This blog is an attempt on my part to provide a forum for my research, thoughts, and experiences as a student of language, religion, the Bible, and the ancient Near East. Originally from West Virginia, I’ve also lived in Maryland, California, Colorado, Texas, Uruguay, Utah, the United Kingdom, and Washington State. I was married in May of 2006 to my special lady from Utah and have three precocious little girls. I received my bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in ancient Near Eastern studies, where I focused on Biblical Hebrew and minored in Classical Greek. I completed a master of studies in Jewish studies at the University of Oxford in July of 2010 and a master of arts in biblical studies in 2013 at Trinity Western University just outside of Vancouver, BC. In early 2020, I defended my doctoral dissertation written for the University of Exeter on the cognitive science of religion and the conceptualization of deity and divine agency in the Hebrew Bible. In 2018, I was the Democratic candidate for the Utah State House of Representatives in House District 52, taking 16 points off the incumbent’s long-held 50-point lead. I ran for the Utah State Senate in 2020 against an incumbent with a 40-point lead and had similar results. I worked as a scripture translation supervisor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City from 2013–2023, and have occasionally taught courses at Brigham Young University as an adjunct instructor.
While I have a number of research interests that wrangle for what free time I have available, my areas of specialization are Second Temple Judaism, early Israelite religion, textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, early christology, the cognitive science of religion, cognitive linguistics, and religious identity. At Oxford I focused on Second Temple Judaism, and my thesis was entitled “Anti-Anthropomorphism and the Vorlage of LXX Exodus” (available here). My thesis at Trinity Western University focused on the conceptualization of deity in the Hebrew Bible in cognitive perspective (available here). I have also been studying the way these conceptualizations of deity informed the development of the Christ tradition (I published a paper on this in 2017). My doctoral dissertation at the University of Exeter examined the concept of divine agency in early Israelite and Jewish thought and practice through the lens of the cognitive science of religion. I defended my dissertation in April 2020, and have since revised and published it through SBL Press as an open-access volume entitled YHWH’s Divine Images.
In addition to the study of religion, I do quite a bit of artwork (some here, and I also did the cartoon for Biblical Archaeology Review’s cartoon caption contest), I was a licensed massage therapist (I let my license expire & just work on family & friends now), and I love to play golf. I hope you find something educational, useful, or entertaining here, and I invite any and all comments here on my blog. Have a wonderful day!
Daniel O. McClellan 
August 25th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Dear Daniel
Surprised to see my name in your intro… where have we met? If you are at Yarnton any time, drop in and see me. I’m normally there Mon – Wed, but best to email or call in advance. I don’t recall meeting you, but that doesn;t mean much (I turn 50 this year…).
Garth
January 11th, 2020 at 8:01 am
It surprises me that he doesn’t mention he’s an Apologist for the Mormon cult.
January 11th, 2020 at 8:17 am
Lol, Carol. You’ve been trolling me for literally a decade. You really don’t have anything better to do?
April 29th, 2021 at 11:07 am
He’s an apologist for his leftist cult. I asked him direct questions about his views on Right-to-Life issues as a both a Democrat and a Latter-day Saint, he has refused to answer them in a forthcoming manner.
April 29th, 2021 at 11:17 am
Yeah, that’s simply a lie. I very directly, openly, and honestly answered your questions, they just didn’t give you the rhetorical ammo you were looking for, so you moved the goalposts to try to find a better way to lay your rhetorical snare and I wasn’t interested in playing those games. That was a couple weeks ago, too, so the cyberstalking doesn’t reflect particularly well on you. I know I’m doing something right, though, when I have unthinking ideologues on both sides getting upset with me.
January 5th, 2022 at 9:57 am
Hmmm.. carol seems very sus
August 25th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
We met at SBL in San Diego when you were raving about how phenomenal it was to find jeans in the United States that only cost $50. I told you I was interested in the program at Oxford and we talked for a while about it. You gave me your card and told me to drop by if I was ever near Oxford.
Ironically, it dawned on me a couple days ago that you might come across this and not remember me. Thanks for giving me the chance to clarify. By the way, I’ll be in your upcoming archaeology of ancient Israel class. Looking forward to it!
August 30th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Nice new blog!
I’ll resist the urge to defend the “interestingness” of the Second Temple Period… for now. 😉
December 20th, 2021 at 7:53 pm
Hey Dan, I love your work and recognise your objectivity so bare that in mind when I ask, Are you a practising Mormon? And if so I would love to hear how you reconcile your faith with scholarly contradictions. I love and respect your work and it doesn’t (in my opinion) devalue your work and research so please don’t interpret this as a “shot”.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Thanks for the kind words Ken! And my comment was with tongue firmly in cheek. I love the Second Temple Period (reading 2 Maccabees and Josephus is what made me want to study the Bible), but I just can’t spend too much time away from pre-Exilic Israel.
PS – Ken, I see you’re at TWU. I was a week away from landing there for my MA when I got my acceptance letter from Oxford. Peter Flint and Rob Hiebert came and visited us at BYU a couple years ago and were great. Rob even reviewed a paper for me last year. I hope you’re enjoying your time up there.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Yes, Trinity is great, but I’m insanely jealous that you got to go to Oxford.
Are you doing the Jewish Studies MA this year (2009) or were you there for 2008? A friend of mine from Trinity was there in 2008, Chelica Hiltonen, if you might have met her.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I’m doing it this year. Let me know if you know anyone who’ll be there between now and next June, and just to make you feel better, here’s our little cottage (we have the top floor):
August 30th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Oh, yeah, I feel much better now! 😉
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Daniel, I’m quite impressed that you made the Top 50 just a month into blogging! I was just now drawn to your blog with your mention of John Collins (I’m working through apocalyptic stuff myself–academically, not personally).
It appears that we have at least two things in common outside our biblioblogging activities. We both had our first baby born in December of 2008 (hurrah!). Also, both of our full names sound really cool when said with an Irish or Scottish accent.
[By the way, you might want to discontinue your method of publishing your email address and opt for something less easily snatchable by spambots.]
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Hey, thanks Patrick. I appreciate it. I started reading Collins because he’s going to have a lot to do with my next term and I’ll be applying to Yale this January. I’m really enjoying his writing, and I’m looking forward to his more recent King and Messiah as Son of God.
Congrats on the baby! I hope you’re getting more sleep than I am. Regarding our awesome names, I’ll be heading up to Scotland with my family when I get done at Oxford. We’re going to go get some authentic McClellan tartan and visit our ancestors’ castle. Should be a blast being hip deep in Scots, although we say “y’all” a lot, so we may not fit in.
Thanks for the comments, Patrick. Maybe I’ll see you in New Orleans.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Hey Daniel,
I love your blog! keep up the good scholarship brother! I am always enlighten when I read stuff here on your blog. way to go man.
God Bless & Shalom,
Kyle
Mark 12:29-31
February 20th, 2010 at 1:58 am
Great Blog! you sound like me in your interests, and in your reasons for joining the biblioblogosphere.
November 10th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Dan,
I found your blog — well refound it. It looks like I commented once last October and without realizing the connection, you’ve actually been in my google reader for quite some time now. Going by a first name basis in class makes you miss the last name sometimes.
Anyway, looking forward to that pub.
November 10th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Funny how that happens, huh? James (the other MBIB guy from our LXX class) and I interacted with each other on the same message board for over a year before our program started. We realized at the programs orientation that we already knew each other.
November 21st, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Daniel,
I’m discussing with my brother, the likelihood that the book of Daniel has prophecy in it that was written after what it seems to be predicting. Have you posted or written anything on this?
I’m especially interested in the claims made about Daniel 9, that supposedly is “correct to the day” in predicting the number of years from Artaxerxes’ word to rebuild Jerusalem until the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Do you think that is the case?
Sincerely,
Bob Moore
November 25th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Hi Bob. Thanks for commenting. Daniel was definitely put into its final form in the Hellenistic Period. Pockets of the narrative may be earlier, but the prophetic sections clearly come from the Maccabean era. I’ve not written on this, although I am aware of the general scholarship. The number of years discussed in Daniel 9 is just a rhetorical way to reconcile the rebuilding of the temple with the clear absence of millennial-type restoration. It provides a new prophetic narrative for Israel’s restoration. In my opinion, any attempt to line up the years with any historical context misses the point of the rhetoric.
December 1st, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Dan, I have read that Job 37:18 (about God spreading out the sky/clouds as hard as a bronze/molten mirror http://bible.cc/job/37-18.htm ) is translated differently in the Septuagint. In fact the word translated as “mirror” only appears once in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning is uncertain even in the Hebrew. Could you please shed some light on the English translation of Job 37:18 in the Septuagint? I have discovered two different translations, one older, one relatively recent:
Wilt thou establish with him [foundations] for the ancient [heavens? they are] strong as a molten mirror. — THE BOOK OF JOB, from THE BRENTON TRANSLATION OF THE SEPTUAGINT, 1851
Click to access septuagint-18-job.pdf
*solidifications are with him for things grown old, *strong like an appearance of outpouring* — THE NETS TRANSLATION, 2007 http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/28-iob-nets.pdf
I’d like to know what the verse means, or if anyone can say with any certainty what each part of the verse most probably means.
Any assistance would be appreciated. I noticed that you were mentioned in the latest Biblical Studies Carnival as a biblioblogging expert on the Septuagint, so I thought I’d send you this question.
Thanks for any and all possible assistance,
Ed
December 1st, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Thanks for the question, Ed. This really is an interesting one. The Septuagint manuscripts have markings at this verse which show it is a Hexaplaric addition taken, most likely, from Theodotion‘s revision of the Septuagint. This means it comes from a very literal translation.
The Hebrew of this verse uses the verb תרקיע, which means to spread out. We’re not sure exactly where the root comes from, but it either has a fundamental sense of spreading, stamping, or beating firmly, or one of patching or repairing. In the Qal, the verb appears at 2 Sam 22:43; Isa 42:5; 44:24; Ps 136:6; Ezek 6:11; 25:6. In the Piel it appears at Exod 39:3; Num 17:4; Isa 40:19. It appears in the Pual once at Jer 10:9, and in the Hiphil only in our verse.
The Greek word here is στερεωσεις, which only appear elsewhere at Ezek 4:7 and in later quotations of both texts. It is related to words like στερεωσισ, “making firm,” and στερεωματιζω, “to stamp, trample out.”
In LXX Job 37:18 the translation is quantitatively literal, although not very literal semantically. That means each constituent element is represented, although the sense of each element, and their combined interpretation, may not match our reading of the Masoretic Text. This may also arise because of small differences between MT and the parent text the translator translated from. This probably explains why the first two elements of the Hebrew are pretty accurately transmitted, but the third, “the skies” in Hebrew, is rendered “things grown old” in the Greek. The second half of the verse is likely following the same Hebrew text, but the Greek follows quite slavishly the Hebrew: “strong as the seeing of stuff poured out,” rather than “strong as a molten mirror.”
The reference to the “firmament” in both the Hebrew and the Greek is likely the same. The skies were viewed as an expansive solid dome over the earth throughout much of Israelite history. God was the one who fashioned this expanse, whether they considered it hammered out, stretched out, carved out, or what. By the time of the Greek translation this vision of a solid dome likely didn’t hold, but the translation is more concerned about a very literal translation than about ideology, it seems, especially considering the bizarre rendering of the second half of the verse.
Hope that helps some.
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:23 am
Thanks! You wouldn’t know any more about the Hebrew term translated as “mirror” would you? How did the Hebrew translators arrive at “mirror?” Or perhaps you know an expert on Hebrew whom you could forward that question to, or whom I could contact?
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I can help out. Hebrew is my specialization. The Hebrew word is just a noun related to the noun מראה, which means “vision,” or “appearance.” The context in Job supports reading the word as related to some kind of metalwork.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Thanks again! By the way, I edited a book titled, Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, and have noticed that quite a few moderates-liberals come out of relatively more conservative backgrounds. Was that the case for you as well?
I’m also interested in ANE parallels to the OT, and had a chapter on “The Cosmology of the Bible” published in April in a book titled, The Christian Delusion. My chapter is not very confrontational at all, especially for theistic evolutionist Christian readers, though I do point out even for them that they are admitting the Bible begins and ends with myths. I also have received many positive statements from readers who enjoyed my discussion of Egyptian and Babylonian cosmic geography not just Hebrew.
If you’d like a copy of the chapter I can snail mail you one.
Also, have you seen Thom Stark’s new book, The Human Faces of God? Check him out on the internet, including his new collaborative site, Religion at the Margins. Amazingly adroit and scholarly take down of inerrancy, something that seems is always needed each generation.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Hi Ed. No, I didn’t come from a more conservative background. I would characterize my position before I became LDS as agnostic. I brought very few presuppositions with me about the Bible, and so approached it from a more critical point of view. Our faith community also tends to take a more liberal view of scripture, so there is little conservativeness to confront.
I’d be happy to take a look at your chapter. I’m always interested in other positions on Israelite cosmology and cosmogony.
I am aware of Stark’s book, but I haven’t had a chance (or the funds) to take a look at it. It seems his book consolidates a number of contemporary movements in biblical scholarship to point them toward a specific conclusion, and based on what I’ve heard, there’s a lot of good data. At the same time, I hold to distinct views on some issues. I’d like to review it, especially since it has a lot to do with my thesis, but I don’t know where anyone is looking for reviewers.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Hi Dan, I thought I’d sent my original query to two bibliobloggers, only one of which was Mormon. Now I’m confused, perhaps both of you are Mormon? You both were mentioned in the latest Biblical Studies Carnival in the Septuagint section. But you responded. The other person has not responded. And thanks again for the excellent responses.
I worked with a wonderful Mormon woman at the public library over 20 years ago, we both laughed a lot. I also know several ex-Mormons. And I’ve spoken in the past with a few Mormon missionaries. I’d say Mormons appear relatively liberal compared with some species of fire and brimstone fundamentalist Christians. But on the other hand I’m sure there’s some very devout Mormons as well who are very serious about their holy books, rituals, tithing, no caffienated tea or coffee, etc.
I also read that Mormons give more of their income to the church on average than any other Christian organization. Significantly more on average. And that a lot of sermons are about the necessity of tithing. Which perhaps leads me to the topic of the price of Thom’s book and your present financial circumstances. I’d be happy to purchase a copy for you, and send it to you along with a copy of my article on biblical cosmology. I bet you and Thom agree on a lot of matters concerning the Bible’s errancy, or questions pertaining to that topic.
Lastly, being a collector of testimonies I always enjoy reading about people’s personal journeys, especially any miraculous stories. I know for instance that shock-rock star Alice Cooper was raised Mormon, and had an infection inside his organ cavity that doctor’s determined that could do nothing about when he was young, so they closed him up and told his parents he was a goner, but his parents prayed and he recovered. Alice never wrote a song against religion for that very reason.
Of course anti-gay Mormons have gotten some bad press for spending so much money to try and tilt the voting on Proposition 18 in California.
And being a biology major in college, I recall reading that the genetic evidence doesn’t seem to support Mormon beliefs concerning the origin of North American peoples.
But nuff said, I’m sure you’ve heard it all.
I do recall reading something very nice said by an editor of Christianity Today about Mormonism the year that the Southern Baptists held their annual convention in Salt Lake City and went door to door trying to convert Mormons to the SBC. That was over 15 years ago I think. But he admitted that he didn’t feel comfortable with the SBC trying to convert Mormons via TV and billboard ads in Salt Lake City, and added that he knew some great Mormons, related to him, who lived in Utah and who had adopted needy children, and that he was impressed with their love and sincerity toward God and their neighbor.
I think everyone tries on religious beliefs and if they fit, they stick with them, if they don’t fit, they will fall away naturally with age and wisdom, or due to some other circumstances combined with age and wisdom.
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:51 am
Thanks for the comments, Ed. I’ll start from the end and work toward the beginning. I think there’s some truth to the notion that people try religious beliefs out and stick with them if they fit, whatever that may mean to each person. I can’t say that everything about Mormonism is a perfect fit for me (for instance, I don’t oppose gay marriage), but I’ve found that it makes me a better person and that, in short, it works. I investigated several other religious traditions before this one and never saw results like I see now.
I hadn’t heard that about the Christianity Today editor. That’s interesting, and not what I usually hear from Baptists about that experience. I had nothing to do with the church back then, so I don’t have any strong connection to that event, but I’ve heard a bit about it, and I’m glad that the LDS in that editor’s life could set a good example. Unfortunately, it tends to be far more influential when a Mormon sets a bad example.
On biology, that’s an interesting issue, but I find the rhetoric usually goes far beyond what the evidence actually supports. The biggest issue is what kind of geographic model the reader extrapolates from the Book of Mormon. Many traditional Latter-day Saints believe the book narrates civilizations stretching from the southern tip of South America all the way to Canada, and that the Lehite migration accounts for all Native Americans. Most academically-oriented Latter-day Saints will argue for what they call a limited geography model, which sees the civilizations of the narrative confined to a small portion of Central America, and representing only a fraction of the Native American genetic heritage. The former is problematized to a large degree by DNA research, but the latter is not. If you’re interested, a good primer on the question by a Latter-day Saint geneticist who specializes in Native American population genetics can be found here:
http://www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/Book_of_Mormon_and_DNA.html
On gay marriage, I’m not an opponent, but I think both sides of the debate are letting the rhetoric take over, which only serves to polarize the participants even further.
There’s a little “i’m a mormon” link in my sidebar that opens up my profile on the church’s website if you want a bit more of my thoughts on my conversion and experiences.
Latter-day Saints are expected to give 10% of their income for tithing. There isn’t a consistent emphasis on tithing over other principles in LDS preaching (things like pornography, finding happiness, being good to your family and neighbors, faith in Christ, fidelity to temple covenants, and morality are always the biggest issues), but it is something Latter-day Saints try to take seriously. Every month each congregation is also asked to fast for a 24 hour period and donate at least the money they would have spent on food to the congregation for local use in caring for sick and otherwise needy members. This is called the fast offering.
I’d be ecstatic to accept your very gracious offer, by the way. Books are sometimes better than food for a poor grad student, and this looks like a particularly interesting book. Your chapter will also be informative. A lot of my research focuses on early ideas on cosmology and cosmogony (one of my papers at SBL this year was on the notion of theogony in early Israel), and specifically within the wider Near Eastern literary context. I very much appreciate it.
There are definitely liberal and conservative positions on scripture and other ideologies within the Mormon church, but my experience has mostly been in the former. I’ve been around people my age and academics through most of my experience in the church. Even as a missionary in Uruguay I found most of the people with whom I spoke were closer to that camp.
I’m always happy if I can help out someone in their research. I didn’t think there was another LDS person blogging on Septuagint, though. The Biblical Studies Carnival lists John Meade as the other guy in the Septuagint section, and I believe he’s a Baptist. Is there someone else you’re aware of?
Thanks again for the comments and for your offer. I’ll shoot you an email so you have my address (I don’t often use the one above).
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Thanks for that kindly worded reply, I’ll need your address so I can send you Thom’s book.
I’m also going to read your story on the Mormon page. I only skimmed it last night.
On religions that work, they all have the potential to work, just as a wide variety of human cultures are possible according to sociologists who have studied cultures with some odd ideas and customs. A book by a sociologist named Harris, called OUR KIND, and other works by the same author opened my eyes to such variety.
I suspect that you’d like there to be more universally recognized positive evidence in favor of ancient history as depicted in the Book of Mormon, and less of a need to have to explain how it “might” be true regardless of questions raised by archaeology and biology.
You mentioned that some traditional Mormons believed that Hebrews occupied the Americas, while today’s more savvy apologists suggest a far smaller and less genetically distinct group — outnumbered and interbreeding with native populations. That reminds me of the modern day creationist downsizing of the numbers of humans living on earth during the time of the Flood of Noah. Today’s savvy creationist say only a couple thousand humans lived then, and in a limited area on the earth, hence, they say, their bones are unlikely to ever turn up, nor the brick walls of their dwellings, nor anything they made out of metal or wood. That explains the lack of evidence for pre-Flood man in the fossil record, small numbers, and God wanted to wipe all traces of them out completely. But do such answers satisfy the need we all feel for universally acceptable positive evidence?
Today’s creationists also resort to a “local Flood” scenario rather than a worldwide Flood.
By downsizing stories and expectations of ever finding evidence, one can believe, well, anything.
Take the inspiration of the Bible. Just downsize that to, “parts of it are inspired and truthful,” mainly the parts dealing with religious doctrines that lie behind an impenetrable metaphysical curtain, and hence are not universally recognized as true.
I struggled with such questions as a Christian. I would have liked more universally recognized positive evidence, including first person accounts concerning the miracles of Jesus. It would also be nice to read even in the NT about the “resurrection of many raised saints who entered the holy city and appeared to many.” Because those two lines from Matthew about the raised saints are succeeded and followed by the same lines in Mark who leaves out those brief Matthean lines of a tremendous miraculous resurrection of unnamed saints from graves. And the story is picked up again by no one in the NT. The ending of the earliest Gospel story about Jesus also puzzled me (“the women were very afraid and told no one”–so when did the story of the empty tomb first arise if they told no one? was it a later legend?) Some suggest that the ending of Mark was lost (and Christians composed three alternative added endings, which we possess). Both the ending of the oldest Markan manuscripts (“they told no one”) and the idea of a “lost ending” that at least three Christian authors simply felt they could “replace,” troubled my mind. How or why would God allow the original ending of the very first Gospel to be lost? And if the earliest Gospel was originally on a scroll, how does one “lose” the ending of a scroll, since it’s in a relatively safe place rolled inside the whole scroll? Theologians are still guessing concerning such matters.
I was also bothered by the prima facie evidence of the growth over time of the number of words and alleged lectures allegedly delivered by the raised Jesus from 1 Cor. to Mark-Matthew-Luke-Acts-John. Was the story true or simply grew over time as one might expect from legends accumulating and growing more descriptive?
And how many questions was I expected to ignore? Even the way the story changed at the empty tomb, from Mark and Matthew’s story in which the “young man” or “angel” say, “He is not here, but has gone before you to Galilee, there ye shall see him,” to the different story told in the last written Gospels, Luke and John where the apostles are told to “remain in Jerusalem” and Jesus appears in and around Jerusalem rather than “going before them to Galilee, for there ye shall see him.”
And then I thought, what about the way Jesus enters Jersualem seen by crowds shouting hosanna, but after his resurrection Jesus leaves relatively quietly, not in triumph, no crowds seeing him go, but is only seen by the apostles per Luke-Acts, rising into heaven. That’s pretty quiet compared to how he entered Jerusalem. Luke even adds that Jesus proved he was “not a spirit,” “ate fish,” then “led them [out of Jerusalem] to Bethany” from when he rose into heaven. So, the raised Jesus was walking the streets of Jerusalem out a city gate, no Hosannas, nothing (per Luke).
There’s other questions related to the resurrection that also concerned me. But in the end I didn’t see much point becoming a moderate and liberal Christian. I tried reading some moderate Evangelicals, like the witty and charming Robert Farrar Capon, that I enjoyed greatly, and also tried some Tillich (and even Reformed inerrantist apologists). But the questions continued to concern me. Today I tend to doubt that people can all love the same thing. Neither can I conceive of any infinite Being who would expect people to all love the same stories, and the same theological and metaphysical explanations. People don’t even love the same sorts of music. My former attraction/focus on Jesus also waned, but I must admit that was over a period of many years (I was raised Catholic, became born again, and was even charismatic throughout college before I began reading more widely concerning theology, science, history, etc.).
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Thanks for the comments, Ed. I agree with you that, from an academic point of view, a limited geography theory for the Book of Mormon looks like a retreat to the threshold of what the evidence can falsify. It didn’t arise out of apologetic contexts, though. Joseph Smith was the first to suggest it when he made comments about a city discovered in Mesoamerican possibly being the location of a specific city discussed in the Book of Mormon. In the text that city is south of a “narrow neck of land” which divided the northern portion of the land from the southern. The city that was discovered was north of Panama, however, which had been assumed by many to be that “narrow neck of land.”
The tension between those comments and the traditional view led a guy named Sorenson to write a book based on a geographic model internal to the Book of Mormon. He decided to see what kind of geography, independent of any known locales, the text alone described. He provided what he believed to be a real-world parallel to his model, and since then other apologists have been trying to fit his and similar models to different locations in the Americas.
There is also some decent evidence in favor of some of the positions to which Latter-day Saints hold about early links between the Old and New World. It’s not proof by any means, and the strength of the evidence is debated, but they’re not simply arguing from silence. Some unique Book of Mormon toponyms and personal names have been found in ancient records, and one scholar of Uto-Aztecan languages has even shown a large degree of overlap in their lexica, phonology, and morphology with those of Afro-Asiatic and Semitic languages.
On the other hand, I’m not really that concerned with evidence for Book of Mormon historicity. The different geographic, demographic, and historical models people produce to support and undermine the Book of Mormon rely on too much assumption and speculation for me to feel comfortable hanging my faith on them, or denying my faith because of them. I joined the church because of experiences I’ve had with living the gospel’s principles, and I remain a member because those experience continue to be confirmed and because it improves my life and the lives of those around me. I recognize that from a purely academic point of view ours is the weaker position, but I also recognize the methodological limitations of the academic approach and the scientific method, especially when it comes to questions of the supernatural. I operate professionally within those methodological boundaries, and I understand their purpose and value, so I leave my religious beliefs out of it.
December 3rd, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Thanks Dan for that excursus on the state of Mormon apologetics. I certainly can’t speak for your personal experiences except to say that positive ones can be found among all religions, denominations, cults, etc. And I also admit that a sense of certainty and a regulation of one’s beliefs via a church can produce a serenity and happiness that living with uncertainties and outside any social circle of fellow believers probably cannot produce. Though I also suspect people of differing religious/philosophical views can get along since we all live in the same general culture and work at jobs beside each other and need not haggle over religious beliefs at all since life consists of a host of shared and interesting things.
I also sensed from your knowledge and description of Mormon apologetics that such intellectual questions matter to you, the intellectual side of you.
I would probably question how many language parallels are due to seeing what an apologist wants to see, and how many might be due to inherent commonalities of language formation even in distant regions of the world, and how many might be pure coincidences.
And the idea of a city south of a narrow neck of land, sounds more like a cold reading by a psychic in its generality. How many other cities dotted that ancient landscape both “above” and “below” Panama and throughout Mexico and South America? No doubt some cities were founded near Panama as well, so that seems like a prophecy that one couldn’t get wrong even if one wanted.
Be that as it may, I sincerely appreciate your openness and your informative posts, and your liberal views. We share a lot of understandings on a host of subjects no doubt.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Speaking of Mormonism, I can’t help but mention Laci Green, a charismatic young female raised Mormon who left the fold. She’s quite the young spokesmodel. I suspect that women are part of what can draw a man to almost any belief system. At least that’s been part of the story for some of my friends, even for my best friend who was driven home in high school by a young charismatic female Christian, and soon converted after she drove him to a few living room meetings. I’ve heard other stories as well, and such stories can lead in any religious direction. I’ve also read some recent studies that show men are led to make less discerning choices after they see an attractive woman. *smile* Anyway Laci’s gotten 3.5 million views of her relatively few videos on youtube, is into organizing, and blogs about female atheists on the web, her deconversion, and about being the lone atheist in a Mormon family. Did I mention she’s also funny?
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:40 pm
I didn’t know a video link in the text would make it appear full fledged on your site. Sorry.
June 28th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Señor Dan,
I noticed your “discussion” with Master Bowman. In case you’re interested, here’s the list of all the posts on 2 Kings 3:
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Number six actually isn’t about 2 Kings 3, but it continues on from number five, so I included it.
Also, posts engaging Hess on Deut 32: One, two.
June 28th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Thanks for the list, Thom. It looks like our discussion may be over, but it’s good to have the resources. Are you familiar with Rob?
June 29th, 2011 at 7:43 am
I’ve read his book and I had an exchange with him on a blog once. I enjoyed reading what he thinks of my book. 🙂
Thanks for all the good work you do.
July 2nd, 2011 at 11:06 am
hey buddy- dont forget, you’re hosting the august carnival (covering july posts) scheduled for august 1. if you put out a call for submissions let me know so i can help spread the word.
and thanks again for doing it. really appreciate it.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:56 am
How do I email you to vote for a top ten biblioblogger?
August 31st, 2011 at 12:00 pm
bibliobloggerstop10 ~ at ~ yahoo.com. I’ve not been promoting it this month because I’ve been too busy, though, so there aren’t any votes so far. I will make a more concerted effort to do so in September, so I can put any votes you have toward that month if you’d like.
October 1st, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Hi Daniel. Let’s discuss OT TC (Old Testament Textual Criticism). Thanks. Philip.
October 1st, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Hi Philip. Thanks for the comment. I hope you will understand, but I am in the middle of a quite busy semester at school and work. This is the primary reason for not having blogged in some time. I got your email, and I will try to look over the document you sent along, but I’m afraid I have to ask for some time.
November 13th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Hello Daniel,
I am a student in Paul Derengowski’s World Religions class that you have blogged about…I am a muslim and have been violated in the way he is teaching these religions. He completely bashes the Mormon and Islamic religions..Me and another Muslim student spoke up against him as we quickly realized he was teaching Islam in such a horrible way, and proving our beliefs wrong in front of the whole classroom. He also made us do the mock trials and had me and the other student on the side of Islamic defense, as well as the Mormon mock trial, in which I was also on defense. I put his name on google, and so many inappropriate pages showed up where he is bashing these religions..I am taking them to the dean of our college, and I just thought you should know this.. He is an evil man! Teaching the students the wrong things about other religions.
November 19th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Randa – (Anonymous)
Seriously! How do you know the beliefs of Mormonism? Have you studied them? Have you researched them? I have lived in a state with a strong Mormon community. The comments Professor D made, I’ve heard before, without being given the opportunity to hear his research. You aren’t the first person in the world to criticize the Mormon beliefs. A lady I work with, her husband is an x-Mormon. His views on Mormonism aren’t any different that Professor D’s.
Thanks to you and the other student in the class we were robbed of the opportunity to hear Professor D’s research (30 years of education). Your religion was not portrayed to the class in an evil way – As you will recall – thanks to you and the other student in the class we were unable to finish the lectures of the Islam religion. Our class was lectured on two slides of his research. One thing you’ve left out in your untruthful rant – the book required for the class was approved by the school, not the professor. Your “prophet” is portrayed in the textbook approved by the education entity as a killer. The book your religion believes in – the Quran – also states this.
You’ve also left out the fact this professor has been teaching the same class, same information and same syllabus, approved by the education entity, for over three years.
Our class as well as the instructor was verbally threatened with our safety by the actions of you and the other student. Our class has been discriminated against by the administration of the school. The lecture was secretly taped which is against the Student Handbook. I’m wondering why weren’t you and the other student suspended from the school? You’re attempting to portray yourself as a victim and the real victims are the 30-35 students who have been robbed of the opportunity of learning the history and beliefs of other religions. Like any other class – you take from the class what you want and leave the rest behind. So anonymous, what do you think the class has “taken” from your religion based on your actions?
In the slanderous email you sent to the entire class, you stated you would not be returning to the class. However, you were there Thursday night. Also if you will remember – Professor D asked the entire class prior to his lectures on Islam, “when the religion of Islam is mentioned what do we think of?” Several people made comments. My thought of Islam – 9/11. After the rants of you and the other student – one of the students stated the way the two of you behaving is her true belief of Islam and found it scary.
As the other student left the class – he stated “you should be scared”. This threat was made to the entire class and the professor and is against the school policy – yet – the administration has allowed you to keep attending the class. Why hasn’t the academic entity taken this into account? You were also asked by the professor how well you knew your religion and you stated very well. I’m wondering – if you know your religion “so well” is the behavior you and the other student displayed to the class viewed as acceptable? You must be blatantly blind to the millions of people who are very discriminatory against your religion.
January 21st, 2012 at 8:47 pm
This is classroom fascism at best. Perhaps you should take time to re-educate yourself as it is clear that you have little to no understanding of non-traditional or non-Christian religions. If a professor teaches with bias and intellectual slant then their integrity is in question. Go back to school.
December 21st, 2011 at 7:35 am
I had just posted here on the Elkington Paleo-Hebrew matter. I used to be able to type in Paleo-Hebrew letters, on an older computer now long since dead. Been writing with them for years. 40 years ago, I had a professor who used to pace up and down the front row of students during lecture, twisting his head to look at our notes. I switched to using Paleo-Hebrew letters. He was fluent in Hebrew so I to do something original!
I hope you have a great and interesting scholarly life ahead of you. I am thrilled to know that someone wants to pursue more than just business and money in this day and age. Thought about taking a doctorate at Hebrew University? What a city in which to study ancient Israel!
שלום וברכה
-David Natanel (Haifa, Israel).
January 20th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
[…] result of his bigoted approach to teaching. Apparently two Muslim students who had had enough (one of whom commented on my blog) repeatedly interrupted his class during a lecture and one made threatening remarks that made Paul […]
May 20th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Daniel O. McClellan, I would like to know where I can find pictures of all the messianic tablets. I would like to give a try at decoding them on my own. I would be so happy to get a chance to do this.
Thank you,
May 20th, 2012 at 8:53 am
You can find all the photos that are available here: https://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/jordan-codices-photos/
October 31st, 2012 at 8:48 am
For some years now, I’ve been an on-again, off-again investigator. Thank you for posting some of your information on here… it’s very helpful.
April 8th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
I note you extensively quote from Tom Verenna.
I would not believe a word Verenna says. Verenna makes reviews without reading the book, and writes with an agenda rather than with balance. And then when he is caught out with errors and lies, he hides behind censorship like a little child, and will not debate his mistakes.
Tom Verenna biography:
http://thomasverenna.blogspot.nl
[Ed. note: please see blog owner’s response here]
June 23rd, 2013 at 7:32 pm
I notice you don’t mention that you are a polytheist yourself – don’t you think that sort of colors your “research” Daniel?
June 23rd, 2013 at 8:12 pm
Hi, Carol. No, my personal faith does not influence the academic positions I take. I’ve explained that directly to you on numerous, numerous occasions, and you’ve never even had the decency to acknowledge it, much less respond or challenge it.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:35 pm
Excellent investigative journalism, unlike other self proclaimed ‘investigative journalists’, on the deception found within the BAR Crowd. Question is, why does UNC-Charlotte, Huntington ‘University’, University of Nebraska and Hartford tolerate this academic abuse. Here in Israel, esp. in anthropology, it would not have been tolerated for a minute, but then it appears the above universities may have different academic standards. Keep up the good work.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:02 am
Shalom, as they laid that SLAPP on me I’m setting up a web site detailing some of their ‘awards’ under the title “More Amazing Dis-Grace” and with your permission would like to link your excellent article on their ‘Con Festival Award’.
Tabor won a similar award called the Hermes Award recently, if you did not see my comments on it, let me know and I’ll forward it. BTW, what you noted is not their first ‘try’ as this, if you are interested there are more, contact me off line.
Joe
September 21st, 2013 at 5:38 am
Of course you may link to my post, Joe. Thank you. And yes, I have seen your recent comments.
September 23rd, 2013 at 6:16 am
Shalom, I went to their web site to get some info. about all their awards and like I and others have always said, it’s nothing but hype.
Case in point was their 2013 Canadian Banff Rockie award, for a film about anxiety in which they won first prize. There were but four films in the category therefore everyone has a 25% chance of winning and as their Canadian film was the only Canadian film in the category, you know the rest….
Joe Zias http://www.joezias.org
Anthropology/Paleopathology/Guide
Science and Antiquity – Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel
>________________________________ > From: Daniel O. McClellan >To: joezias@yahoo.com >Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 3:38 PM >Subject: [New comment] About Me > > > > WordPress.com >Daniel O. McClellan commented: “Of course you may link to my post, Joe. Thank you. And yes, I have seen your recent comments. ” >
November 7th, 2013 at 6:44 am
[…] But for this blog post, one thing I found quite notable was a comment made by Mormon apologist Daniel O. McClellan. Responding to another commenter who suggested that people in Joseph Smith’s time would have been […]
December 30th, 2013 at 11:36 pm
Hi Daniel, I came across your blog while searching for a McClellan family crest, and was interested in your explanation of the meaning of the name McClellan. Could you refer me to a resource with a summary of the McClellan family history, including when and where they settled in the New World?
I am also interested in the meaning of the different features of the family crest. My family is wanting to create one that is more personalized, while retaining some of the historical elements.
Thanks!
Allen McClellan
December 31st, 2013 at 4:31 am
Hi, Allen! A good place to start is the website for the MacLellan Clan, which has tons of good info:
http://www.clanmaclellan.net/index.htm
Then there are a bunch of websites that have other details about the name, the crest, and the history. For instance:
http://www.houseofnames.com/maclellan-family-crest
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/info/maclellan/
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/maclell2.html
Let me know if there were questions for which you couldn’t find answers, and have a great day!
January 24th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
have some books want to sel them
April 7th, 2014 at 7:01 am
[…] by Daniel O. McClellan […]
June 9th, 2015 at 7:18 pm
Hello. Do you have any suggestions on who I can find to read writings on a paleo coin I have? Thank you.
June 9th, 2015 at 7:29 pm
I can certainly take a look, and Steve Caruso at Aramaic Designs can as well.
June 9th, 2015 at 11:17 pm
Most coins are highly abbreviated and difficult to read without experience. Your best bet is the coin identification blog on Forum-ancient-coins. http://www.forumancientcoins.com
September 12th, 2015 at 1:02 am
Hello Daniel. Would you clearly give credit to the Persians for introducing the concepts of The Devil, end times judgement, and the whole internal & cosmological dualism to Christianity? I’m a former Christian and I was wondering if I was correct in my assumptions that Jesus turned out to be a Judaism/Zoroastrian mix?
The Christian explanation was that ‘After the Temple was destroyed the Jews no longer had a centralized place to worship so they had to universalize their religion.’ And then they argue that textual criticism on Zoroastrianism is all post Christian era. Also, are there ANY ‘Prophecies’ at all about Jesus in the OT that even somewhat impresses you? Although I dumped religion Isaiah 53 was always a little freaky to me. Thank you.
September 12th, 2015 at 1:03 pm
I wouldn’t “clearly give credit” to Zoroastrianism. There is certainly some influence, but influence is happening to some degree between all cultures making contact with each other. By the time of Jesus, though, it was Judaism and Greco-Roman worldviews interacting with each other. On messianism, Fitzmyer’s The One Who Is To Come is a great analysis of the Hebrew Bible and the development of messianism in early Christianity.
September 13th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Oh ok thanks I’ll check that book out. Also somewhere you had an article or paper on the God vs Gods debate in Genesis I’ll have to find that and read that too, I came across it in that City forum…I have to say you come across as razor sharp when it comes to witty come backs!! You kept Crushing some poor guy called ‘Eusebius’ haha I was dying. Did you ever consider technical debates against pro-Christian Old Testament scholars? There’s a guy Dr Michael Brown who enjoys a good debate, considered the best Christian debater against orthodox Jews, he knows the Hebrew like yourself. I love debates but unfortunately they always seem to have the SAME NT topics, a really good technical Hebrew OT debate would be so nice for a change. Thanks a lot and take care.
September 14th, 2015 at 4:44 am
Thanks, Dirk! I’ve not had many opportunities to debate about OT topics. I might be amenable to the idea, but I generally don’t find face-to-face debates very helpful.
September 15th, 2015 at 8:02 pm
Generally you’re right because debates don’t dig under the surface enough they are way too brief.
So Daniel would you say that you are an OT minimalist? A lot of your posts talk about interpolations. Are there any conservative scholars that you give more respect to than most conservatives? Conservatives who you disagree with but who you AT LEAST have respect for their arguments? I want to dig into some technical ANE research and what I would like to do is get material from scholars on opposite sides of the spectrum and compare them. I’ve already bookmarked a couple of your impressive articles (will take a few reads to fully absorb). Can you by any chance respond with some links of your most impressive work?
I’ve done more research by far on the NT side of the fence and there are a few conservative scholars that even have the respect of liberal scholars although they obviously disagree. Having never done too much OT research I was hoping you could recommend anyone who you personally think puts up the strongest conservative arguments? Who is critical in his/her inferences?
Guys like Craig Keener, Craig Evans, Darrel Bock, Dan Wallace etc are great representatives for NT conservative scholarship. They give very fair representations to the liberal arguments, they don’t attack straw men. I’ve read their stuff along side of a few liberal NT authors in order to get both sides of the argument. I’d like to know who the best conservative scholar critics are on the ANE side of it and I think that your opinion would be one hell of a good one! I’ve already mentioned Michael Brown but was wondering who you have most respect for (research wise). Yeah it’s probably a weird question to ask for your favorite scholar whom you dissagree with but you probably know what i’m getting at lol. I love finding the best 2 representatives on opposite sides of an argument!!
September 16th, 2015 at 3:54 am
Two conservative OT scholars with whom I disagree on a lot of things, but whom I also generally read because they’re quite informed, are Richard Hess and Abraham Malamat. My thesis advisor for one of my master’s degrees, Craig Broyles, is also very good. These guys aren’t apologists by any stretch of the imagination, but they are conservative in a lot of ways.
September 16th, 2015 at 10:30 am
Awesome thanks a lot!!
September 13th, 2017 at 9:47 am
Dan, send me an email and let me know how you are doing.
Paul
March 3rd, 2018 at 10:20 am
Hello! I am interested in reading your thesis from Trinity Western, but the link is dead.
March 4th, 2018 at 6:51 am
Sorry about that, Joshua. Here’s an updated one:
Click to access 256182_pdf_246075_57AF479C-6921-11E3-BFD1-EA582E1BA5B1_mcclellan_d.pdf
March 21st, 2020 at 4:22 pm
Dan, Send me your email so we can chat.
Paul Hoskisson
April 26th, 2020 at 2:39 am
[…] previously-held discussion, I am not the first Mormon to voice concern in this regard either. Enter Daniel McClellan, followed by a brief introduction to James White:Daniel O. McClellan received his BA from Brigham […]
April 26th, 2020 at 9:49 am
[…] previously-held discussion, I am not the first Mormon to voice concern in this regard either. Enter Daniel McClellan, who I will briefly introduce, followed by James White:Daniel O. McClellan received his BA from […]
February 6th, 2021 at 6:43 pm
Hi Dan
I am very interested in the changing concept of God from the early Bronze Age onward. I would like to read your work, however, the links to your theses do not work. Is this something that you can fix? could you email them to me? (I have downloaded your paper and very much appreciated the archaeological photos that you posted)
Kind regards
Penelope
February 8th, 2021 at 10:39 am
Hi, Penelope! I’ve fixed the links to my two theses, so you should be able to access them now. Let me know if you have any trouble!
April 23rd, 2021 at 8:39 am
Hi Daniel,
I greatly appreciate your blog and sharing of studies on the various topics. Could you by chance send me your email as I have a few questions if you have time for same? Thanks-
October 26th, 2021 at 12:18 am
Hello Dan,
I came across your videos on tictok and I was very interested in several of the videos you posted. Is there any way I could get a PDF copy of you paper on 2 Nephi 25:23? Thank you.
November 23rd, 2021 at 12:13 pm
Hello Dr. I was wondering if I could reach out with some question I have. I have been doing some deconstruction and quite honestly I am struggling.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:39 pm
I stumbled upon you on Tik Tok and love your snippets of Bible, Historical, and cultural context. Please know you reach a lot of people with fascinating and thought – provoking content and we really appreciate you.
December 10th, 2021 at 7:20 pm
Hello sir. I would like to ask, what does the phrase “ends of the earth” in Isa. 41:9; 43:6 mean?
December 26th, 2021 at 7:30 am
I am a very new student (personal study) of the history of the Old and New Testament.
I recently came across a few sources that questioned the translation of Isaiah 9: 6 and suggested that this wasn’t a prophecy of the coming of Christ and that it relates to the leadership of the Israelites after the Babylonian exile. I’m trying to find other sources to clarify this. Are you able to suggest further reading please?
December 26th, 2021 at 8:37 am
Hi, Debbie! Yes, Isaiah 9 originally referred to then-contemporary political concerns. A great discussion of the original context and how the Christian reading relates is found in the book The Bible With and Without Jesus, by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler.
January 8th, 2022 at 10:07 am
Daniel,
I’m not sure how active your website is, but I did see this post from the end of 2021. Recently, I have published two books dealing with science and the Old Testament story: The Infinite Creation, Unifying Science and Latter-day Saint Theology (Cedar Fort Inc., 2020), and, The Infinite Fall, A Scientific Approach to the Second Pillar of Eternity (Cedar Fort Inc., 2021). I have recently launched a series of blogs on my website trentdeestephens.com, where I will discuss scientific issues dealing with the weekly Come Follow Me lessons. I am very active in the Church and am a long-time scientist, working in the fields of Anatomy and Developmental Biology for over fifty years. Please visit my blogs dealing with the creation and fall. I would love to have feedback from you on my essays.
Trent Stephens, PhD
January 12th, 2022 at 9:59 pm
Hi Dr. McClellan!
I found you through TikTok and I’ve been absolutely fascinated with your work. I’m a senior in high school planning on studying Ancient History/Classical Archaeology at university next year, and I have some questions I’d love to ask you about your work and experience. Is there any chance you could share your email?
No problem if not, I’m sure you’re busy 🙂
Addie
February 16th, 2022 at 7:58 pm
Dan. I love your stuff. Did your time at Oxford or Exeter overlap with Francesca Stavrakopoulou. I wondered how your approach to the old testament and hers differ and intersect. Keep up the good work. I’m just starting a late in life semonary program. I am fasanated with it all.
Jamison Rhoads
February 17th, 2022 at 12:08 pm
Hi, Jamison! Francesca was my dissertation supervisor and the only reason I was at Exeter. She is a very good friend & our approaches overlap in a lot of ways. You can see her influence in my dissertation, which you can find by googling “deity and divine agency in the hebrew bible cognitive perspectives.”
February 18th, 2022 at 7:12 am
I enjoy your TIK TOK videos. It lends me to the question, are you a believer of any particular faith group? Also, can you respond to my email with the answer?
February 20th, 2022 at 2:28 pm
Brilliant. Thank you for scholarship and insights. I wished I knew about you 10 years ago.
March 29th, 2022 at 7:00 am
I follow your TikTok and in one you mentioned dictionaries cause more problems than they solve. For us that don’t speak Greek/Hebrew but want to dig in what are good resources?
April 9th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
You are amazing at the scriptures but your politics are not good. The Democratic party is the party of the devil.
April 26th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
Good afternoon Dan,
I am the host of the podcast Head On Fire, a search for answers to life’s biggest and smallest questions. I speak to experts in fields that are either overlooked or that people already think they know a lot about.
I have been following your videos on TikTok for quite some time, and I am so impressed by not only your depth of knowledge but by the grace with which you address the topics that come across your proverbial desk.
Would you be open to an interview for my show? I’d like to ask you about your work, your platform, the importance of good research, applying objective evidence to areas of life where it feels subjectivity is king, and continuing to choose belief in a spiritual tradition in a modern world.
I’m happy to work around your schedule.
Warmest Regards,
Don Martin
May 22nd, 2022 at 11:42 am
If I asked your mentor at Trinity Western about your Christian motives in your studies, would he say that you were studying to be an apologetic exponent for Mormonism to support your job at BYU, or to support the truth about biblical Christianity? I think you might have read UCLA’s Dr. Kara Cooney’s remarks about Kerry Muhlstein and his fraudulent Mormon apologia at BYU supporting Smith, Jr.’s writing of the Book of Abraham, calling him a pseudo-Egyptologist for using his UCLA PhD to pander lies. I wonder what your remarks would be about Dr. Stan Larson’s LDS Church funded intensive investigation of the accusations of plagiarism of Joe Smith. Jr. in 3 Nephi Sermon on the Mount of the BOM from the 19th Century King James Bible. and Dr. Larson’s conclusions. Dr. Larson has a PhD from the British University of Birmingham and was commissioned by the LDS Church in the 1980s, as B.H. Roberts was in the 1920s, to determine whether Smith, Jr. had plagiarized from the KJV. Dr. Larson determined that Smith had, indeed, plagiarized from the KJV to write the BOM. Are you an apologist for the Mormon Church, or a real translational scholar?
May 22nd, 2022 at 11:59 am
He would say I was studying to better understand the Bible. Yes, I have. I have published my own research on how the Book of Mormon makes use of the Phinney edition of the King James Version of the Bible. I am not an apologist.
May 22nd, 2022 at 7:35 pm
I would very much like to see your published study on Smith’s plagiarism of the KJV in the BOM, and to know if the Mormon Church published it. Please send it to me, if you will, at email nrnowlin@yahoo.com Also. please answer this question. Why would you not condemn homosexuality and homosexual marriage based upon the Hebrew scriptures of Leviticus and Romans 1:20-27 and the other Pauline New Testament scriptures of Greek translation in the KJV, RSV, and NIV, which also conform neatly with the Bishop’s and Tyndall Bibles, as you would probably condemn the viciously unnatural practices of bestiality and pedophilia, which are not mentioned and condemned in the New Testament? I read your article essay, “As it is Translated Correctly. . .” and noted how implicitly and deftly you used the LDS 8th Article of Faith to further Mormon doctrine without actually mentioning the Mormon Church. You are definitely a wordsmith.
July 22nd, 2022 at 2:53 am
Hey Daniel, I respect and admire your knowledge on religion but are you religious yourself? i know thats probably a stupid question but i’m genuinely curious, if you are or aren’t thats okay i just wanna know.
August 28th, 2022 at 7:46 pm
Hey Daniel,
Really enjoyed your article about 2NE 25:23
I’ve been diving into the scriptures about the relationship between faith, grace, and works and based on the scripture have probably a similar stance as you. I’m currently teaching a high school class on the subject and there is one scripture that gives me a bit of pause, Moroni 10:32-33. It’s seems that it’s saying if you do these things or works you get grace. I feel at face value this doesn’t jive with the rest of scripture on the topic. I didn’t know if you’d done any study on this or had some answers on this particular passage. Thank you!
Jared Brotherton,
September 27th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
I would like to ask you a question about Jesus/Dionysus comparisons. If you can take the question, what is best place to put that question to you?
September 30th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
I love your TikTok videos- so much fun.
I know you are busy but I wondered if you could guide me to a place (or do a video about) how to understand Psalm 110. “The Lord said unto my lord” bit has always confused me about who is sitting down on who’s right hand and how the footstool fits in. How can I find clarity?
Thank you so much for all your good work.
Robert H Lemon.
September 30th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Hi, Robert! Thanks for the kind words. The first use of “Lord” in Psalm 110 is actually a substitution for the Hebrew YHWH, which is the divine name. Rather than translation the divine name, most English translations (and ancient Greek translations) substitute the word “Lord.” So this is really saying “YHWH said to my Lord”––and here “my Lord” refers to a Davidic king––sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” The idea is for the king to let God fight his battles, and the king’s enemies will be cut down low enough to function as a footstool for the king.
September 30th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
Oh- so is that why the Savior asks “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” YHWH is the son of El, not the son of David? But isn’t Jesus also a Davidic King?
By the way, if I had received a reply from John Bonham about drumming, I would not have been more excited. You are a scripture rock star.
September 30th, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Oh, you’re too kind! The text is being re-read in the New Testament with David as the author referring to the Messiah as “my Lord.” Thus the question Jesus poses to his critics is “how can the Messiah be the Son of David if David refers to the Messiah deferentially as “my Lord”? It seems like a contradiction, which is why no one was able to answer Jesus.
September 30th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
I am just going to buy your book and stop bothering you.
RHL
October 13th, 2022 at 3:25 pm
Is the Book of Mormon true? And how can one continuously support there opinion of it?
November 5th, 2022 at 6:30 am
Hi, I appreciate your research and have looked through you YouTube and TikTok channels but couldn’t find anything on the dating of Lehi leaving Jerusalem in context of the Bible history. Could you share anything on that?
November 20th, 2022 at 10:43 pm
Dan,
I really enjoy watching your TikTok posts and I get a giddy smile whenever I see some outlandish religious claim and then hear you say, “Okay, let’s see it”. It makes my day.
As a Mennonite Brethren raised evangelical in an Alliance church I find it weird that you were at TWU and now work for the Latter Day Saints. I was always raised to believe that they were … are … a… cult. Are my childhood ideas not based in fact? I’m not trying to be mean or jerkish here, but the mainstream evangelicals at my church would freak out at me listening to, and enjoying, a Mormon scholar. Well, scholarship belongs to everyone, so, whatever.
Anyway. Thanks for your work and I will probably do a dive on your writings soon.
Clay
December 10th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
Hello dan.
Since I’m a woman of my word and cant sleep without holding to my promise to send you a little info as you “requested” on Instagram just before blocking me. https://www.atour.com/education/20080826a.html on the orrigin of easter. To keep it biblical, I answered the call to give you a little information its not my responsibility anymore it is now yours. All of this is very sad.
December 10th, 2022 at 7:53 pm
There is absolutely no data from the ancient world in that post that in any way, shape, or form supports your claims. It’s citing other conspiracy theorists’ unsubstantiated claims. That’s not scholarship in any sense of the word whatsoever.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:00 pm
Since the post is quite long there is no way you have read it all. Thats the first thing I would say to my kids, nieces, nephews and who more. But since you are a so called grown up. Yeah ofcourse as I said not my responsibility anymore, I’ll catch my valuable sleep now. Since you are grown up enough to do your own research. Maybe duck into some actual pagan research and not the Christian view upon paganism. Have fun exploring other religious views test everything to the word of our heavenly Father. Watch out before you send people astray. The penalty for a religious leader is very high on the Day of the Lord.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:39 pm
I’ve seen all these conspiracy theories before. I research from a critical perspective, not a Christian one, and I am not a religious leader. You’re just asserting ridiculous dogmatism. I tried to give you a chance to share some data to support your claims and all you could do was post more ridiculous dogmatism.
December 11th, 2022 at 3:21 am
I know you are probably very busy with social media, work, and family; however, I wonder if you have a email or other way to communicate. I have some questions and I wonder if you’d be able to help! Thanks!
December 22nd, 2022 at 2:26 am
Dan,
I love your TikTok videos. Your perspective and learning must make it very difficult for you to believe the religion of the masses that has developed over time. It seems the religion we are left with is a bastardization of modern mythology, perpetuated by those who have no learning on the subject, and heavily infused by political rhetoric.
How do you reconcile faith and understanding in an age where people today wouldn’t recognize Christ if he were walking down the street? It seems most people are looking for a White Conservative Republican to fit whatever narrative they were raised on.
Given your learning/education, do you consider yourself a believer and, if so, how do you reconcile your educated beliefs with those of the masses?
If I’d known you when I was younger, I might still be a Christian. 4 Christian universities and a doctorate later, I got further from my Holiness origins with each passing day. But there is still a deep religious curiosity at work in me, a profound wondering, but it is snuffed the moment the ‘modern church’ and all its heresies and blasphemies emerge.
Do you offer classes? I appreciate your calm and rational approach.
Thank you, you have inspired me and I wish to learn more.
December 22nd, 2022 at 6:14 am
Hi, Marc! I appreciate the kind words! There are frustrations with being in my profession, but I’ve been around these issues for so long that I’m pretty used to it. I have a rule about not discussing my personal faith on social media, so I can’t answer the bigger questions you’re asking in this comment, but I do offer an online class every other month. This coming January 19 I’ll be offering a one-hour class on homosexuality and the Bible. If you’d like more info, you can visit dan-mcclellan.square.site
January 2nd, 2023 at 1:13 pm
Hi Dan,
I recently started following you on Tik-Tok. I find your researched, data-informed insights into biblical / religion issues to be refreshing and very interesting. I am going to take your class on Homosexuality and have already registered (although I only gave a $1 because I am not sure yet if I might have to work that night). I intend to steal a recent phrase of yours: “That sounds like Not Research.” LOL. People tend to think that Googling something is research. Anyway, I just wanted to compliment you on a wonderful series of informational videos. I wish you had a podcast that I could listen to regularly! (Just a thought.) Keep up the great work! Barry
January 9th, 2023 at 9:00 am
Have been watching you on tic tock. I certainly appreciate you work and knowledge. Also glad you endure since your topic and posts certainly invite a lot of nay sayers. Planning to catch more of you online classes and pod casts. Keep it up.
January 9th, 2023 at 9:47 pm
Hi Mr. McClellan. I first became aware of you from your Tik-Tok clips.
Love them. Hope to try some of your books, although I’m sure they’re over my head. I’ve had a very basic/dumb question for decades. Did people, during the time of Jesus, know the Earth revolved around the sun? And,
if not, what did they mean by “year”?
Thank you for any response, or directions towards sources for trivial questions of this sort.
H. Benson
January 14th, 2023 at 11:13 am
Dan,
Hello my name is John Ritchey. I follow your tic toc post, I mostly enjoy your testimony on truth vs someone’s inaccuracies about God, Jesus, and the Holy Bible. There is a person goes by Truther777 and he says Jesus is a lie that God is the only one. Can you please do a tic toc on this, PLEASE!!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRgv9SPf/
He says Jesus is oil…
Thanks so much in advance,
God bless
-John
January 20th, 2023 at 9:21 pm
Did you record tonight’s session on homosexuality?
February 14th, 2023 at 7:31 am
Dan
I have followed your topic discussion on TikTok and you tube. I have deep respect of your knowledge of translation of ancient texts. You are making me think deeply on the present version of the old and new testament bible. You are a gifted teacher and speaker. I am just a country boy. Can we just sum the present bible and pastor interpretations as mumbo jumbo junk. VR-Denny
February 16th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Hi Dr. McClellan, I regularly enjoy you on YouTube and but not sure of the best way to submit a question. So I’ll try here. What do you think of the following assertion: “Moses’ sojourn in Midian may have been inspired by a real event in which an escaping slave was found near death in the wilderness and brought back to health by a priest of the Midianite storm god known to the Egyptians as YHW”? Thank you, Tom
February 17th, 2023 at 11:43 am
Are you a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?
February 24th, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Can you send me the link to join your classes?
February 26th, 2023 at 6:52 am
Hi Dan
Can I buy a 15 to 30 min zoom call from you? I’m an author – fiction, don’t sigh – and want a layman’s (that’s me) chat about the Ark of the Covenant.
I’m a Brit but live in Spain.
February 26th, 2023 at 11:40 am
Hi Daniel , I absolutely enjoy your views and breaking open the acient texts so that anybody can understand the Word a lot better.You aredoing great work , thanx.
Iam from South Africa.
Redards
March 2nd, 2023 at 8:10 pm
How might I get a link to hear you recent zoom class on satan and the Bible? I wasn’t able to catch it in time. Also I’d like to register for more of your upcoming classes on the Bible. Please inform. Thank you. You are very knowledgeable I enjoy your posts.
March 7th, 2023 at 10:42 pm
Hey Dan,
I really enjoy your work and research. For me it helps me to in understand the Bible in a far better way then I ever have. It actually strengthens my belief and understanding of the bible as things are put into context.
Thank you
March 13th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Daniel, thanks for sharing your knowledge and opinions on biblical scholarship and ancient biblical religion.
I did have a question that I was hoping you could provide some insight to.
Throughout the Old Testament when referring to “parents” as in a mother and father, almost all instances translated into English do so as “Father and Mother” for example “Honor thy father and they mother” instead of “Honor thy parents”. It doesn’t appear that they are combined into a single term like “parents” until the NT Greek.
Was there a term in ancient Hebrew that could have been used for “Parents” specifically a mother and father combined and not ancestors or progenitors, etc?
Was it a limitation of language, a preference due to cultural practices (separations by gender that spilled over to language) or some other reason?
Thanks!
March 25th, 2023 at 8:53 pm
I love your tiktok segments. I found your biographical information very interesting. I was surprised that BYU had such a legitimate Bible studies department. I would have lumped them in with other religious colleges as promoting the dogma of the religion they were founded on. That shows my bias I suppose. Keep up the good work. Best of luck on future endeavors.
March 29th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
Dear Professor McClellan
I enjoyed your Interesting Torah.com article, The Angel of YHWH, with an understandable interpellation with G-d and His angels.
In the Genesis 18:1-3 Torah event, Abraham was approached by three strangers who came to announce that Sari was to have a child. Apparently, G-d’s presence observed this event in which Abraham served the strangers curds, milk, and meat. As G-d has no image or likeness, His voice was heard telling Abraham of the coming event of having a child. However, G-d did not chastise Abraham for mixing milk and meat.
I would greatly appreciate your understanding of Melachim and Hashem’s presence.
Robert Mandel
fibula4676@yahoo.com
March 30th, 2023 at 9:31 am
I have watched many of your videos, and eventually I want to watch all of them, including your writings. Moreover, I love how you can take big and very complex subjects and make them accessible to a dilettante like myself. I know you keep your videos strictly professional, and academic. Nonetheless, my human curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I find myself wondering about your personal beliefs. I certainly don’t mean to pigeonhole you or push you into any sort of identity politics, which I know you despise from your videos. However, if I may, are you a believer in the Christian God, and Christ? No judgement either way, it’s just that I have been a admirer of your work for so long, that in my humanism, I would love to know.
April 28th, 2023 at 6:46 pm
I’m an atheist and, like you, have been incredibly curious about how Dan reconciles his faith with his academic pursuits, but I don’t think he discusses his personal beliefs in public forums anymore; especially since becoming more popular on social media. I’ve looked at some older blog posts of his and what I’ve taken away (not attempting to speak for him) is simply that faith in the Mormon religion and practicing its principles has improved his life in big ways. Can’t really fault him for that. If something works, it works. I don’t hear him making any objective truth claims based on it so it doesn’t really impact my respect for him or his academic work.
I know you’d rather hear from him but I’ve never gotten an answer out of him and I relate to your nagging feeling of curiosity, so I’m hopeful I can quell yours somewhat by providing the little info I’ve obtained through my obsessive snooping, 😂
April 3rd, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Hi Daniel – I found you on TikTok and was immediately attracted to your scholarship. I have had none but positive experiences with Mormons but had never associated (please excuse me!) any with scholarship like yours. As a Roman Catholic who has done some graduate level study of Scripture but without the language background you have I am very impressed and have learned a lot. Keep it up! and Thank you.
April 5th, 2023 at 8:17 am
[…] about. With that in mind, we will be heavily relying on the content of studied scholars, especially Dan Maklelan, a biblical and religious scholar with degrees in Jewish studies, the Ancient Near East, Biblical […]
April 21st, 2023 at 11:05 pm
Dan, I have written a few books involving the Book of Mormon and am looking for various persons to review/comment on a draft of my next book, Book of Mormon Calendars and Chronology. I pay $500 per review. As the book involves pre-exilic material as well as Christ’s birth/death information you might find some of the information interesting. Sorry for posting on your blog, I would prefer just to communicate by email but couldn’t find one I was certain was current.
May 3rd, 2023 at 6:28 pm
Having become familiar with your tik tok presentations I was gobsmacked upon learning of your adoption of the LDS faith. I can’t imagine the degree of cognitive dissonance you must experience in light of your scholarship.
I’m reminded of a petroleum production engineer I worked alongside who was a young earth creationist. He was more than a full bubble off of level.
I’m certain you DGAF what I think nor should you but sadly I’m no longer in a position to accept your scholarly claims as credible. Regardless I sincerely wish luck to you in your future endeavors.
May 5th, 2023 at 3:52 am
I’m a Catholic raised woman who left the church because of their over activity in politics. i.e. Roe and all of the misguided information that these political Christians are pushing. I have felt a little lost until I happened to come across you on Instagram
You have answered more questions in the last few months, then anyone in my search of answers. Thank you
May 10th, 2023 at 6:38 am
Hello My name is Anita Delgado. I am turning 70 next week. I have a 1793 copy of the King James Bible with the Apocrypha. It’s 10 1/2 x 15 1/2.
My son and daughter show no interest in having it. And I was wandering if you would want it.
As a gift. Thanks
May 10th, 2023 at 6:39 am
That’s very kind of you, Anita! I’ll reach out to you over email.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:48 am
A few more details thanks again.
May 12th, 2023 at 5:39 pm
Dan.
My name is Heath Ogden. I am an evolutionary biologist and I work at UVU. I have a YouTube channel called “Accept Truth with Joy” and o. This channel I carry out interviews with specialists (scientists and scholars) in regards to truth. I would love to interview you and promote you new channel Data over Dogma and talk about your other efforts – like on TikTok. I am especially interested in discussing how LDS can renegotiate their faith in light of accepted scientific truth.
May 21st, 2023 at 5:43 pm
How accurate is the information in this video? Because this is really interesting but I have absolutely no idea how to verify it.
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:15 am
That video is providing a lot of good information, though I’m not sure about its thesis.
May 23rd, 2023 at 9:23 am
Thank you for the reply! And yeah, the conclusion is really bold, I hope the subject ends up much more thoroughly discussed in the long term.
May 23rd, 2023 at 9:32 am
I also just want to throw on that chariot mysticism would be an awesome subject for your podcast to cover.