142. First Hymn

Undeceptions with John Dickson

In the 3rd century, in the Ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, a group of Christians composed a song of praise set to the pagan music of the time.

Now, 1800 years later, John Dickson is working with two of the world's best songwriters to bring this lost song - this First Hymn - back to life.

Along the way, they make some incredible discoveries about early church music, shedding light on what the earliest Christians believed.

This is the first in a three-part podcast series on The First Hymn Project - taking its name from the forthcoming Undeceptions documentary, to be released at Easter 2025.

• (00:10) - - Singing the First Hymn
• (06:31) - - How the project began
• (09:10) - - Music in the ancient world
• (16:20) - - Christian music in the ancient world
• (20:22) - - Egyptian Christianity
• (24:02) - - The Oxyrhynchus discovery
• (29:24) - - The music of the First Hymn
• (37:29) - - The message of the First Hymn
• (45:39) - - Hymns throughout the New Testament
• (51:04) - - 5 Minute Jesus
• (57:04) - - The purpose of hymns
• (59:01) - - The First Hymn performed by the Wheaton Choir
• (01:00:35) - - Connecting Christians through history
• (01:01:53) - - Chris Tomlin, Ben Fielding, and the First Hymn