Episode 25: "Is Christianity good history?" (Season 2 Finale)

The question we’ve got there is deliberately vague and ambiguous, and I want to play into the double meaning a bit. We’ll be tackling a bunch of questions regarding the historicity of Christianity and the Bible, but also looking at the moral legacy of Christianity, after two thousand years of both triumphal moments and deeply shameful things as well.

Professor John Dickson is an author, speaker, historian, musician, lecturer and media presenter. He was the Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity (2007-17). He has published over 20 books, and held a variety of teaching and research positions over the years; such as within the Ancient History Department at Macquarie University (2002-2015), the Jewish and Biblical Studies Department at Sydney University (2011-2021), Ridley College Melbourne (2019-2022), and the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford (2015-2023). He’s also host of the popular and brilliant podcast Undeceptions which you ought to listen to straight after this. 

Other References:

• "I'll eat a page from my Bible if Jesus didn't exist" by John Dickson in ABC opinion (17th October 2014)
• Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History by John Dickson
• For the Love of God: How the church is BETTER + WORSE than you ever imagined by the Centre for Public Christianity 
• "The Church of the First Fleet Chaplain Holds January 26 Service of Lament and Thanksgiving" by Kaley Payne in Eternity News (26th January 2021)
• The First Hymn Project
• Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies you've Been Told by Bradley Wright

What's next?

We'll continue with some other projects for the time being. But there are two major ways you can get in touch with us and stay connected:

• Deeper Questions Survey
• The Sceptics Book Club

Both of these will be a great chance to interact with us and share your thoughts. You can also email us about anything by contacting us at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.


Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 24: “Does Religion Help or Hurt Social Justice?”

Helen Keller once said "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” And today we want to look at this confrontation between suffering and solace. We’re talking social justice, activism, charity, causes, not-for-profits and some of the reasons why these things exist in the first place. And we’ll get specific and spend a good chunk on gambling reform in Australia -  but also other issues in our modern world. On top of that we’ll discuss whether faith is a net positive in building a better world, or whether it hinders these things. 

Reverend Tim Costello AO is an Australian Baptist minister, social justice advocate, and former CEO of World Vision Australia (2004–2016). A lawyer by training, he previously served as Mayor of St Kilda (1993–1994) and Executive Director of Urban Seed, working on homelessness and addiction issues in Melbourne. He has also been the Chief Advocate for World Vision Australia, Chair of the Community Council for Australia, Executive Director of Micah Australia and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX).


Other References:

• She Remains Enchanted by Tim Costello in CPX 'Thinking out Loud', 5th February 2025
• Streets of Hope: Finding God in St Kilda by Tim Costello
• "Crown Casino: Gambling industry 'Australia's equivalent of the NRA', Tim Costello says" by Eliza Buzacott-Speer in ABC News (19th Oct 2017)
• I’ve seen the impact of Trump and Musk’s savagery. What they’re doing is cruel and lethal by Tim Costello in CPX articles (3rd March 2025)
• Why Christians Should Care About the USAID Freeze by Tim Costello on Micah Australia blog (10th February 2025)
• U.S.A.I.D. Memos Detail Human Costs of Cuts to Foreign Aid by Apoorva Mandavilli in The New York Times (March 2nd 2025)
• Isaiah 65 reference
• Micah 6:8 reference

Got Questions?

Email us your questions or feedback to [email protected] - we love chatting about anything. Feel free to check out our website for additional resources too.

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 23: “Is Christianity Anti-Intellectual?"

Historically there have been many reasons to attack and criticise Christianity - but one of the most popular attacks over the last few centuries has been to challenge Christianity's intellectual credibility and its ability to accurately understand and make sense of the world. Rather than taking on arguments and attempting to refute them one by one, I wanted to actually sit with the question and acknowledge where that argument has rung true - mainly by putting fundamentalism under the microscope.

Professor Mark Noll is a distinguished historian specialising in American Evangelicalism. He has written over 40 books with one in particular standing out for this conversation. In October 1994 he published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind where he offered a critique and explanation of the Christian intellectual climate - and why Christians have been blinkered, parochial, and even hostile to academia and established knowledge. So we’ll be doing a bit of a retrospective on that 30 years on, and I think this will help us understand the history and complexity of Christianity, evangelicalism, fundamentalism and the place of the mind in Christian life.

Other References:

• Why I am not a Christian: and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell (1927)
• The Antichrist: A Radical Examination of Religion and Philosophy by Friedrich Nietzsche (1888)
• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (2006)
• The End of Faith – Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris (2005)
• The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications by John Whitcomb & Henry Morris (1961)
• Society of Christian Philosophers
• Francis Collins & BioLogos
• Katherine Hayhoe
• Mark Dever’s talk on Intellectual Suicide

Got questions?
 
You can shoot Aaron or Amy an email about anything by contacting us at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.
 
Feel free to suggest potential guests or topics as well. No doubt there are heaps of important ideas and stories out there worth hearing!

Produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 22: What is the value of art?

It’s been said that Art can be a Mirror or a Window to Society. Revealing deep truths about ourselves and reality. And so art plays an important prophetic role in shaping cultural conversations and bringing to life stories, themes and ideas that matter. And so for this episode we’re going to be talking with a couple of talented and thoughtful local artists. Together we chat all things art and culture and want to give you an insight into the life of an artist, and whether we, as a society, place value and importance on the practice and process of creating.

Daniela Gjocaj is an emerging Tasmanian artist and colour specialist, having worked throughout her life in the arts and fashion. Daniela spoke at Tedx Hobart in 2023 on ‘The power of colour and light’. Her bold and colourful artworks invite the viewer to experience, engage and explore all the ways in which colour can impact us.

Nicole O'Loughlin is a PhD Candidate at the School of Creative Arts and Media at the University of Tasmania, where she also lectures. She’s devoted the last few years to researching the impact of arts and creativity on health and well-being with a focus on people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.


Other References

• Male artists overrepresented in Australian galleries and museums, research shows by Kelly Burke in the Guardian (Aus), 30th April 2024
• Australia should have a universal basic income for artists. Here’s what that could look like by Jo Caust in The Conversation, 2nd May 2022
• Australian artists only earn $23,200 a year from their art – and are key financial investors in keeping the industry afloat by David Throsby & Katya Petetskaya in The Conversation, 7th May 2024
• Real Photographer Beats Out Robots in AI Art Competition by Rhea Nayyar in Hyperallergic, 16th June 2024
• The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dali (Image)
• Rembrandt is in the wind by Russ Ramsey

Got questions?

You can shoot us an email about anything at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to follow us on social media too.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Linked In
• YouTube 

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 21: Is meaning overrated?

In 2021, 38.9% of respondents to the census declared themselves to be “no religion” in Australia. That was almost 10 million people. You might also have heard about “the meaning crisis” Some secular thinkers like John Vervaeke have been exploring the void of anxiety and emptiness since around 2017. Many thinkers in this “meaning crisis” movement have explored Eastern religions and other philosophies to find a way to quench that thirst for meaning. 

But what if there was another way to think about meaning? What if meaning was just overrated? Do we ascribe meaning to things we don’t need to? Is there a surplus rather than a deficit of meaning? To explore this question, we reached out to Wendy Syfret, author of “The Sunny Nihilist: how a meaningless life can make you truly happy”. She has some interesting ideas that we can all benefit from, regardless of whether we are religious or of 'no religion'. 

Other References:

• The Sunny Nihilist: how a meaningless life can make you truly happy, by Wendy Syfret.
• Optimistic Nihilism from the Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell Youtube Channel. 
• The Book of Ecclesiastes from Biblegateway 
• John Vervaeke’s Youtube Channel

Got questions?

Some people find this philosophy liberating, others might find it confronting, let us know how it made you feel. You can shoot us an email at [email protected] - we'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too!

Feel free to follow us on social media too.

• Facebook
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• Linked In
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Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 20: "Are we taking freedom for granted?" with Lyndsey Stonebridge

In the previous episode we talked about the fragile state of Democracy, and we’ll be continuing many of those themes in today’s episode, almost like a Part 2. But rather than talking through the lens of US politics, we’re going to completely change tact and talk through the lens of human rights. And to do that we’ll be channeling and discussing one of the most prominent political philosophers of the 20th century; Hannah Arendt - The Jewish philosopher who fled the holocaust to become one the most influential writers and thinkers of the 20th century.

For this conversation we have someone uniquely positioned to think in the place of Arendt, who offers us wisdom and insight for an unstable moment. Lyndsey Stonebridge is a writer, critic, and Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She works across traditional disciplines, bringing literary and historical insights to law and political theory. She has followed the work of philosopher Hannah Arendt for over 30 years and recently wrote a beautiful biography titled We are Free to Change the World which is an enthralling journey into the life and mind of Hannah Arendt.

Other References:

• Placeless People: Writings, Rights, and Refugees by Lyndsey Stonebridge
• The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
• Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt
• Reflections on Little Rock by Hannah Arendt
• What we're getting wrong about 'The Zone of Interest' by Lyndsey Stonebridge in The Washington Post, March 8, 2024
• The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt
• City of God by St Augustine

Got questions?

You can shoot us an email about anything at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to follow us on social media too.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Linked In
• YouTube 

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 19: "Will Democracy Survive 2024?"

2024 has been an incredibly historic year for democracy around the world. With over 4 billion people having voted, or looking forward to voting in various elections across more than 40 countries. And yet, one country will likely overshadow all of these global elections; The US election on Tuesday, November 5th 2024. Everyone will be watching, everyone will have an opinion*, and no one knows what will happen. 

To guide us through this episode we’re talking with New York Times columnist, David French. He has an acute level of awareness when it comes to understanding the complexities of American Politics, Law, and Evangelicalism. We discuss some of the defining factors of the Presidential Race in 2024**, his experience as a ‘Never Trump’ conservative, and the potential dangers of a second Trump term. 

Other References: 

• Divided we Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation by David French 
• Never Trumpers Never Had A Chance by David French in The New York Times, Jan 25, 2024
• Against David French-ism by Sohrab Ahmari in First Things, May 29, 2019
• The Spiritual Blessing of Political Homelessness by David French in The Dispatch, Oct 18, 2020
• What is Christian Nationalism, Exactly? by David French in The New York Times, Feb 25, 2024
• The After Party
• A Terrible Phone Call and What Came Next by David French in The New York Times, Jan 7, 2024
• The G.O.P. Can No Longer Be Relied Upon to Protect Democracy by John Cassidy in The New Yorker, Dec 12, 2020
• Jack Posobiec on ending Democracy
• ’The More Knowledge more Sorrow’

*My views aren’t necessarily representative of all views within my organisation.

**This episode was recorded and produced mid 2024. The campaign news cycle is starting to gather breakneck speed, and there have been some massive developments in the last few weeks (including the Supreme Court decision/case aptly called Donald J Trump vs The United States of America) which have raised the temperature and the alarm even more. No doubt there’ll be other cosmic shifts ahead. 

Got questions?

You can shoot us an email about anything at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to follow us on social media too.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Linked In
• YouTube 

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 18: “Whatever happened to New Atheism?" (Season Finale)

Around the mid 2000s atheism became sexy. It was everywhere. Headlined by Richard Dawkins and the other ‘four horsemen’ of New Atheism; Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett. They -and many other public atheists- were dominating best seller lists, YouTube algorithms and making news with their witty and swashbuckling commentary. But it seems like those days have moved on pretty quick. We only really hear about Richard Dawkins now when he’s being cancelled, and atheism hasn’t really risen at all when you look at the numbers. So what happened to New Atheism, and what could be taking its place?

Well, for our final episode of season 1, we’re delighted to have Justin Brierley joining us from the UK. Thanks to his popular Unbelievable? Radio show which brought (and still brings) prominent Christians and sceptics together for dialogue, he was able to have a ringside seat to many of the proponents and arguments of New Atheism. His new book ‘The surprising rebirth of the belief in God’ covers the downfall of the movement along with the cultural shift that seems to be happening. You can also listen to the podcast docu-series with the same title, you won't regret it.

Other References:

• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
• Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate by Terry Eagleton
• 'Dear Muslima' controversy
• Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O'Hagan
• The Rest is History Podcast
• AC Grayling and Tom Holland Conversation on Unbelievable?
• The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity by Douglas Murray
• The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist
• The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
• Unbelievable: Why after ten years of talking with atheists I'm still a Christian by Justin Brierley
• Kant’s “What is Enlightenment?” Essay
• (Not referenced but super interesting and apt) Prominent Atheist becomes a Christian; 'Why I am now a Christian' by Ayaan Hirsi Ali for UnHerd (11/11/2023)

Got questions?

You can shoot Aaron or Amy an email about anything by contacting us at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to suggest potential guests or topics as well. No doubt there are heaps of important ideas and stories out there worth hearing!

Support the show

If you’re a fan of the show and want to help us grow our audience or make a contribution, you can sign up to our Patreon page here.

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 17: “How do we find our voice?"

Deeper Questions is a show that seeks to explore a vast array of topics and experiences in the spirit of curiosity and listening. This exploration will sometimes include heavy and uncomfortable themes that may shake us up and affect us in important ways, but they may also change us for the better. For this episode we have a very special guest joining us - the one and only Grace Tame. We spend the episode zigging and zagging through some of her experiences and reflections on life. I find her voice refreshing and something that can help us find ours in the midst of adversity and trials. Very thankful for her honesty and openness here.

Since being announced Australian of the Year in January 2021, Grace has become a household name as a brave and passionate advocate for a number of important social causes, but especially for the systemic change to prevent child sexual abuse. The Grace Tame Foundation works with government, not-for-profits, legal experts and educators to improve protections in legislation and to inform and educate people in our communities about sexual abuse and survivor issues. She’s also written a memoir The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, which we discuss at length here.

*Warning: This episode contains references to the sexual abuse and assault of minors, trauma, and other graphic content which some listeners may find distressing. Resources are available below if you’d like to talk to someone.

Survivor Resources:

• 1800 RESPECT - 1800 737 732
• Bravehearts
• Grace Tame Foundation

Other References:

• Silver Bullet Podcast
• Grace's commissioned piece for John Cleese
• Georgia M. Winters & Elizabeth L. Jeglic (2016): Stages of Sexual Grooming:Recognizing Potentially Predatory Behaviors of Child Molesters, Deviant Behavior
• Review of ‘The Game’ on the Podcast “If Books Could Kill”
• Grace’s article on Crikey
• Spotlight movie (2015)

Got questions?

You can shoot Aaron or Amy an email about anything by contacting us at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to suggest potential guests or topics as well. No doubt there are heaps of important ideas and stories out there worth hearing!

Support the show

If you’re a fan of the show and want to help us grow our audience or make a contribution, you can sign up to our Patreon page here.

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios

Episode 16: "What does healthy masculinity look like?" with Al Stewart

The last 50-60 years have brought unprecedented change when it comes to understanding, and re-writing our understanding, of gender roles in society. Today’s episode is not so much going to look at all the aspects of gender we could cover, but we want to zero in on manhood and masculinity. Being a man has always brought a range of advantages and power dynamics that we’re coming to understand more and more, but there also challenges that we’d do well to try and dig into as well.

Today we have Al Stewart who has recently written a book on masculinity, called The Manual: Getting Masculinity Right. I’m privileged to call him a friend and someone that I’ve admired and worked alongside over my time with Third Space and City Bible Forum. He’s currently the director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, and has extensive experience in Christian ministry. We don’t tend to get pastors on this show much, but he’s learnt a lot about blokes over the last few decades, and has plenty of great insights.

Other References:

• Bridge Street Fellowship is the Sydney chapter of our National Men's Fellowship
• "Middle-aged men are among the loneliest in Australia. What could help to change that?" by Nick Baker and Isabelle Summerson for ABC Australia (13/7/23)
• Jordan Peterson’s ‘letter’ to the churches
• The New Manhood: Love, Freedom, Spirit and the New Masculinity by Steve Biddulph
• The Men We Need: God's Purpose for the Manly Man, the Avid Indoorsman, or Any Man Willing to Show Up by Brant Hansen
• The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy Pearcey
• "The growing need for ‘lazy time’ amongst Aussie men" by McCrindle Research (2016)
• Additional infographic by McCrindle
• "Modern Masculinity Is Broken. She Knows How to Fix It" by David Marchese for the New York Times (24/9/2023)
• "In praise of heroic masculinity" by Caitlin Flanagan for The Atlantic (30/8/23)

Got questions?

You can shoot Aaron or Amy an email about anything by contact us at [email protected] - We'd love to hear your brutally honest or delightfully encouraging thoughts on the show and the topics that come up each week. There's a good chance we have stuff on our website at Third Space too.

Feel free to suggest potential guests or topics as well. No doubt there are heaps of important ideas and stories out there worth hearing!

Support the show

If you’re a fan of the show and want to help us grow our audience or make a contribution, you can sign up to our Patreon page here.

Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios