The Michael Shermer Show

Shermer Says 7 Responding To Fan Mail Who Was Jesus

March 8, 2026

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  • Michael Shermer frames religious claims, including the resurrection of Jesus, as mythic or literary truths about the human condition rather than literal, scientific facts, urging his student audience to seek deeper meaning over empirical verification. 
  • The core ethical teachings of Jesus, such as serving others and humility, are presented as valuable, even if the apocalyptic context in which they were delivered (the imminent end times) is no longer applicable. 
  • The historical elements of the Jesus narrative (a Jewish preacher crucified by Romans) share significant parallels with other divine-human figures in the ancient world, suggesting the story's components were not unique to Christianity. 

Segments

Introduction and Fan Mail Reading
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(00:01:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Shermer received a letter from eighth graders at Trinity Christian Academy praying for him regarding his doubts about Christianity.
  • Summary: Michael Shermer introduces the special edition of Shermer Says, prompted by a letter from Christian school students. The students have been praying for him and wish to discuss Christianity and the Bible. Shermer notes his new book, Truth, covers related topics like mythology and God.
Bayesian Certainty and Fallibilism
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(00:06:30)
  • Key Takeaway: All knowledge claims, including religious ones, exist on a spectrum of probability (Bayesian view) between 1% and 99%, necessitating fallibilism—the acceptance that one could be wrong.
  • Summary: Shermer explains that nobody knows anything with 100% certainty, defining this as a Bayesian approach where truth values are never absolute zero or one. This concept, called fallibilism, requires keeping an open mind about all claims, even scientific consensus.
Religion’s Moral Contributions
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(00:08:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Christianity, through figures like Jesus, has motivated significant positive moral actions, including charity, abolitionism, and civil rights advocacy.
  • Summary: Shermer acknowledges that religion motivates good works, citing Jesus’s teachings on helping the poor and loving enemies. Christian institutions are leading supporters of food banks and disaster relief in America, and religious motivation fueled leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.
Religion’s Moral Failures
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(00:11:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Religion has historically justified catastrophic moral blunders, including numerous Crusades, the Inquisitions, witch hunts, and religiously motivated European and American wars.
  • Summary: The negative moral impact of religion includes justifying the Crusades, the Inquisitions, and the execution of tens of thousands during witch hunts. Furthermore, religious fervor fueled massive conflicts like the Thirty Years’ War and the American Civil War, where Christians fought Christians.
Critique of Biblical Equality Claims
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(00:13:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The biblical passage often cited to support modern concepts of equality (Galatians (3:28) was intended by Paul to mean that existing social hierarchies (slave/free, male/female) should continue unchanged after conversion.
  • Summary: Shermer refutes the idea that the Judeo-Christian worldview directly inspired concepts like ‘all men are created equal.’ Apostle Paul’s statement that ’there is neither Jew nor Greek’ meant converts could maintain their status, such as remaining a slave, without needing to convert to Judaism.
Mythic vs. Empirical Truths
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(00:16:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Religious claims should be categorized as mythic truths, analogous to literary truths found in fiction, which convey deeper human condition insights rather than literal, verifiable facts.
  • Summary: Shermer distinguishes between empirical/scientific questions and religious claims, placing the latter in a category of mythic truths, similar to literary works like those by Dostoevsky or Tolkien. Asking if the Brothers Karamazov literally existed misses the story’s point about human nature.
Predecessors to Christian Narratives
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(00:25:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Key elements of the Jesus story, including virgin birth, divine parentage, miracle working, and resurrection, were common motifs found in the narratives of other ancient figures like Apollonius of Tyana and Osiris.
  • Summary: The life story of Apollonius of Tyana, a philosopher contemporaneous with Jesus, shares numerous parallels, leading to debates between their followers. Figures like Dionysus, Buddha, and Horus were also alleged to have virgin births, and the Egyptian god Osiris predates Jesus with a resurrection narrative.
Oppression-Redemption Myth Structure
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(00:29:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The Christian narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection functions as an ‘oppression-redemption myth,’ a common pattern seen in tales of overcoming adversity, such as the Ghost Dance religion.
  • Summary: Anthropologist James Mooney described the Ghost Dance as a hope for a redeemer to drive out usurpers, a pattern he called the oppression-redemption myth. This framework suggests Jesus’s story resonated because the Jewish people were oppressed by the Roman Empire, seeking a Messiah to re-establish God’s earthly kingdom.
Jesus’s Apocalyptic Context
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(00:43:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher who believed the end times were imminent, which explains the urgency and radical nature of his ethical demands, such as abandoning all possessions.
  • Summary: Bart Ehrman argues that Jesus’s ethics were ‘kingdom ethics’ meant for an immediate crisis, not for long-term societal welfare or personal happiness. Because Jesus expected the end of the age soon, his followers were told to live radically, selling possessions and serving others, as the powerful would be humbled and the lowly exalted.
The Deeper Truth of Resurrection
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(00:51:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Insisting the resurrection must be literally true misses the deeper mythical truth that the story conveys: the importance of forgiveness, starting over, and creating a ‘heaven on earth.’
  • Summary: Shermer asserts that the literal truth of the resurrection is secondary to the story’s function as a metaphor for forgiveness and renewal. The most important message is making this world better, which is the core ethical teaching of Jesus, regardless of post-mortem events.