focussing on the big ideas that shaped our world,
John is a public advocate for the christian faith.
John thinks, writes, and speaks for a living.
His journey has been an eclectic one. Starting out as the singer-songwriter for the 90s rock band 'In the Silence' (see his Music page), he is now an author, speaker, historian, and media presenter (occasionally dabbling in his love of music).
John is committed to delivering creative, engaging content, grounded in careful thought. John has a first-class honours degree in Theology from Moore Theological College and a PhD in ancient history from Macquarie University.
Professor John Dickson has held a variety of teaching and research positions before moving to Wheaton College. These include time as a Fellow and lecturer in the Ancient History Department at Macquarie University (2002-2015), a lecturer in the Hebrew, Jewish and Biblical Studies Department at Sydney University (2011-2021), Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College Melbourne (2019-2022), and Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University, where he is researching Christianity and education in the ancient and early medieval worlds (2015-2023). He currently holds the Jean Kvamme Distinguished Chair at Wheaton College, Illinois, where he is also Distinguished Scholar in Public Christianity.
John’s first book appeared in 1993, and he has since published over 20 titles (see his Books page), including the award-winning Simply Christianity: Beyond Religion, and A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions, as well as various academic works. He is currently working on the fourth volume of his Doubter's Guide series of books for those sceptical of the Christian Faith.
He has hosted four television documentaries, including The Christ Files (2008), Life of Jesus) (2009), and For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than you Ever Imagined (2017). His most recent documentary The First Hymn: Resurrecting a song buried for millennia, was released in April 2025. It tracks the world’s oldest Christian hymn with lyrics and musical notation from its discovery in the ruins of an ancient Egyptian city to the middle of a modern rock concert in the heart of America.
From 2007 to 2017 John was Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX), an independent research and media company. He served as Rector of St Andrew's Anglican Church in Roseville from 2010 to March 2019, before launching Undeceptions—a new organisation and podcast seeking to promote thoughtful Christianity in doubting times.
John has given well over a hundred talks a year at conferences, churches, schools, not-for-profits, corporations, and universities around the world. He is fascinated by history and philosophy, and about what makes people believe and doubt. His forthcoming Persuasion from Aristotle to Apple examines the intellectual and ethical keys to a good argument, from ancient times to today.
He values his family role above all others, and lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife Elizabeth and the youngest of their three children.
Brief bio
John’s story is eclectic. Starting out as a professional singer-songwriter, he now works as an author, speaker, historian, and media presenter. John hosts the Undeceptions podcast, Australia’s top Christian podcast which has a growing audience in both the US and the UK. He has hosted four television documentaries. The most recent documentary The First Hymn: Resurrecting a song buried for millennia, was released in April 2025.
John has published over 20 books, including Bullies and Saints: An Honest look at the Good and Evil of Christian History (2021). He has held a variety of teaching and research positions before becoming the Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Public Christianity at Wheaton College in Illinois in 2022. Before that, John had held positions in the Ancient History Department at Macquarie University (2002-2015), the Hebrew, 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).
A busy public speaker, he lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife Elizabeth and the youngest of their three children.
High resolution promotional images may be downloaded here.