The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues

Data Over Dogma podcaster McClellan debuts with a smart and historically grounded look at what scripture says about some of Christianity’s most provocative questions. Drawing on the text and canonical sources, he unpacks the origins of what he argues are misconstrued symbols (the number 666 does not signify “the mark of the beast” but is more likely code for Roman emperor Nero, an infamous “persecutor of early Christians” around the time the number first appeared in scripture); debunks literalist readings (while the book of Proverbs supports corporal punishment for children, the practice should be considered a relic of the ancient world); and unravels the nuances of hot-button issues, arguing, for example, that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality because “the concept of sexual orientation” didn’t exist in ancient times—though it does prohibit same-sex intercourse. In the process, he perceptively examines how biblical tenets have been skewed or exploited by some believers to cloak their innate prejudices, which then become “identity markers” used to justify “authoritarianism and social dominance.” Combining fine-grained textual analysis with enlightening historical context, this is a valuable resource. (Apr.)