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Dan McClellan is an award-winning scholar of the Bible. Today, we talk about his fascinating personal journey from academia to TikTok. And why he’s chosen to attend to questions about the Bible, and challenge people who want to translate it, or negotiate with it, to the benefit of their own dogma. We also talk about how Dan squares this with his own faith—interestingly, he became a Mormon at the age of 20.

As you’ll hear Dan say, he thinks there is room for people to have faith and think critically. And he himself does not build his faith on a set of truth claims that are unquestionable.

Dan is my favorite kind of nerd. He shares so many stories and tidbits from the Bible and ancient history that kind of blow my mind. We talked about how there was a time when God actually having a wife was very important to people. And then what happened when people in positions of power decided they didn’t like that. We also talk about how sex was understood in ancient times. And how these different ideas continue to play out and impact culture today.

 I agree with Dan that it's a shame that we lose so much history and we silence so many voices when we just try to flatten the whole Bible, and edit history. But I love how his perspective is an antidote to that—and how his work serves as a map for how we can approach these bigger questions and debates in our own lives.

I hope you find it equally helpful.

The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture

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ELISE:

It's really nice to meet you. Congrats on the book.