Dr. Dan McClelland | Truthful Origins

Dan McClellan, PhD

Introduction

Dr. McClellan is an American Bible scholar who is a public educator on various social media platforms. He holds a PhD from the University of Exeter under Francesca Stavrakopoulou where his expertise included early Israelite religion, Second Temple Judaism and the cognitive science of religion. Like Dr. Ehrman and many other Bible scholars, he is trained in the textual criticism of the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible. His pre-PhD degrees include a BA in ancient Near Eastern studies and minor in Classical Greek, a MSt from the University of Oxford in Jewish studies and a MA in Biblical studies at Trinity Western University.

His short videos on various topics give bite-sized scholarly views on various popular topics that expose and correct various bible misunderstandings, and challenge views that attempt to use the Bible for common ideological reasons. He also has a website, podcast, available book in 2025, and other media outreaches. This is a sampling of topics I found interesting and often applicable to the contention of this webpage that the Bible has numerous errors, contradictions, and adulterations that cannot be honestly sufficiently dismissed by its supporters, thus negating any assertions to divine inspiration.

Social Media Sources

Dr. McClellan & YouTube Channel [Videos]

https://www.youtube.com/@maklelan

Dr. McClellan & Facebook [Reels]
https://www.facebook.com/daniel.o.mcclellan/

Data Over Dogma Podcast

https://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/

Selected Bible Topics

A - G

Note: YouTube numbers if present refer to his Youtube channel and search function field

Abortion, life, fetus, personhood, ensoulment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhLcD2PT8D4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eowRLkaD2c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXb2R0-uj6k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cq29jLEiHw

Abortion & Marriage, Biblical
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1253212339052116

Adam - did not die as the Bible said he would

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1010186487977040

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9u_-m8sHzs
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1245072007736112

Archeology evidence to support the Bible? Nope.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/872944824963265

YouTube 2352

Asherah, God's wife

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G82-TYCAzx0

YouTube 2207

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdRL1E7SUo0

God's wife again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r0sKPoJTU0
God and Asherah

https://www.facebook.com/reel/807258824725901

Bible translations omit NT verses for good reasons
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1787350838340305

YouTube 2185

Caesar vs Jesus - documentation?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyp2_joOk8

Census and Luke 2
Part 1 FB - https://www.facebook.com/reel/1477149213970453
Youtube full - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KY-lZ5s-D4

Christmas, origin of December 25th (the date not a pagan origin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDGbZl70Z3w

Contradictions?
Genesis 1 and 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8qKDD4CxUs&t=3s

No, Gen 1 & 2 can't really be harmonized

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1994652331929767

Are these bible contradictions debunked?
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuE8hlVGjo8&t=9s

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSFTNDiSRqY&t=192s

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBiQ-J4jc2M&t=85s

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LavZoFIDOv4&t=4s

Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSWpO9UniU

Contradictions explained? Begging the question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gNL11Q36MQ

Contradictions in the Bible?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNUC1e8t3D4&t=832s

Why Bible contradictions must be denied.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeDI6QpV0a8

A contradiction and why it's important for some not to admit it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By4bKXURd3w

Documentary Hypothesis and the Pentateuch

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1260375992605621

Moses did not write Exodus
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1497618535053689

Flood problem. Bible contradiction in Genesis 4.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1121625036621307

5,000+ Greek manuscripts of NT. Evidence of reliability of the Bible - nope.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1028298935328626

YouTube 2114

Genesis 1 & 2, two different creation accounts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwMmnJluy3o

Gen. 1:1 mistranslated - "In the Beginning...."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MtT2A0Rj78

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1214256446666101

https://www.facebook.com/reel/891350319593794

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1894398491306968

Genocide, God and Lennox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0bMAFIGexc

God as plural? What is the “us”?
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1380481790006399

YouTube 2208

God can be seen and live (Hagar, etc.)

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3679763155687504

YouTube 2227

The mistranslation of these verses - purposeful. Shame on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gF4YGKRXxc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDHuY2PqMM

God can’t lie, change his mind, think like us (no surprises)? Nope

https://www.facebook.com/reel/471426365666607

YouTube 2205

God lied; Adam did not die

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9u_-m8sHzs

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1010186487977040

God in the Bible had a father. The Most High giving an inheritance

https://www.facebook.com/reel/512679301356003

Youtube 2236

https://www.facebook.com/reel/378583911682425

YouTube 1917

Gods in the Bible? Paul.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1122859712308813

YouTube 2040

[see also God as plural - what is “us”]

Gods, many in the bible

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1383432376375238

YouTube 1947

Gods must worship Yahweh - in the Bible
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/If6Dob5de4A

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1680996045885379

God of Israel - His true origin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HZ3CgNMQUw

God of Israel not originally YHWH
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1234342074449230

YouTube 2408
Yahweh and El and conflation

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=875458541437779

God of the Bible is not one concept

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLjg-9fkqNY

Goliath - who actually killed him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmWx4k26mJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWQMLi4-HFo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y98DzDJ8i2Q

[contradictions, adulterations of the Bible]

https://www.facebook.com/daniel.o.mcclellan/videos/1485579769439100/

[an analysis of a proposed apologetic defense]

Gospels - Anon. etc.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3864789987132318

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62CvLyvEII

Gospels: how they got named. Best points on both sides
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3QQZiId1GA

Gospels, not by eyewitnesses
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1295253616005664

H - K

Lie, Does God lie?
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1398092387850169

Hell - not in the Hebrew Bible. Three concepts of hell in the New Testament

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdUyhopfVQ

Homosexuality mistranslated

https://www.facebook.com/reel/791781509474157

YouTube 2167

Ezekiel 16:49-50

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

49 This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Homosexuality not unnatural for them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uanu94nOeEU

YouTube 2087

Gen. 1:1 mistranslated - "In the Beginning...."

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1214256446666101

https://www.facebook.com/reel/891350319593794

YouTube 2290

Josephus and Jesus as Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8_a0D3SOuI

Resurrected Jesus? It relies on presupposition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EROL1MVsLdE

Resurrection of Jesus. The evidence?

https://www.facebook.com/reel/8058405074267506