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Review by Amelia Martha N -- Who Told You That You Were ...

Posted: 20 Jan 2018, 10:17
by Amelia Martha N
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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William Combs in Who Told You That You Were Naked? introduces a new perception to sin and how one's perspective affects their relationship with God. He takes the reader back to the Garden of Eden and replays the lives of Adam and Eve; the first people to ever encounter sin.

Using non-biblical context, William Combs carefully takes the reader through the encounters and reactions of Adam and Eve with the realisation of sin whilst juxtaposing that with God's reaction to their actions and thoughts. Combs uses second person point of view to detail vivid conversations between Adam and Eve, their thoughts about their surroundings and even choice of meals! The book starts off a bit slow with a different fiction story before launching into the Garden of Eden. It later unfolds to other Biblical teachings about sin and grace away from Genesis - in the old and new testaments.

For some Christians and Bible scholars, this book may rub them off the wrong way in the beginning; it goes against a Biblical warning not to add anything to scriptures. The book breaks into fiction without warning and might leave the reader wondering if William Combs is trying to re-write the Bible by adding details once unknown. Admittedly the colourful details are very evocative and send a reader into retrospect of their own encounters with sin. The also help a reader better understand the lives of the first man and woman especially before they came to the realization of sin.
Combs meticulously revisits the encounters in the Garden of Eden and creates a new understanding of obvious words like "the fruit", "nakedness", "disobedience" and "temptation". He uses his applied experience as former a Presbyterian minister and missionary married with academic grounding in theology to make the concept of sin and grace relatable. The book dissects the mind's awareness of sin before, in and after the moment.

At the end of every chapter, William Combs put sets of review questions that can be best exhausted in a small group discussion. The questions test a reader's attention to the previous chapter. Combs also gives a variety of scriptures to enrich thoughts and ideas introduced in in each chapter.

I rate Who Told You That You Were Naked? 3 out of 4 stars. The fiction makes it a page-turner and it is thought-provoking. I did not see any typos of grammar errors. I recommend this book to non-Christians and Christians alike who would like a fresh perspective of the sin thought process and grace.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Re: Review by Amelia Martha N -- Who Told You That You Were ...

Posted: 31 Jan 2018, 06:40
by kdstrack
Thanks for your review. I like how you point out that even though the book deals with the topic of sin, it doesn't stop there, but goes on to talk about grace. Nice job. Thanks.

Re: Review by Amelia Martha N -- Who Told You That You Were ...

Posted: 31 Jan 2018, 08:34
by Amelia Martha N
kdstrack wrote: 31 Jan 2018, 06:40 Thanks for your review. I like how you point out that even though the book deals with the topic of sin, it doesn't stop there, but goes on to talk about grace. Nice job. Thanks.
Thank you kdstrack for taking time to read the review and the feedback.