Review by Marika Tabone -- Who Told You That You Were Na...
Posted: 22 Jul 2017, 06:49
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Who Told you That You Were Naked: A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden by William E. Combs is a book in the religious non-fiction genre. This book is a re-examination of the story of Adam and Eve, and how the first sin came into the world. The author takes a different approach on this well- known biblical story, and sheds new light that is meant to help the readers view sin in relation to their personal lives from a new, more positive, perspective.
In the opening passage the author, Reverend E. Combs, takes us back to his childhood days at his ranch in Alaska. It was a dark, cold night and he ventured out of the house with a penlight. He was scared as the faint light only illuminated the immediate path before him. However, on this night he experienced the aurora borealis in all its glory! After this experience he could compare the dim light emitted from his penlight (which cast his environment in shadows) with the splendor of the aurora borealis (which illuminated the surrounding landscape). Reverend E. Combs draws a parallel here comparing “stepping out in the Alaskan winter night” to the Old Testament. He recounts how back in the days; he directed his controlled beam of spiritual illumination at the early texts in the attempt to better understand God. This changed when one day, unexpectedly, he heard a voice in his mind that said “Who told you that you were naked?”
The book is broken into ten chapters. Its intention is to guide us from the Old Testament into the New Testament, making the reader appreciate more God’s words in the ancient texts. In the first chapter Reverend Combs presents us with his personal account of how life in Eden could have been. The imagery he uses is very vivid and detailed; for example, he also mentions a lamb which Adam adopts as a pet and says that “Adam calls her Lively”. He goes through great length to describe Adam and Eve’s feelings and emotions. Reverend Combs explains that at first, although, they were naked they were not ashamed of their nakedness, but once they ate from the forbidden fruit; they gained new understanding and their perception of each other changed. They compared their differences and were ashamed of each other, and felt inadequate to appear before God. In fact, they hide when they hear God’s voice. The concept of nakedness is explored in detail in the first chapters, and even later, where Reverend Combs says that the feeling of nakedness resulted in relational and spiritual death, separating Adam and Eve from God and from each other.
I was positively surprised by Reverend Comb’s different outlook of the original sin. According to the author this was not committed once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, but later on; when Cain acted upon the newly acquired knowledge of good and evil to form his “perception of the relationship with his brother”. God had warned Cain of the sin “crouching at the door” and that he should “rule over it”. Reverend Combs supports his argument with various quotations and stories drawn from the Old Testament. He has a Doctorate in Theology. This can be easily seen throughout the book as he quotes fluently from both the Old and the New Testaments. The author quotes extensively from the writings of St. Paul, and in chapter six he uses references to show us that even St. Paul battled with sin.
I enjoyed reading this book as it gave me a fresh perception of sin. I agree with the author that since most of us do not commit serious crimes, we do not see ourselves as sinners; this makes us assume that we do not need to be redeemed, and as a consequence we are removed from direct contact with God and his son Jesus Christ. Reverend E. Combs tells us that we are to seek redemption and invite Christ into our lives, so that he can renew our minds.
This book is ideal for bible studies. At the end of each chapter there are questions which help us reflect and discuss on matters relating to sin and faith, and how we can be “the salt of the earth”. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars; it is very well written, and Reverend Combs manages to thread a link from the Old to the New Testament making the Holy Scriptures still relevant to our lives today. This book appeals to both Christians and those that appreciate spiritual debates. “Who told you that you were naked?” is a very positive book, it gives us hope and gets us closer to God through the faith in Jesus Christ.
Reverend E. Combs uses personal experiences and stories from the bible to make the message that he wants to convey easy to understand. The only think that I did not like about the book are the questions at the end of each chapter. I think it would have been better if the author presented these at the end of the book, as I feel that these questions break the flow from one chapter to the other. However, this is only a minor glitch that does not affect the overall quality of this book.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Who Told you That You Were Naked: A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden by William E. Combs is a book in the religious non-fiction genre. This book is a re-examination of the story of Adam and Eve, and how the first sin came into the world. The author takes a different approach on this well- known biblical story, and sheds new light that is meant to help the readers view sin in relation to their personal lives from a new, more positive, perspective.
In the opening passage the author, Reverend E. Combs, takes us back to his childhood days at his ranch in Alaska. It was a dark, cold night and he ventured out of the house with a penlight. He was scared as the faint light only illuminated the immediate path before him. However, on this night he experienced the aurora borealis in all its glory! After this experience he could compare the dim light emitted from his penlight (which cast his environment in shadows) with the splendor of the aurora borealis (which illuminated the surrounding landscape). Reverend E. Combs draws a parallel here comparing “stepping out in the Alaskan winter night” to the Old Testament. He recounts how back in the days; he directed his controlled beam of spiritual illumination at the early texts in the attempt to better understand God. This changed when one day, unexpectedly, he heard a voice in his mind that said “Who told you that you were naked?”
The book is broken into ten chapters. Its intention is to guide us from the Old Testament into the New Testament, making the reader appreciate more God’s words in the ancient texts. In the first chapter Reverend Combs presents us with his personal account of how life in Eden could have been. The imagery he uses is very vivid and detailed; for example, he also mentions a lamb which Adam adopts as a pet and says that “Adam calls her Lively”. He goes through great length to describe Adam and Eve’s feelings and emotions. Reverend Combs explains that at first, although, they were naked they were not ashamed of their nakedness, but once they ate from the forbidden fruit; they gained new understanding and their perception of each other changed. They compared their differences and were ashamed of each other, and felt inadequate to appear before God. In fact, they hide when they hear God’s voice. The concept of nakedness is explored in detail in the first chapters, and even later, where Reverend Combs says that the feeling of nakedness resulted in relational and spiritual death, separating Adam and Eve from God and from each other.
I was positively surprised by Reverend Comb’s different outlook of the original sin. According to the author this was not committed once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, but later on; when Cain acted upon the newly acquired knowledge of good and evil to form his “perception of the relationship with his brother”. God had warned Cain of the sin “crouching at the door” and that he should “rule over it”. Reverend Combs supports his argument with various quotations and stories drawn from the Old Testament. He has a Doctorate in Theology. This can be easily seen throughout the book as he quotes fluently from both the Old and the New Testaments. The author quotes extensively from the writings of St. Paul, and in chapter six he uses references to show us that even St. Paul battled with sin.
I enjoyed reading this book as it gave me a fresh perception of sin. I agree with the author that since most of us do not commit serious crimes, we do not see ourselves as sinners; this makes us assume that we do not need to be redeemed, and as a consequence we are removed from direct contact with God and his son Jesus Christ. Reverend E. Combs tells us that we are to seek redemption and invite Christ into our lives, so that he can renew our minds.
This book is ideal for bible studies. At the end of each chapter there are questions which help us reflect and discuss on matters relating to sin and faith, and how we can be “the salt of the earth”. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars; it is very well written, and Reverend Combs manages to thread a link from the Old to the New Testament making the Holy Scriptures still relevant to our lives today. This book appeals to both Christians and those that appreciate spiritual debates. “Who told you that you were naked?” is a very positive book, it gives us hope and gets us closer to God through the faith in Jesus Christ.
Reverend E. Combs uses personal experiences and stories from the bible to make the message that he wants to convey easy to understand. The only think that I did not like about the book are the questions at the end of each chapter. I think it would have been better if the author presented these at the end of the book, as I feel that these questions break the flow from one chapter to the other. However, this is only a minor glitch that does not affect the overall quality of this book.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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