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

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. 

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

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

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. 

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. 

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'. 

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!)

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

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