3 out of 4 stars
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Who Told You That You Were Naked by William E. Combs is, necessarily, a retelling of Genesis, the first book of the Pentateuch, a collection of five books by Moses. This book takes us on location where Creation is in progress. It is now the sixth day. We find Adam marveling at the sights before him after his eyes became functional. Venturing on a sandbar, he climbs a rock shelf and peers at his reflection on the water of the river, later known to be the Euphrates. Many thoughts occupied his mind. Then suddenly, his reverie was disrupted by a ewe at the water’s edge which was instantly taken down by a lioness, disappearing into the undergrowth with its prey. Adam shuddered upon realizing that the lioness might have been stalking him, and the ewe may have sacrificed itself for him. After examining the scene of the encounter, Adam retraced the ewe’s footprints into the forest, which ultimately led to the orphaned lamb. He fed the lamb by letting it suckle his fingers dipped in wheat and almond slurry. The lamb became Adam’s companion, and yet, it is never at par with a creature which would look like himself. And this he constantly moans.
This short episode is a nice addition to the story of Creation, showing the humanity of Adam, though, in a sense, apocryphal. Moses will surely disown it. However, it shows how life gets rough-and-tumble outside the Garden of Eden. And this could be the reason why Adam and Eve should be in the garden.
It is a truly unique and refreshing experience to read the happenings inside the Garden of Eden, told in the viewpoint of Adam, Eve and the cast, and even of the serpent. The rhetoric forwarded in this book derives from what they have to say. Anyone could read the biblical scriptures anytime, in Moses’ narrative. But here, the Reverend Combs poured the words into the mouth of everyone in the story, for a purpose.
I admire the rhetoric, the way Reverend Combs confronts our reasoning. Then, when I felt I was won over to his concepts, I sensed the book began ringing with authority. It could not be faulted, though, for it was inspired by a sermon, as the Reverend explains so, at the ending. It becomes apparent that the book’s purpose is to teach, hence, pedagogical. And farther, as faith builds up, and more persuasive it becomes, I find it now dogmatically. It begs for obedience to certain tenets and nuances.
I must honestly say that the little story at the beginning about the actuations of Adam after the ewe-and-lioness incident speaks of Adam as anything, but innocent. It is antithetical to the premise of Adam’s innocence. In recall, he examined the scene of the struggle as though a crime-scene operative; he tracked the lamb into the forest with the acumen of a Forest Ranger; he fed the lamb as though a veterinarian in dire circumstances.
There are errors in the book, missing words, and wrong prepositions, among others, but some may just be variants of the quoted texts of different versions of the Bible, i.e., different from mine, and might not be errors at all. After due consideration of all the factors, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
For all the religious people who had some mystical experiences, or instances of enlightenment, or those who perceived they have a calling to a vocation, this book will be an excellent read.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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