John Dickson (author)

Last updated

The Reverend
John Dickson
JohnDickson-25.jpg
Born
John Dickson

1967 (age 56–57)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Education
Alma mater Macquarie University
Occupation(s) Anglican cleric, professor, author, speaker
Notable workBullies and Saints: An Honest Look At the Good and Evil of Christian History
SpouseBuff
Children3
Website johndickson.org

John Dickson (born 1967) is an Australian author, Anglican cleric and historian of the ancient world, largely focusing on early Christianity and Judaism. Since 2022, he has been a professor at the graduate school of Wheaton College in the United States. Since 2019 he has hosted the Undeceptions podcast.

Contents

Early life

Dickson was educated at Mosman High School, Sydney, and grew up in what he describes as "a typical Aussie home". [1] His family was not religious and rarely discussed spiritual matters. Dickson recalls that he had "never been inside a church before he was sixteen". [2]

On 12 October 1976, Dickson's father died in the Indian Airlines Flight 171 disaster at Bombay Airport. [3] Though only nine, the event raised philosophical questions, asking his mother "Why did God let Dad's plane crash?" [4] [5] [6] In high school, Dickson was a "low performer". [4] He attended Christian Scripture Class (SRE) in the pursuit of a "pleasant way to pass half an hour" and to "ask questions to make the volunteers look stupid". [1] By 15, he had become intrigued by the Christian faith, particularly through a teacher who "presented Jesus in an articulate, funny and intelligent way". [4]

Dickson became strongly interested in historical accounts of Jesus Christ, becoming a “fan of Jesus, and then at 16 a follower of Jesus". [2] He became the lead singer of the Christian rock band In The Silence from the late 1980s to the early 90s, playing up to six shows a week, often sharing his new faith. [7]

Education

Dickson began studying at Moore College in 1993, where he later graduated with a first-class honours degree in theology. [8] [9] A PhD in ancient history from Macquarie University followed, with the university making him an honorary fellow in the Department of Ancient History. [10] He also taught a course on the Historical Jesus for the Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Sydney. [11] Dickson later became a visiting academic of the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, [5] and in 2019 he was appointed as the Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College in Melbourne. [6] Following years of touring and performance, Dickson's work became been marked by pastoral ministry, podcasting, academic work and writing. [12]

Writing and ministry

Dickson in a live event with author Stan Grant in 2024 Stan Grant in Conversation with John Dickson North Sydney 11 July 2024.jpg
Dickson in a live event with author Stan Grant in 2024

Dickson was ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia, serving in several Sydney churches. He was the senior minister of St Andrew's Anglican Church, Roseville, from 2009 to 2019. [13]

As his pastoral ministry began, Dickson began writing books. Short, evangelistic works at first, such as A Sneaking Suspicion (1995) and Simply Christianity: Beyond Religion. Two of his books, The Christ Files and Life of Jesus, became nationally broadcast documentaries. [13] [14] Dickson's output, described as "prolific", has occasionally been surrounded by controversy, both inside and outside the church. [12] [15]

In 2012, Dickson wrote Hearing Her Voice: A Case for Women Giving Sermons. In it, he argued that 1 Timothy 2:12 ("I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man") does not mean that women cannot give sermons today, since the "teaching" referred to meant "preserving and laying down the traditions handed on by the apostles", and that does not happen in most sermons today. Matthias Media published a volume of essays in response to Dickson's book: Women, Sermons and the Bible: Essays interacting with John Dickson's Hearing Her Voice. [16]

On 6 May 2015, Dickson's book A Sneaking Suspicion (1995) was banned from state schools by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities on the basis of a "potential risk to students in the delivery of this material, if not taught sensitively and in an age appropriate manner". [17] [18] The ban was lifted on 18 May 2015. [19]

Dickson frequently produces opinion pieces, such as for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. [20] In one column, he offered to eat a page out of his Bible "if someone could find a full Professor of Ancient History, Classics or New Testament in any real university in the world who argues that Jesus never lived." [20] As of 2021 he claims his personal copy of the scriptures remains safe. [21] Some of his public statements on the Christian faith involve historical perspectives, such as the contrast between the high value the New Testament holds for empathy, in contrast with the views of antiquity, which saw empathy not as a virtue, but a weakness. [22]

In 2018, Dickson announced that he was stepping down from church ministry to concentrate on public engagement. [23] In 2007, Dickson became the founding director of the Centre for Public Christianity and was there until 2019. [5] In September 2019, he created "Undeceptions", a media and podcast platform. [24] It was the leading religious podcast in Australia, UK and Ireland by 2020. [25] In 2022, Undeceptions became a podcast network with existing podcast With All Due Respect (hosted by Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit), Small Wonders (hosted by Laurel Moffatt) and Delorean Philosophy (hosted by Steve McAlpine). [26] [27] The masthead series also features live events. [28]

Dickson has been a fellow of Macquarie's Department of Ancient History (2004–17), [5] visiting academic of the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, in the UK (2017–2020) [5] and is distinguished fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College, Melbourne, which was announced in March 2019. [29] Wheaton College in Illinois appointed Dickson as its first Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Evangelism and Distinguished Scholar in Public Christianity in 2022. [14] In this role Dickson has argued for a more respectful approach to engaging the secular world:

"Evangelicals in America (maybe Australia as well?) should understand that we're a minority, "eager dinner guests at someone else's banquet. We are happy ... to share our perspective. But we are always respectful, always humble, because this isn’t our home." [30]

Books

Young readers

Related Research Articles

The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries and individual activists who oppose religious sects that they consider cults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hick</span> English philosopher of religion and theologian

John Harwood Hick was an English-born philosopher of religion and theologian who taught in the United States for the larger part of his career. In philosophical theology, he made contributions in the areas of theodicy, eschatology, and Christology, and in the philosophy of religion he contributed to the areas of epistemology of religion and religious pluralism.

Doug Pagitt is a progressive evangelical pastor and author associated with the emerging church movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Carnley</span> Australian Anglican bishop

Peter Frederick Carnley is a retired Australian Anglican bishop and author. He was the Archbishop of Perth from 1981 to 2005 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia from 2000 until May 2005. He ordained the first women priests in Australia. In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. He is married to Ann Carnley. He also founded the school Peter Carnley Anglican Community School.

Walter Ralston Martin was an American Baptist Christian minister and author who founded the Christian Research Institute in 1960 as a parachurch ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics and in countercult apologetics. As the author of the influential The Kingdom of the Cults (1965), he has been dubbed by the conservative Christian columnist Michael J. McManus, the "godfather of the anti-cult movement".

Donald Arthur Carson is a Canadian evangelical theologian. He is a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and president and co-founder of the Gospel Coalition. He has written or edited about sixty books and served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Noll</span> American historian (born 1946)

Mark Allan Noll is an American historian specializing in the history of Christianity in the United States. He holds the position of Research Professor of History at Regent College, having previously been Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. Noll is a Reformed evangelical Christian and in 2005 was named by Time magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bampton Lectures</span> Christian theological lecture series

The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian McLaren</span> American pastor and author (born 1956)

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, public theologian and was a leading figure in the emerging church movement. McLaren is often associated with postmodern Christianity.

The lordship salvation controversy is a theological dispute regarding a soteriological question within Christianity on the relationship between faith and works. This debate has been notably present among some non-denominational and Evangelical churches in North America at least since the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Bell</span> American author and pastor

Robert Holmes Bell Jr. is an American author, speaker, playwright, musician and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest-growing churches in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Loader</span> Australian theologian

William Ronald George Loader is a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia and emeritus professor of New Testament at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

John Carl Ortberg Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, speaker, and the former senior pastor of Menlo Church in Menlo Park, California, an ECO Presbyterian church with more than 4,000 members. Ortberg has published many books, including the 2008 ECPA Christian Book Award winner When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box, and the 2002 Christianity Today Book Award winner If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. Another of his publications, The Life You've Always Wanted, has sold more than 500,000 copies as of 2008. On August 13, 2012, Ortberg's book Who Is This Man? debuted at #3 on the New Release chart at Amazon.com.

Eternity is an Australian Christian media service that produces a bi-annual magazine and a daily online publication. Published by Bible Society Australia, Eternity is interdenominational, and is not affiliated with any particular church.

The Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) is an Australian not-for-profit media company that supplies mainstream media and the general public with material about the relevance of Christianity in the 21st century. The Centre has no denominational affiliation and seeks to represent historic Christianity as defined by the Nicene Creed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Caine</span> Australian activist, evangelist, and speaker

Christine Caine is an Australian activist, evangelist, author, and public speaker.

Michael F. Bird is an Australian New Testament scholar, theologian and Anglican priest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Hill (theologian)</span> Australian theologian (born 1969)

Graham Joseph Hill is an Australian theologian who is a former associate professor of the University of Divinity. Since 2024, he works as a mission catalyst for the Uniting Church in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Hill is a research associate with the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts, US, and an associate professor and research fellow at Charles Sturt University. Hill is the author or editor of eighteen theological books. His research focuses on World Christianity but he is also known for his work on biblical egalitarianism and women theologians of global Christianity. He has published in the areas of missiology, applied theology, Christian spirituality and global and ecumenical approaches to missional ecclesiology.

Lynn H. Cohick is an American New Testament scholar, author, professor, and administrator at Houston Christian University.

Brian Steven Rosner is an Australian theologian and academic who was the Principal of Ridley College (Melbourne) between 2012 and 2024. He has authored many books including Known by God: A Biblical Theology of Personal Identity amongst others.

References

  1. 1 2 "Episode 14: John Dickson: A Public Advocate for the Christian Faith". Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 "A lifetime ambition to be a "public Christian"". Undeceptions. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Dickson, John (November 2019). If I Were God, I'd End All the Pain. Matthias Media. ISBN   978-1-925424-62-1. OCLC   1137554842.
  4. 1 2 3 "Interview: John Dickson author, academic, and musician". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bio - John Dickson" . Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 "John Dickson". Ridley College (Melbourne) . Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "John Dickson « History Makers Radio" . Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. ↑ Lim, Anne (18 December 2023). "Musician turned historian owes his faith to two women - Eternity News" . Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  9. ↑ College, Wheaton. "John Dickson". Wheaton College. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  10. ↑ https://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=273624 Archived 7 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine [ bare URL PDF ]
  11. ↑ "Department of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies – Honorary Associates", University of Sydney
  12. 1 2 Sheridan, Greg (23 July 2022). "Lost in the Secular Dessert: Christianity Under Siege" . The Australian . Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  13. 1 2 Abbott, Rebecca (12 December 2018). "John Dickson steps down from church ministry - Eternity News" . Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  14. 1 2 Lim, Anne (13 July 2022). "The spring break that lured John and Buff Dickson to Chicago - Eternity News". www.eternitynews.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Josh (16 January 2017). "Book Review – Dickson, J., Hearing Her Voice A Case for Women Giving Sermons". The Scripture Says. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Windsor, Lionel (2 February 2015). "Preaching sermons and shepherding the flock: What's the connection?". Moore Theological College. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Book ban reversed" . Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Piccoli, Adrian. "Letter to His Grace the Most Reverend Dr G Davies" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  19. ↑ Moore, Natasha (5 June 2015). "Religion still has a worthwhile place in the classroom". ABC News . Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Historians and the historicity of Jesus". ABC Religion & Ethics. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "Why historians don't doubt Jesus existed". ABC Religion & Ethics. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ↑ Wehner, Peter (24 December 2023). "Opinion | This Is Why Jesus Wept". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  23. ↑ Abbott, Rebecca (12 December 2018). "John Dickson steps down from church ministry". Eternity . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  24. ↑ "Season 1". Undeceptions. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  25. ↑ Bible Society Annual Report 2020-2021 (PDF) (Report). p. 22.
  26. ↑ "Podcast". undeceptions.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.[ title missing ]
  27. ↑ "My New Podcast in John Dickson's Undeceptions Stable - Stephen McAlpine". 23 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  28. ↑ eliot.kern (8 June 2023). "John Dickson's all-star Undeceptions Conference for sceptics and believers - Eternity News" . Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  29. ↑ "John Dickson appointed to Ridley Faculty". Ridley College, Melbourne. Ridley College (Melbourne). 18 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  30. ↑ "Big And Small Purposes: Why Do We Exist?". Religion Unplugged. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.