Submerge in wonder, surface with hope.
Deeper Questions is a podcast by Third Space (https://thirdspace.org.au). Opening space for reflection and intelligent conversation about God, culture and ideas.
Every week Aaron/Amy invite you to listen to fascinating guests as we enter their world, ideas and expertise to answer questions that matter.
We'll bring a Christian angle to every episode, but we'll also take the time to listen to sceptics and the place of doubt in a post-Christian world. Regardless of where you stand from a belief or non-belief perspective, we hope you'll take the plunge with us for Deeper Questions.
Ep 25: "Is Christianity good history?" with John Dickson (S2 Finale)
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 (https://www.johndickson.org/) is an author, speaker, historian, musician, lecturer and media presenter. He was the Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity (https://publicchristianity.org/) (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 (https://undeceptions.com/) which you ought to listen to straight after this.
Other References:
"I'll eat a page from my Bible if Jesus didn't exist" (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-17/dickson-ill-eat-a-page-from-my-bible-if-jesus-didnt-exist/5820620) by John Dickson in ABC opinion (17th October 2014)
Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History (https://www.amazon.com.au/Bullies-Saints-Honest-Christian-History/dp/0310119375/ref=asc_df_0310119375?mcid=5fa9f6776e7b38cca6033be63d665bee&tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=712377258887&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7710878713050061386&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072335&hvtargid=pla-1245835632840&psc=1&gad_source=1) by John Dickson
For the Love of God: How the church is BETTER + WORSE than you ever imagined (https://publicchristianity.org/for-the-love-of-god/) by the Centre for Public Christianity
"The Church of the First Fleet Chaplain Holds January 26 Service of Lament and Thanksgiving" (https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/the-church-of-the-first-fleet-chaplain-holds-service-of-lament-to-mark-january-26/) by Kaley Payne in Eternity News (26th January 2021)
The First Hymn Project (https://undeceptions.com/thefirsthymnproject/)
Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies you've Been Told (https://www.amazon.com.au/Christians-Hate-Filled-Hypocrites-Other-Youve/dp/0764207466) by Bradley Wright (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHZO8ZYL6_Awwz_fuyVylpAHk__EnXZHz2ks67KojT9TP81w/viewform?usp=sharing)
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 (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHZO8ZYL6_Awwz_fuyVylpAHk__EnXZHz2ks67KojT9TP81w/viewform?usp=sharing)
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7 Apr 2025
Ep 24: “Does Religion help or hurt social justice?” with Tim Costello
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 (https://www.micahaustralia.org/) and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity (https://publicchristianity.org/) (CPX).
Other References:
She Remains Enchanted (https://publicchristianity.org/thinking/she-remains-enchanted/) by Tim Costello in CPX 'Thinking out Loud', 5th February 2025
Streets of Hope: Finding God in St Kilda (https://www.amazon.com.au/Streets-Hope-Finding-God-Kilda/dp/1864488905) by Tim Costello
"Crown Casino: Gambling industry 'Australia's equivalent of the NRA', Tim Costello says" (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/crown-casino-gambling-australian-equivalent-nra-tim-costello/9065418) 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 (https://publicchristianity.org/article/ive-seen-the-impact-of-trump-and-musks-savagery-what-theyre-doing-is-cruel-and-lethal/) by Tim Costello in CPX articles (3rd March 2025)
Why Christians Should Care About the USAID Freeze (https://www.micahaustralia.org/news/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 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/health/usaid-cuts-deaths-infections.html?unlocked_article_code=1.904.WOGA.Q5jcIqzCUKI_&smid=url-share) by Apoorva Mandavilli in The New York Times (March 2nd 2025)
Isaiah 65 reference (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2065%3A20-25&version=NIV)
Micah 6:8 reference (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=micah%206%3A8&version=NIV)
Got Questions?
Email us your questions or feedback to deeperquestions@thirdspace.org.au - we love chatting about anything. Feel free to check out our website (https://thirdspace.org.au) for additional resources too.
Deeper Questions is produced by Production Farm Studios
8 Nov 2024
Ep 23: “Is Christianity Anti-Intellectual?” with Mark Noll
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 (https://www.amazon.com.au/Scandal-Evangelical-Mind-Mark-Noll-ebook/dp/B09HZNV1XX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XPIJGRP1SFVJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TUYplHroSTQ1bHXkuE0Xbo7bItJjrI0QwZgTK41t_3K9hZdNn6UAeof94_-ckwTC9QMnHwMcTOutCfV_nUfvQ8pYxIN7cd0Mrb8Z6FzlKtw.xGl7BGVizsTTT8Ur6DPCO0bjb7ZWHoLq5KnZ6BD1BfU&dib_tag=se&keywords=scandal+of+the+evangelical&qid=1731039508&s=digital-text&sprefix=scandal+of+the+evangelica%2Cdigital-text%2C285&sr=1-1) 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 (https://www.amazon.com.au/Why-not-Christian-Religion-Routledge-ebook/dp/B087JRXNJY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=6LSYGSDDKO5R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GY_Rsesm6SFbYY7h3C1kAMuFDAP--0W73lmMjCPNQrgzAibgWYfmOUo-_vqBf0i1.n0SzB5oSzZH2kJUq-Y-r9-u0tw7-CM-UivwxYO-W5W0&dib_tag=se&keywords=why+i+am+not+a+christian+russell&qid=1731039433&s=digital-text&sprefix=why+i+am+not+a+christian+russel%2Cdigital-text%2C264&sr=1-2) by Bertrand Russell (1927)
The Antichrist: A Radical Examination of Religion and Philosophy (https://www.amazon.com.au/Antichrist-Radical-Examination-Religion-Philosophy/dp/B0D91WJZNR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2WV7XCWIX4ZXD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.quMhDiq34KroSDMdtxDhbX9YwcAyLe3gdK8OjlhUwBk3j-8Y01qiYZW8cilPwHaDq6hZnv922AqT73j1kcgMLRIaG8207xZn_qdx_pFKs7rDOPULoQf1ztaccbjhEOTsP48Dm98QE31LUBbGFV_Fkon1iMB6lWJBCIo4pepmPW0uer2FrMiBiMINdzDnkrO33T9g8MmdG_2vKc-E6TkIgnokAycvDtcg6cTIaJe4SO8q2oRwTvSqe0GZuGO_WVr8sek5gLd46bPkyTTANrlvfChdsxuqb0ejqqd6G7YR4Ak.x3rQoMSNi9mn-7yAMyoJLfSG36kQGyTpkPnwB00vGhA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+antichrist+nietzsche&qid=1731039297&sprefix=the+antichrist+ni%2Caps%2C251&sr=8-2) by Friedrich Nietzsche (1888)
The God Delusion (https://www.amazon.com.au/The-God-Delusion/dp/B00NODY0BU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1S07JNY7OR7XQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.L38awwCNkg8rb6eaRL2F_gG2v-ifn64o10eorI7e2Qs9b0GxM65V5JFfEgXANUXDWQkwsBLMBvRyLtXO5HGBu9aRfJUSlZymTsDmdQRQkEyXXVHSjJv6KcTTfeMaxym_NoUMEBoZX0hIsH3H3maia4-3AMGMQ6BONT_ycieBvGzcz09XYIMdiuAe-FXYw3ByxBrjulLdQ72cnLVEpcdzON8FryjrNiEnOf2WCvj-BGo.49oZcQ9mZb6pgz1xpUX9R_zDTvtQHiV_MWnnDcElNh8&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+god+delusion+richard+dawkins&qid=1731039249&s=books&sprefix=god+del%2Cstripbooks%2C379&sr=1-3) by Richard Dawkins (2006)
The End of Faith – Religion, Terror and the Future of...
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