by Daniel McClellan
St. Martin's, 2025. 320 pages. Nonfiction.
The Bible is the world’s most influential book, but do we really know what it says? Every day across social media and in homes, businesses, and public spaces, people try to cut debate short by claiming that "the Bible says so!" However, they commonly disagree about what it actually does and doesn't say, particularly when it comes to socially significant issues. McClellan leverages his popular "data over dogma" approach, and his years of experience in the academy and on social media, to lay out in clear and accessible ways what the data indicate the Bible does and doesn't say about issues ranging from homosexuality, abortion, and slavery to monotheism, inspiration, and even God's wife.
I've long been a fan of McClellan's videos and his respectful yet direct approach to debunking (or rarely, confirming) claims made by other Bible devotees. What I find fascinating about both his videos and this work is his singular ability to remove himself and his opinions from his discussion of Biblical content. He provides evidence and discusses ideas regarding what is actually in the Bible, not his personal religious beliefs nor how Biblical teachings should be applied. McClellan has helped me develop my relationship towards the Bible and see it as an anthology of religious stories from various authors who lived in various times and places, writing to various audiences for various reasons. It isn't univocal and it's okay if it disagrees with itself, and this is a better way for me to take the Bible seriously, rather than to force it to fit what I may want it to say to support dogmas and traditions.