible.  Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.

Is it ok for a Christian to enjoy secular music? Why did Jesus have to get baptised? And how does the church’s teaching on money compare to what the Bible actually teaches about it? It’s Q&A time again at Undeceptions!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 my wonderful assistant.  Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant.  Peter Kozushko is our North American representative. Editing by Richard Hamwi. Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry, Producer Kaley, and Director Mark.  Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible.  Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the Bible as a “library,” not a single work.But this library has been the most sold book in the world for millennia!So should we call this ultimate best-seller “literature”?There are many ways to read the Bible. But reading it as literature may help us see something easily missed: the Bible isn’t just a collection of texts any more than a symphony is just a collection of notes.The literary approach asks a simple question: how might the Bible’s story work on us?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 my wonderful assistant.  Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant.  Peter Kozushko is our North American representative. 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.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.This seems obvious to us today, but many people throughout history didn’t believe in these ideals.Many would wonder how it could be that every human being, regardless of capacity or usefulness, could be considered equally valuable.Truth be told, it's hard to find the logic behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights anywhere in historical literature … apart from the Bible.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 my wonderful assistant.  Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant.  Peter Kozushko is our North American representative. 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.

It’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.