Daniel McClellan's New Book Is A Best Seller

[Okrahomer]

3 hours ago, Malc said:

Also, du bist ein Hamburger, nicht war? :v 

Ja, sicher!  Das bin ich doch!  Lieber ein Hamburger als ein Berliner (aka jelly-filled donut!)

Edited June 25, 2025 by Okrahomer

[Stargazer]

On 6/25/2025 at 1:37 AM, Malc said:

Also, du bist ein Hamburger, nicht war? :v 

Und ich bin Düsseldorfer! Aber das klingt nicht so lustig.

[Stargazer]

On 6/25/2025 at 4:41 AM, Okrahomer said:

Ja, sicher!  Das bin ich doch!  Lieber ein Hamburger als ein Berliner (aka jelly-filled donut!)

This is actually an American myth, or urban legend, about the jelly donut. The following video covers the topic thoroughly (and she is a delightful lady you should subscribe to her channel). But here's the TL;DR for those who don't want to watch the entire video:

The person who told Kennedy to use the "ein" was a native German speaker who said that the ein should be included since Kennedy was not literally from Berlin but was sympathetic to those who were living there, or in other words, was claiming solidarity with them. Kennedy's Berlin audience could not understand that he was claiming to be a jelly donut, because what in some parts of Germany is called a "Berliner" is in Berlin called a "Pfannkuchen". Different parts of Germany have different names for the same pastry. 

The urban legend grew out of a cold-war thriller novel in which the author had one of his characters claim the "jelly donut" thing. This was later picked up by book reviewers and made its way into virality.

 

Edited June 26, 2025 by Stargazer

[MustardSeed]

On 6/21/2025 at 2:43 PM, Stargazer said:

But we all do it, don't we? 

I admit I do it.  In small circles mostly. 

[Stargazer]

17 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

I admit I do it.  In small circles mostly. 

Yeah, me too, but in this one case concerning the gent under discussion he made his false accusations in a very public forum, so I don't feel bad about expressing my disdain towards him in public in return. Not that he cares. I'm sure he doesn't remember me. After he unfriended me I probably went right down his memory hole.

[Calm]

3 hours ago, Stargazer said:

Yeah, me too, but in this one case concerning the gent under discussion he made his false accusations in a very public forum, so I don't feel bad about expressing my disdain towards him in public in return. Not that he cares. I'm sure he doesn't remember me. After he unfriended me I probably went right down his memory hole.

At this point when Dan doesn’t visit the board and thus there is no actual interaction from him on your criticism, to me your comments are only insights into you, not him…iow, it makes me consider why you feel the need to express your disdain towards him when you know it will have no effect on his behaviour for the better.

Edited June 26, 2025 by Calm

[SeekingUnderstanding]

15 minutes ago, Calm said:

At this point when Dan doesn’t visit the board and thus there is no actual interaction from him on your criticism, to me your comments are only insights into you, not him…iow, it makes me consider why you feel the need to express your disdain towards him when you know it will have no effect on his behaviour for the better.

I'm just curious about how it went down. Dan definitely goes scorched earth. Everytime I've seen it, it is against those leveraging scripture to marginalize and oppress already marginalized and oppressed groups. Curious if that is the case here.

[Bernard Gui]

On 6/18/2025 at 7:45 PM, Stargazer said:

My opinion about him has little to nothing to do with any litmus test on theological matters. 

I probably shouldn't even comment on him. I have a strong degree of personal animus due to some very intense personal and non-theological acrimonious interactions with him. In short, he personally attacked me over a matter that utterly surprised me at the time. So take my "take" of him with a grain of salt, if you like. After our little contretemps I wondered about him, and upon further investigation I came to the conclusion that regardless of his personal theological beliefs, I think that he is in love with himself and his intellectual brilliance. And I don't much trust his intellect.

 

My experience also. 

[Okrahomer]

9 hours ago, Stargazer said:

The urban legend grew out of a cold-war thriller novel in which the author had one of his characters claim the "jelly donut" thing. This was later picked up by book reviewers and made its way into virality.

Das habe ich nicht vorher gewusst!  Also, vielen Dank!

[Stargazer]

On 6/26/2025 at 7:51 PM, Calm said:

At this point when Dan doesn’t visit the board and thus there is no actual interaction from him on your criticism, to me your comments are only insights into you, not him…iow, it makes me consider why you feel the need to express your disdain towards him when you know it will have no effect on his behaviour for the better.

Yeah, that's fair. 

 

[Calm]

3 hours ago, Stargazer said:

Yeah, that's fair. 

 

I like you.   

[Stargazer]

On 6/26/2025 at 8:08 PM, SeekingUnderstanding said:

I'm just curious about how it went down. Dan definitely goes scorched earth. Everytime I've seen it, it is against those leveraging scripture to marginalize and oppress already marginalized and oppressed groups. Curious if that is the case here.

Nope.

[Stargazer]

On 5/12/2025 at 11:09 PM, Peppermint Patty said:

I've seen Daniel post here before, a long time ago. I haven't bought his book yet, but it looks like it is selling like hotcakes at McDonalds and is on the New York Times Best Seller List. 

 

Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books

What book are we talking about (it's no longer on the best seller list)? Being unfortunately blinded by my prejudice against its author, I completely missed the fact that this thread is about his book. A new book, presumably, though the newest Dan McClellan book I have seen a release date for is dated a month after your OP. Is it this one?

[Calm]

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250347466/thebiblesaysso/
 

Quote

About This Book

NOW A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

Bible scholar and popular TikToker Dan McClellan confronts misconceptions about the Bible.

Got to say because I just got to ;), while I like the name, I hate that cover…the color choice hurts my eyes.

I laughed with the “and wrong” being second and in parentheses.  I wonder if more bought if for ‘what we got right’ or ‘what we got wrong’.  I am guessing it’s the latter.

Edited June 28, 2025 by Calm

[InCognitus]

On 6/28/2025 at 10:57 AM, Calm said:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250347466/thebiblesaysso/
 

Got to say because I just got to ;), while I like the name, I hate that cover…the color choice hurts my eyes.

I laughed with the “and wrong” being second and in parentheses.  I wonder if more bought if for ‘what we got right’ or ‘what we got wrong’.  I am guessing it’s the latter.

I agree with you about the cover.

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I just got the book.  I probably won't have time to read it for a while, but I may post some of my thoughts on it when I do.  I listened to a couple of interviews with Dan about the book on my recent drive to Arizona and back, and it peaked my interest and sounds like the book covers topics of high interest to me.

About the sales.....

The Amazon site still says it's "A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER", but when I googled to ask about the current comparative sales of the book, the stupid Google AI gave me some humorous and ego deflating results (for Dan), such as:

"Dan McClellan's The Bible Says So is a relatively new, well-received book (4.7 stars on Amazon), but direct sales comparisons are hard to find; it's dwarfed by the Bible itself (billions sold) and likely sells far fewer copies than major religious figures like Joyce Meyer, though its popularity is seen in Amazon's "Customers also bought" sections featuring other biblical studies and popular Bibles, indicating strong engagement within its niche."

Key Sales/Popularity Points:

• Niche Popularity: The book performs well on Amazon, showing high ratings and appearing alongside popular study Bibles, suggesting strong sales within the biblical studies market.
• Relative Scale: While popular for a modern religious book, its sales are minuscule compared to the all-time best-selling book, the Bible (billions of copies).

And the final summary at the bottom of the AI comments:  "In short, The Bible Says So is a successful book in its field, but it's operating on a vastly different scale than the Bible or top-tier mega-church authors."

Nothing like having your book sales compared to the Bible and called "miniscule" (with the Bible selling "billions of copies").  

Who can compete?  lol

[The Nehor]

On 6/26/2025 at 2:08 PM, SeekingUnderstanding said:

I'm just curious about how it went down. Dan definitely goes scorched earth. Everytime I've seen it, it is against those leveraging scripture to marginalize and oppress already marginalized and oppressed groups. Curious if that is the case here.

Yeah, that tends to be what he tends to get stern about on his YouTube channel. He tends to be helpful when answering sincere questions, matter of fact when correcting wrong stuff, and biting when he think the person is misusing the Bible to punch down at the marginalized or to support scumbags.

[The Nehor]

On 6/18/2025 at 5:56 PM, Stargazer said:

In my personal opinion Dan is a MINO.

Sure you mean a MOTCOJCOLDSINO (member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in name only)

[The Nehor]

Oops, responding to old stuff. Probably shouldn’t be posting at 3 in the morning.

[Stargazer]

11 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Oops, responding to old stuff. Probably shouldn’t be posting at 3 in the morning.

You might as well. I do it all the time, too. With my memory, sometimes I have completely forgotten I responded in a thread, and try to respond again with the same thoughts, or more concerning, completely opposite thoughts!

[Kenngo1969]

On 5/12/2025 at 9:57 PM, Rain said:

Lol that took me way too long to figure out why the book was being sold at McDonalds. 🤣

Maybe it's for a very lay audience?   

[Kenngo1969]

6 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

You might as well. I do it all the time, too. With my memory, sometimes I have completely forgotten I responded in a thread, and try to respond again with the same thoughts, or more concerning, completely opposite thoughts!

Nah, consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, don'tcha know?!   

[Kenngo1969]

17 hours ago, InCognitus said:

...  I listened to a couple of interviews with Dan about the book on my recent drive to Arizona and back, and it peaked my interest and sounds like the book covers topics of high interest to me. ...

 

Is that so?  Did it pique your interest to the very peak, or only mildly so?  This sort of thing really isn't in my ouvre ... but maybe I'll have a peek.     (Sorry.  Coudn't resist!  As the noted Professor of English, the great Dr. Festus Doofus, Ph.D., of the University of Southern Nowhar put it once, "Them homophones, they's tricky thangs!"  )

[Stargazer]

2 minutes ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Is that so?  Did it pique your interest to the very peak, or only mildly so?  This sort of thing really isn't in my ouvre ... but maybe I'll have a peek.     (Sorry.  Coudn't resist!  As the noted Professor of English, the great Dr. Festus Doofus, Ph.D., of the University of Southern Nowhar put it once, "Them homophones, they's tricky thangs!"  )

Oh! The pedantry!  

[Kenngo1969]

On 6/26/2025 at 9:35 AM, Stargazer said:

Yeah, me too, but in this one case concerning the gent under discussion he made his false accusations in a very public forum, so I don't feel bad about expressing my disdain towards him in public in return. Not that he cares. I'm sure he doesn't remember me. After he unfriended me I probably went right down his memory hole.

 

On 6/26/2025 at 4:28 PM, Bernard Gui said:

My experience also. 

Perhaps he's a bit too inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity?  

[Kenngo1969]

2 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

Oh! The pedantry!  

If it weren't for pedantry, I would have no fun at all!