Dr John Dickson thinks, writes, and speaks. Starting out as a singer-songwriter, he now works as an author, academic, and media presenter. In 2007 he co-founded (with Dr Greg Clarke) the Centre for Public Christianity, and has published 18 books and three TV documentaries. He teaches ‘Historical Jesus’ at the University of Sydney, and is a Visiting Academic (2016-2021) in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford. In 2019 he was appointed Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College, Melbourne. In all that he does, whether in the media or the church, creative or academic, he strives to be a public advocate for the Christian faith. His podcast Undeceptions seeks to promote clarity about Christianity in doubting times. Having lost his father in a plane crash at 9, John is sympathetic to the sorrows and questions of our world and values his wife and three children above all other gifts of this life.

You can follow John on Twitter: @JohnPaulDickson, and on Instagram: @JohnPaulDickson.

Is religion a pernicious force in the world? Does it poison everything? Would we be better off without religion in general and Christianity in particular? Many think so.But the critics are only partly right: this is not what Christianity was at its foundation or on its best days. Jesus of Nazareth gave the world a beautiful melody – of charity, humility, and human dignity – and while many of its followers have been tone-deaf, many others have sung the tune and transformed the world. Dickson provides an honest account of the mixed history of Christianity and asks skeptics to listen again to the melody of Christ, despite the discord produced by too many unbelievers. He also asks Christians to reflect soberly on their own participation in the tragic inconsistencies of Christendom and pleads with them to live in tune with their Maestro. – From the Publisher