The Bible Says So cover art

The Bible Says So

What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues

Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Bible Says So

By: Dan McClellan
Narrated by: Dan McClellan
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.57

Buy Now for £14.57

About this listen

Bible scholar and popular TikToker Dan McClellan confronts misconceptions about the Bible. This program is read by the author.

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. For instance, does the Bible say we should be on the lookout for an antichrist associated with the number 666? Does it say women shouldn’t wear revealing clothing? Does it say it’s okay to hit your kids?

In The Bible Say So, Dan 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. Smart, accessible, and informative, The Bible Says So is an invaluable resource for our fractious times.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press Essentials.

Bible Study Bibles & Bible Study Christianity

Critic reviews

"With faith-based skepticism and a hint of irreverence... The work will best serve readers hoping to resolve specific issues with how the Bible is used." —Library Journal

"Smart and historically grounded... Combining fine-grained textual analysis with enlightening historical context, this is a valuable resource." —Publishers Weekly

"This book empowers readers to engage with the Bible without fear of questioning. For anyone seeking to understand the Bible beyond literal and inerrant interpretations, Dan's work is an essential guide to finding a more compassionate and authentic connection with scripture…a much-needed resource for the deconstructing Christian." —Rev Karla Kamstra, author of Deconstructing: Leaving Church, Finding Faith

"At last, a no-nonsense, go-to guide to what the Bible can or cannot be held to endorse. Combining characteristic honesty with whip-smart knowledge and scholarly integrity, Dan McClellan tells it like it really is. Whether you’re shocked or delighted by this book, I guarantee there’s no better guide to what the Bible really says—and what it doesn’t." —Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Professor of Hebrew Bible & Ancient Religion, University of Exeter

"Dan reawakened my faith in the Bible... Knowing the context of the stories to the people who participated in them, and what they thought at the time, makes it so much more relevant to today for me and made the book relevant in my life again... Thanks, Dan. Buy this book." —Joel McHale, American actor and comedian

"Dan McClellan is a myth buster and teacher extraordinaire of all things Bible. In his social media and podcasts he works to set the record straight and is unafraid to stand against the distorted interpretations that masquerade as mainstream today. His book is sure to become a classic in the category of contemporary biblical interpretation." —Liz Bucar, Professor of Religion, Northeastern University, author of Stealing My Religion

“Dan McClellan has turned me into a Bible-lover… The hallmark of any objective, critically thinking, “I ain’t got no dog in the fight, except the truth” scholar, is a desire to inform, educate, and elicit even more questions about such a powerful subject; all without malice toward his challengers.... Dan is an accomplished scholar, writer, podcaster, daily TikTok-edifier and most importantly, a total cartoon geek.” —Rob Paulsen, American voice actor

"McClellan brilliantly flicks to pieces so-called “biblical truths,” waves away rigid religious dogmas, and blows our minds with what this magisterial ancient poetic text really says about living, love, sin, and life." —Jerry Saltz, senior art critic, New York Magazine, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

All stars
Most relevant
Clinical analysis but I’d like to know more. What did the Hebrew God mean to the Hebrews in the time of Jesus? This would illuminate, for me, why the Jewish religious authorities at the time reacted badly to Jesus claim of a connection with the divine - an early example of gas lighting - twisting the claim into a charge of sedition, punishable by death by the secular authorities.

Chapter 17 - TBS Jesus is God.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Very informative and easy to understand. Dan boils down years of scholarship to something anyone can follow. It challenges us to not take the Bible at face value, but to look at it trough context and read it at it own terms. I will be coming back to this book many times.

Every christian should read this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

At the moment of writing i am only a few hours in to the book, but this book is Dan as we know and value him on TikTok.

Too many people misunderstand the bible, often on purpose, and many weaponize it to make it support what they want it to support. This puts dogma over data, but Dan corrects these errors in understanding by exploring the book as the authors and original audience would have understood the texts that now make up the Bible as we know it.

The chapters are clearly sepatated, each relatively short (20 minutes-ish), and remain on topic all throughout. Dan narated clearly and passionately.

If you like true understanding of ancient litterature, you will like this book. And if you like this book, you will also like God: An Anatomy, by Francesca Stavrakopoulou. I'm sure Dan would aprove of this recommendation.

Familiar, Scholarly, To the point.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Really enjoyed how approachable, understandable and clarifying this book is. Especially as the topics covered are currently being banded around on social media, and being used for self serving purposes. very eye opening in a non judgemental way.

How Engaging and Knowledgeable Dan is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I’m familiar with Dan’s work through brief online clips. It was Heaven to be immersed in his scholarly, fascinating, illuminating thoughts over all those hours. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Illuminating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews