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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

John faces down some of our most diverse - and controversial - questions yet. What's the deal with circumcision? Why does John hate the term apologetics so much? Is Director Mark sick of John picking on him all the time? 

If Christianity is one big conspiracy, we wouldn't find so many mistakes and inconsistencies in the Gospels! Surely if the faith was one big lie, the Gospels would have some uniformity to them, united to deceive readers.

Well, that's one side of the argument. Others might point to the Gospel contradictions as proof the entire thing is made up.

So, why are there contradictions in the Gospels? Does this undermine their credibility?

You can make a pretty good case that the Gospels are the four most influential - and controversial - books of all time. But who were the authors? How do we know who wrote them? And why was it that these four books were selected, and not others? 

In this special Undeceptions Single, Stan Grant shares his reflections on God and suffering in the wake of the Bondi Junction attacks that occurred on April 13 in Sydney, Australia.

From the mid-1990s to the 2010s, 'New Atheism' dominated the intellectual space. A virulent, attacking form of godless evangelism, it saw people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens top best-seller lists, and draw huge crowds to their lectures. Justin Brierley was in the middle of it all as New Atheism rose - and then collapsed. In its wake, Justin says he is seeing a new openness to theism - but where that might lead is anyone's guess.