{"id":25484,"date":"2025-09-24T12:33:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T16:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=25484"},"modified":"2025-09-24T12:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T16:42:00","slug":"biblical-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/biblical-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Biblical Scholar: We Sometimes Get Scripture Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A popular YouTube personality<\/a>, biblical scholar, best-selling author and podcast co-host will visit Kalamazoo College for a special event hosted by the Department of Religion<\/a> on Wednesday, October 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan McClellan will explore how appeals to scripture are often used to authorize beliefs that might stem more from human assumptions than divine text in a lecture at 4:15 p.m. in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall. The event, titled Bible Says So? How We Leverage the Bible to Authorize Our Own Dogmas<\/em>, is free and open to the public. He will discuss insights from cognitive linguistics, the cognitive science of religion, and critical biblical studies to show that \u201cthe Bible says so\u201d often really means \u201cI say so, but I need the Bible\u2019s authority.\u201d A meet-and-greet will follow his presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McClellan is an honorary fellow at the University of Birmingham\u2019s Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion and the author of the April 2025 book The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture\u2019s Most Controversial Issues<\/em>.<\/em> In his research and public scholarship, he examines the ways people invoke biblical authority to defend cultural norms, political positions and personal convictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, McClellan received the Society of Biblical Literature\u2019s Richards Award for Public Scholarship. He has more than 180,000 followers on his YouTube channel and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also co-hosts the \u201cData Over Dogma\u201d<\/a> podcast with atheist Daniel Beecher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on the lecture, contact Academic Office Coordinator Sarah Bryans in the Department of Religion at Sarah.Bryans@kzoo.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biblical scholar and YouTube personality Dan McClellan will visit Kalamazoo College for a special lecture hosted by the Department of Religion on Wednesday, October 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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