4 out of 4 stars
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William E. Combs a retired Presbyterian Minister in his book, “Who told you that you were Naked? A Refreshing Re-examination of the Garden of Eden published by Carpenter’s Sons,” shows the devastating effects of the knowledge of good and evil which was acquired by the first man and his wife after eating the fruit which they had been forbidden to.
The author introduces us with an account of his youthful life and desire for adventure in the dark winter nights which he likens to his attempts to understand God who he did not see. He explains how the words, “Who told you that naked’’ changed his understanding of his understanding of sin, salvation and faith. In the first chapter, we see Adam interacting with his world before and after he is taken by the Lord to the Garden of Eden. His main work was to take care of the garden and exercise his authority over the entire creation. The Lord also allows him to eat from all the trees in the garden except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His first assignment which was to name all animals leaves him with the need for a companion which he could not find from the animals. The Lord makes the woman from man thus defining how marriages would work for all mankind. Throughout all this time they were naked and unashamed.
Their stay in the garden is however thwarted when they took the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The first expression of fear and shame is experienced when they have to hide from the Lord. The Lord makes pronouncements that would affect the mankind and eventually man loses his place in the garden Even as they leave the garden, we see a redefined relationship between Adam and his wife. Cain and Abel are born outside the garden and we see Cain’s insecurity and frustration when he murders his own brother despite the Lord warning him to guard against sin which was crouching at the door. In his re-examination of the Garden of Eden, the author explores the possible reasons that made the serpent approach the woman and why she was convinced into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It also explains why it was possible for the woman to convince the man into eating the fruit.
The book also in the subsequent chapters shows a detailed account for God’s remedy for sin, believers’ walk of faith and freedom. It also exposes the fact that a Christian is always opposed by powers of darkness in his daily walk of faith. The book finalizes by examining how one can attain God’s rest, showing how the early scholars had erred in their interpretation for sin and how each Christian needs to approach his daily walk of faith.
The author provides questions for discussion at the end of each chapter which assist the reader in further interrogating the scriptures with a view of gaining understanding on the author's point of view . The emphasis of Bible verses would assist him to quickly interact with the Bible passages without necessarily leaving the book to look out for the actual Bible verses. The book is complete with creative stories, personal testimonies and highlighted lines in every chapter that compliment the topics being discussed in each chapter.
I did not find any topographical errors on this book. I however slightly differ with the author on his account on the pronouncement to the man. In my opinion, the author did not fully consider the devastating effects on the curse of the ground for the sake of man as one would later see in Genesis 5.
Despite the above difference in opinion, this book is an excellent piece of work and it is a must read for all the people both Christians and non Christians. I therefore rate this book with 4 out of 4.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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