There’s just something about the Virgin Mary. 

She stirs up big feelings – she has for millennia. 

Some have perhaps given her more prominence than she would feel comfortable with.

Others have hacked down her statues in reforming zeal. 

Others never think about her, except when they come across a nativity scene in a shopping mall (and even that’s becoming a rarity).

So, it’s time we met Mary properly this Christmas. 

• (06:10) – – Mary in the New Testament
• (08:50) – – Daily life for Mary
• (13:46) – – The conception of Jesus
• (18:42) – – Science vs. the Virgin Birth
• (24:54) – – The Incarnation
• (32:24) – – Was Mary always a virgin?
• (42:14) – – Mary as mother
• (44:43) – – The Magnificat
• (50:41) – – Mary the prophet
• (53:15) – – Mary, after the Bible
• (54:26) – – The Assumption
• (59:53) – – Can Mary hear our prayers?
• (01:06:50) – – Have we sidelined Mary?
• (01:10:35) – – Mary for the modern church
• (01:13:23) – – Christianity and sexism

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. 

With 66 different books composed across literally thousands of years, it’s fair to say the Bible is a complex read. But it doesn’t have to be. The key to understanding the Bible is understanding the different literary genres.