Episode 01: Show Notes
Welcome to the Eternal Life Podcast, a series looking at Seven Questions every Intelligent Skeptic should ask about Jesus of Nazareth. This is a special free podcast series, created for anyone who genuinely seeks truth, but sometimes struggles to believe in the miraculous and supernatural elements of the Christian faith. I am Rory Vaden, and I hope this is a safe space for you to belong, without necessarily having to believe. I aim to objectively explore the logical, historical, and academic facts and circumstances surrounding Jesus’s life, whom many have come to call, Christ. I aspire to convince each and every listener, my sons included, to dive in deep and spend time exploring this topic. Delve into and research the foundational elements of Christianity, which include exploring whether Jesus was a real human living on the earth, that He truly was the Son of God, and that Jesus indeed was raised from the dead (dead in human form). This series is an exploration of the facts, from my source of truth, the Bible. I strongly believe that the Bible contains confident and clear answers to questions many of us have.
As we embark on this journey of critical thinking, exploration, and the pursuit of truth, we will delve into seven pivotal questions. Each episode will contain a factual investigation into potential solutions for the following thoughts:
1. What is Your Strategy for Defeating Death?
2. What Evidence is there that Jesus was a Real Person?
3. Was Jesus Just a Good Teacher or Something More?
4. What Evidence is there that Jesus was a Deity?
5. What Evidence is there that Jesus Rose from the Dead?
6. How do you get into Heaven?
7. What do we know about Heaven?
So as we dive into our first episode, we take a look at the first of the seven questions: What is Your Strategy for Defeating Death? Another rendition of the same question could be, “Is it Worth the Time to Explore Eternity?” Allow me to guide you through three compelling reasons that, in my opinion, make a strong case for at least considering the exploration of Christianity. We will look at each of these reasons in more detail, and they encompass:
Reason 1: It could carry eternal implications for you.
Reason 2: The Bible provides answers and can be a source of truth for your life.
Reason 3: If the story of Jesus is real, and there truly is a resurrection, then that means there is a heaven; an eternity. In short, should the account of Jesus prove to be accurate, then it’s possible you’ll never be separated from those you love.
I am not a pastor, nor a studied theologian. I am a New York Times bestselling author, an 8-figure entrepreneur, a Hall of Fame speaker with a TEDx talk that has more than 4 million views, a researcher, and simply, a husband and a father. So, from the perspective of a curious entrepreneur, a lifelong student, a pragmatist, and skeptic, and someone who believes this is a topic we need to look at, I dive into an exploration of the facts. I may have minor discrepancies in the things that I share on the podcast, and I will try to use plain, non-jargon terminology, however, I have taken a great deal of time to verify the factual stability of what I plan to present in this series. I want you to know that I will always seek truth — even when it’s inconvenient or it creates conflict. I highly encourage you to proceed with an open mind and supplement this with your own exploration of the truth.
Join me as we dig into the facts supporting the solution to our first question, rationalize through three compelling reasons to consider Christianity, and go over a brief overview of the Bible and how to navigate both the scriptures and other churchy terms. Thank you for tuning in.
