Daniel O. McClellan[2] is an American biblical scholar who is active on social media.[3][4][5] He is a public scholar of the Bible and religion and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. McClellan was the winner of the Society of Biblical Literature's 2023 Richards Award for Public Scholarship.[6]
Daniel McClellan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1980[1] | ||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Biblical scholar | ||||||||||
| Academic background | |||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||
| Thesis | Deity and Divine Agency in the Hebrew Bible: Cognitive Perspectives (2020) | ||||||||||
| Doctoral advisor | Francesca Stavrakopoulou | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Biography
editDaniel McClellan is originally from West Virginia.[7] He was born in 1980.[8] In 2006, he was married and, as of 2024, has three daughters.[2]
Education and academic career
editBetween 2013–2023, McClellan worked as scripture translation supervisor for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2][9] McClellan completed a bachelor's degree in ancient Near Eastern studies from Brigham Young University with a minor in Classical Greek,[10] a master's degree in Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, and a master of arts in biblical studies at Trinity Western University.[2][11]
In 2020, he received a PhD from the University of Exeter, where he wrote a dissertation under the supervision of Francesca Stavrakopoulou.[12][11] In 2022, he published a revised version of his dissertation, titled YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach.[6][11] His formal academic areas of expertise include Second Temple Judaism, the early Israelite religion, the cognitive science of religion, and textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible.[13][7]
Social media
editSince 2021, McClellan has been active on social media, confronting misinformation being shared on social media about the academic study of the Bible and religion.[11] He leads online classes, cohosts the Data Over Dogma Podcast,[14] and is also active on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.[6] On TikTok, he has become popular by "stitching" videos containing misinterpretations of the Bible.[15]
Political career
editDaniel McClellan has run for office in Utah twice, though he lost both elections to incumbents. His first bid was for Utah State House of Representatives (District 52) in 2018; he received 33.5% of the vote.[16] In 2020, he ran for Utah's State Senate (District 10) and received 34.8% of the vote.[17][18]
Publications
editTheses
edit- McClellan, Daniel O (December 2013). "You Will be Like the Gods": The Conceptualization of Deity in the Hebrew Bible in Cognitive Perspective (PDF) (Master of Arts in Biblical Studies thesis). British Columbia, Canada: Trinity Western University, Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. ISBN 9780499255105. OCLC 1019486334.
- McClellan, Daniel O (18 May 2020). Deity and Divine Agency in the Hebrew Bible: Cognitive Perspectives (PhD in Theology and Religion thesis). UK: University of Exeter.
Other Publications
edit- McClellan, Daniel O. (7 May 2015). Psalm 82 in Contemporary Latter-day Saint Tradition (1st ed.). The Interpreter Foundation.
- McClellan, Daniel O (2022). YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach.Ancient Near East Monographs (PDF). Atlanta, GA, USA: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1628374384. OCLC 1345581122.
Book chapters
edit- McClellan, Daniel (September 2018), "Religion and Description", Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion: 106–113, doi:10.17613/vybm-9p24
- McClellan, Daniel (2019), Blumell, Lincoln (ed.), "The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament." (PDF), New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament., BYU Religious Studies Center: 497–513
- McClellan, Daniel (2021), Shannon, Avram R. (ed.), "'Go Ye and Learn What That Meaneth': Mercy and the Law in the Old Testament's Prophetic Literature and in the Gospels", Covenant of Compassion: Caring for the. Marginalized and Disadvantaged in the Old Testament, BYU Religious Studies Center, doi:10.17613/aw8k-9d82
- McClellan, Daniel (25 February 2021), "Forming Divine Bodies in the Hebrew Bible", Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies: 171–194, doi:10.17613/atkd-xr22, retrieved 14 January 2024
Articles
edit- "Forming divine bodies in the Hebrew Bible." Pages 171–94 in Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies. Edited by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (T&T Clark, 2021).
- McClellan, Daniel O. (2020). "2 Nephi 25:23 in Literary and Rhetorical Context". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 29. Utha, USA: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 29, 20200401, 1: 1–19. doi:10.5406/jbookmormstud2.29.2020.0001. OCLC 9700686633.
- "Religion and Description." Pages 106–13 in Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion. Edited by Brad Stoddard (Equinox, 2018)
- The Gods-Complaint: Psalm 82 as a Psalm of Complaint Journal of Biblical Literature 137.4 (2018): 833–51. The Gods-Complaint: Psalm 82 as a Psalm of Complaint
- McClellan, Daniel (2017), "Cognitive Perspectives on Early Christology", Bible Interpretation (PDF), vol. 25, pp. 647–662
- McClellan, Daniel. "The Angel of YHWH - TheTorah.com". www.thetorah.com. The Torah .com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- "Names of God". Bible Odyssey. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- McClellan, Daniel (2019), ""As Far as It Is Translated Correctly": Bible Translation and the Church", Religious Educator, vol. 20, Religious Studies Center, pp. 52–83, retrieved 14 January 2024
- Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer in Religious Educator Vol. 10 No. 3 · 2009. Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer | Religious Studies Center
- Ancient Studies: Research Update in Review Magazine Fall 2009 Ancient Studies | Religious Studies Center
- The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament in New Testament History, Culture, and Society. The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament | Religious Studies Center
- ""Go Ye and Learn What That Meaneth", Covenant of Compassion". rsc.byu.edu. Religious Studies Center. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.
References
edit- ^ McClellan, Dan (23 July 2020). "I turn 40 today. The coronavirus prevented any elaborate plans for my birthday, but this is still about the best possible way for me to start my day". Instagram. Dan McClellan. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "McClellan, Daniel O. | Religious Studies Center". rsc.byu.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Jana Riess: LDS TikTok star debunks Bible conspiracies, misinformation". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "How a Scripture Translation Supervisor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TikTok famous". LDS Magazine. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Riess, Jana (9 December 2022). "Mormon TikTok star debunks Bible conspiracies, misinformation". Religion News Service. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Daniel McClellan: 2023 Richards Award for Public Scholarship" (PDF). sbl-site.org. Society of Biblical Literature. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ a b "McClellan, Daniel O. | Religious Studies Center". rsc.byu.edu. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ McClellan, Dan (7 January 2024). "#maklelan1761 A more thorough introduction to me & my channel #maklelan #dataoverdogma #didaskaloi". TikTok. Dan McClellan. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Why We Can't Cherry-Pick the Bible — A Conversation with Dan McClellan". Faith Matters. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNghN4vMQ_A&t=2937s&ab_channel=DannyJones
- ^ a b c d "Dan McClellan". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "How Do We Make Meaning with the Bible? Public Bible Scholar Dan McClellan Explores this Topic March 5; The Public is Invited". news.washburn.edu. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Maybell, Scott Ryan (2 January 2024). "YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach by Daniel O. McClellan, Atlanta, SBL Press, 2022, xxi+277 pp., $0(Open Access PDF), ISBN 978-1628374391: by Daniel O. McClellan, Atlanta, SBL Press, 2022, xxi+277 pp., $0 (Open Access PDF), ISBN 978-1628374391". Theology and Science. 22 (1): 245–247. doi:10.1080/14746700.2023.2294532. ISSN 1474-6700.
- ^ Pitchford, Leila (13 May 2023). "Facets of Faith: An atheist and Bible scholar discuss Scripture in new podcast". The Advocate. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ Clayton, Jerry (28 January 2024). "Biblical scholar Dan McClellan fights misinformation about the Bible on social media". Texas Public Radio. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "2018 Utah State House Election Results | USA TODAY". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "2020 Utah State Senate Election Results | The Augusta Chronicle". www.augustachronicle.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "Dan McClellan // Democrat // State Senate-District 10". Utah Cultural Alliance. Retrieved 29 May 2024.