From rock singer-songwriter to academic historian, prolific author and public Christian, Dickson launched the Undeceptions podcast in 2019. Since then, it has consistently ranked as the top religion podcast in Australia.

Dickson describes the upcoming Undeceptions Conference as “an outgrowth of the podcast itself, which is simultaneously for the sceptic and for the believer.” The all-star cast of speakers was chosen because each is skilled at speaking to both audiences at once. Dickson will be joined by Dr Rebecca McLaughlin, Rachel Gilson, Dr Sam Chan, Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker and Dr Christopher Watkin.

As well as keynotes from these speakers, the Undeceptions Conference will feature mediated Q&As, a live recording of the podcast and opportunities for focused time grappling with the theme: Making Sense of Christianity.

“I’ve always been happy to engage Christians on important topics, but even happier when there are people who aren’t sure what to make of the Christian faith who are willing to listen.” –  John Dickson

“It’s simultaneously a Christian conference and a conference about Christianity for those who don’t believe it,” Dickson explains. There will be no singing, precisely because that’s not the norm at a mainstream conference. But the Undeceptions Band will perform, including some “crazy renditions” of the show’s theme.

“It’s like a season of Undeceptions crammed into two days,” Dickson summarises.

A world-class doubter

John Dickson’s book, A Doubter’s Guide to Jesus

Asked about the unique approach, Dickson explains, “Maybe it’s a result of a long-term sympathy or affinity I feel towards those who doubt the Christian faith. I’ve always been happy to engage Christians on important topics, but even happier when there are people who aren’t sure what to make of the Christian faith who are willing to listen. My approach has always been to speak first to the doubter, while at the same time knowing that believers will benefit.”

Raised in a home without faith, Dickson says he has always known that his non-Christian mates “weren’t idiots” – that they had reasons not to believe.

His own journey has also included its fair share of doubt. “There’s nothing I believe today that I haven’t doubted at some point,” he says, describing himself as a ‘world-class doubter’.

“By going through the doubts, raising the questions, you come out going, ‘Ah, that wasn’t as scary as I thought.’” – John Dickson

Dickson’s academic path added to the ordinary doubts of a thoughtful young believer. Studying a PhD in Ancient History was “very confronting” to his faith.

“When I first did my PhD at Macquarie Uni, I was given no free passes. This wasn’t Bible college. And I found that quite challenging and worrying at points.”

But Dickson likens the experience to training as an athlete (“Not that I know much about that,” he quickly adds). In the same way, “it’s the pain that brings benefit. By going through the doubts, raising the questions, you come out going, ‘Ah, that wasn’t as scary as I thought.’”

A faith that can take the hits

After decades of study, dialogue and contemplation, Dickson has concluded that Christianity “just makes sense of everything”.

He describes periodically running ‘thought experiments’, taking on an atheistic position and trying to make sense of morality, emotions, consciousness, history and all the rest – let alone the life of Jesus, he adds.

“I find that therapeutic actually,” Dickson says. “As I press into those, I find myself bouncing back in a really relaxed way to the explanation that Christianity provides for all these things.”

“I think a really secure Christian is happy to doubt, happy to take the hits.” – John Dickson

Also therapeutic was reading the work of the great British philosopher Bertrand Russell. As an 18-year-old who had recently come to faith, Dickson nervously picked up Russell’s Why I am not a Christian. “But by the end,” he recalls, “I thought, ‘Wow, is that what the mid-20th century’s greatest atheist has got to say? Is that all? I found myself bouncing back with fresh confidence to Christianity, precisely because I threw myself deep into the atheist perspective.”

John Dickson

We tend to think that brash defenders of Christianity are the most confident. But Dickson thinks defensive Christianity comes from a place of insecurity.

“I think a really secure Christian is happy to doubt, happy to take the hits, happy to concede that there are some good arguments on the other side, and there’s some very bad history on our side. But in the end, despite those concessions, the robustness of Christianity is overwhelming.”

Here Dickson borrows an analogy from Simon Smart, a former colleague at the Centre for Public Christianity: a high jump mat is solid and immovable, but if you fall into it, it’s beautifully soft.

“Christianity’s like that,” Dickson explains. “On the one hand, it’s immovable; it’s solid. You can throw the kitchen sink at it, and it’s still there, smiling sweetly back at you. But when you bump into it, it’s not hard or harsh; it’s soft and embracing.”

So whether you want to sink further into the Christian faith or throw the kitchen sink at it, the Undeceptions Conference is a place for you.

Tickets are available now for the Undeceptions Conference, which takes place in Sydney (28-29 July) and in Melbourne (4-5 August), with the Melbourne Conference live-streamed.