Review
Title: The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (And Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues
Author: Dan
Publisher: St. Martin’s Essentials
Genre: Religious nonfiction
Year Published: 2025
Number of Pages: 320
Binding: Hardcover, Kindle
ISBN: 978-1250347466
Price: $27.90; $13.41
Reviewed by (Ryan Ward) for the Association of Mormon Letters
Anyone who’s been online on social media in the past few years has likely stumbled across Dan McClellan’s content. His videos usually start with some content creator asserting something about the Bible, followed by a shot of a sometimes bearded and (surprisingly) sometimes not McClellan clad in some sort of comic book t-shirt (he explains “the fit” at the end of each video) saying “Alright, let’s see it.” The content creator then continues to make some (usually outlandish) claim about something that proves some biblical prophecy or something that the Bible says that supports some kind of political or moral position (often tied to something racist, sexist, or bigoted). Dan then comes back and carefully, calmly, and thoroughly demolishes such claims, often (to the delight of his fans) employing catchphrases such as “laughably ignorant” and “pure and utter nonsense.” He is also, however, a good citizen of the internet who admits and apologizes when he gets something wrong.
McClellan is not just some random content creator who’s studied the Bible a lot. He really knows his stuff, having received advanced university degrees in biblical languages, theology, and the cognitive science of religion. His stated goal is to try to make the academic study of the Bible more accessible to the general public. He also explicitly works to debunk false claims about biblical history and interpretation, a job that keeps him very busy. His motto “Data Over Dogma” (also the name of his podcast) stresses his privileging of the scholarly data-based consensus on all biblical issues over any type of religious custom or orthodox belief about what some passage of the Bible may mean. He is articulate, compelling, accessible, and very entertaining.
Judging by the popularity of his content and the number of followers across platforms (9.3k on Facebook, 84k on YouTube, 212k on Instagram, and 866k on TikTok) McClellan has found a ready audience for his brand of no-nonsense biblical fact-checking. He works full-time making his content, trying to keep up with all of the videos he’s tagged in, creating weekly livestreams and episodes of his Data Over Dogma podcast and making appearances on a growing number of other podcasts. He’s probably well on his way (if not there already) to being one of the foremost biblical content creators online. In comparison to other biblical scholars, he has attained a minor celebrity status, as attested by photos of him being recognized in public or at conferences (always in his comic tees). He’s even been retweeted by Congresswoman AOC.
McClellan is also an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although this fact might seem to complicate things on his channel, he seems to have decided early on to make it as much of a non-issue as possible. His channel is generally strictly about biblical content, and he does not normally address his Mormon beliefs unless required to, usually by some content creator who blames his “heretical” beliefs about the Bible on his LDS membership.
His approach to biblical scholarship and interpretation places him squarely outside of the orthodox LDS position, which favors biblical literalism and fundamentalist interpretation over academic study and scholarly consensus. This, combined with his explicit privileging of marginalized groups when a scholarly consensus is unclear, makes him unpopular both with conservative Christians and Mormon apologists. For more progressive members of the church and anyone who is tired of the influence of conservative Christian opinion on law and politics, however, McClellan is a breath of fresh air. Moreover, for members of the LDS church, his status as an active member confers on him a position of respect and reliability as an authoritative source of information. In fact, his no-nonsense approach and strict adherence to the scholarly consensus has made him fans out of both active members and ex-Mormons.
It was no surprise, given his popularity, that McClellan was tapped to write a general-audience book based on his online content. His book The Bible Says So is just what his fans will be expecting. More importantly, it will provide a new way into McClellan’s work for people who are not on social media.
After a brief Introduction in which McClellan situates himself in terms of his background, training, and intentions and an opening chapter that summarizes the history of the biblical record, the book is broken into 18 chapters on various topics. The names of the chapters all follow the same pattern, beginning with “The Bible Says…” and then addressing a greatest hits of McClellan’s online content (biblical inspiration, slavery, abortion, homosexuality, God’s wife, women’s modesty, Jesus’s divine sonship, the virgin birth, and more). Most chapters are around 10 pages (the longest is around 20 and the shortest is 4) making the book an accessible and fast read. Each chapter has a helpful conclusion at the end that summarizes the chapter’s content and reinforces remembering the main points.
The book is written in a conversational style, frequently breaking out of scholarly discussion into colloquialisms or humorous asides (fans will smile each time they encounter one of his catchphrases in text). Most chapters incorporate examples and stories from McClellan’s online content and personal experience, further increasing accessibility and relatability. Each chapter also contains a number of notes and references to further articles and sources, but not too many that the presentation feels dense or inaccessible. One recurring feature that is sure to amuse is the use of movie and sitcom catchphrases, song titles, and lyrics as section headers, using everyone from Bob Dylan to Pearl Jam to Salt-N-Pepa to Metallica to AC/DC to Britney Spears to Blink 182 (with a tongue-in-cheek apology for each use).
All of this serves to make the book very accessible to a general audience while still providing substantive and rigorous scholarly arguments and discussions. The chapters are brief but feel thorough and comprehensive. One never gets the feeling that McClellan is pushing any kind of agenda, only summarizing the scholarly consensus. Indeed, the book could be used as a template by other scholars to increase their accessibility to a wider public audience.
Given the overlap in the book’s content and McClellan’s online material, I wondered if the book would feel redundant or repetitive. Though people familiar with his content will recognize much of what is presented here, the book format allows for more in-depth discussion of these issues and more citation of sources for skeptical or more interested readers. This results in the book being a useful addition to his online content, rather than simply a rehash. I can see this book being a go-to reference for people who want to know the scholarly consensus on various biblical issues. Furthermore, given that only a subset of the topics McClellan covers on his social media channels were able to be covered in this book and given the appetite and need for this content, I can see the possibility of future editions of this series.
Overall, The Bible Says So is a necessary and useful addition to McClellan’s online content and will likely bring many more people in contact with his unique and topical brand of biblical scholarship. I can see this book serving as the catalyst for discussions, being given as a gift to friends or parents who have expressed interest in these ideas, and as stated, serving as a reference for those already familiar with biblical scholarship. The many additional references and sources will help interested readers delve further into the world of biblical scholarship, a task that can seem daunting to even the most intrepid of readers. This book should go a long way to making this scholarship accessible to a wide audience.
For a specifically Latter-day Saint audience, the book is a needed corrective to fundamentalist and literalist interpretations of the Bible. These interpretations aren’t backed by data, are used to support politics and ideologies that are harmful to marginalized communities and reinforce an adherence to dogma and orthodoxy that stamps out inquiry and expansive interpretations of LDS doctrine and theology. McClellan’s work, coming from someone on the inside of the faith, is indispensable for helping to move the tradition forward in this regard. In addition, those who are deconstructing their Mormon faith in one way or another will find his work incredibly helpful, compelling, relieving, and ultimately freeing.