The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture's Most Controversial Issues

by Dan McClellan

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2025

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan McClellan is a brilliant bible scholar with a very good YouTube channel. Anyone who watches his channel will be in familiar territory with this book. My only problem with it is the title says "what we get right and wrong" but it's all just what we get wrong. Since Dan's channel focuses largely on correcting bad takes that people have on the bible, I would like to have heard more about what he thinks people get right about it.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting read from a scholar who spent years translating, studying, and writing peer-reviewed papers on the Hebrew/Christian bible. You must be willing to think critically and acccept that you may have been wrong about the topics covered in this book, though. I love Dan McClellan's slogan: "data over dogma". Truth matters, think critically.

[Matthew O'Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. McClellan is always insightful, fair, and hilarious. This book made me realize why I got a ‘B’ on my graduate thesis, but it helped correct misinformation I’d put into it. I also chuckled a number of times at the titles of different sections. Great book.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this already a fan of Dan McClellan's social media content, so I had a fair idea of what to expect: accessible biblical scholarship that takes the text seriously without pretending it means things it doesn't. The book delivers exactly that.

McClellan has a gift for grounding academic rigour in plain language, making the book a useful reference for anyone who needs to understand what the Bible actually says (and doesn't say) about some of the most controversial issues in modern political and social discourse. He challenges common misconceptions without being condescending about how those misconceptions formed in the first place.

I'd particularly recommend this to anyone outside Christianity who finds themselves on the receiving end of Bible-based arguments, or to people navigating the aftermath of religious trauma who want a clearer picture of what the scholarship actually supports. It won't help you win arguments with the truly committed, but it will give you solid ground to stand on.

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Dan McClellan is someone I haven't heard of before, but the subject of the book is the Bible and what it does and doesn't say. McClellan has a conversational style and makes a lot of references to popular music. It was interesting seeing the hot takes that the Bible establishes on a variety of topics.

I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Allen Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only giving 4 stars because I would have greatly appreciated a section focused on having conversations with others about the topics within.

Dan is not a Christian but that, in some ways, makes him a good source for a fresh perspective. We all have dogma but Dan lacks the Christian raising that makes us especially dogmatic of our views of Scripture.

This is a good starting point for looking into other perspectives.

[Chris Allmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty well written overall. Some spots here and there where Dan seemingly falls into the same logical pitfalls he accuses his opponents of doing (or at least doesn't explain why it's different when he did it) but by and large an interesting and entertaining read on the beliefs of early biblical writers.

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone serious about biblical scholarship, even those who take a non-academic approach such as personal study or in a group setting like Sunday school.

[Kevin Arey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book written by a viral Bible scholar. A lot of it is his opinion, but he gives great arguments. Highly recommend it.