3 out of 4 stars
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[Following is a review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William E. Combs.]
There’s been a lot of conflicting views on the account of the Garden of Eden in the first book of the Bible and more so a lot of Christians and non-Christians have always been confused on the subject of sin and why we battle with it.
Who Told You You Were Naked by William E. Combs is a non-fiction religious book that answers these questions and delves deeply into the account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as well as the fall and redemption of man.
The book begins by describing the first days of the first man, Adam in the Garden of Eden. God gives him an instruction to eat freely of every tree except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, reckoning that, he would die the day he undertakes such act. His wife is later deceived by the serpent (denoting the devil), eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and she also gives her husband to eat of it. The couple’s eyes open and they feel embarrassed and naked in front of each other. They make improvised clothes for each other from fig leaves and swiftly hide when they hear God walking in the garden. God calls out to Adam but Adam is ashamed and afraid to present himself to God and tells God that he is naked. God recognizes they ate from the fruit and curses the serpent. He makes clothes for them and chases them out of the garden.
In the book, nakedness is described as “individual differences between their mates and also God” which leads to death that the couple incurs as both relational and spiritual. Sin is also described as not just wrongful acts but also a consequence of the knowledge of good and evil inherited from Adam and “the fountainhead of our transgressions.” The author points out that struggling with sin only leads to frustration and sincere repentance is necessary (not just seeing ourselves as good). And after salvation, behavioural modification is requisite and has to be continuously worked on by denying self, following Christ and taking up one’s cross.
The book is memorable and instructive. I love how the first few chapters of the book employ distinctive elements of conjecture and dramatization to help readers be involved in the story of the Book of Genesis of the Bible. Also, I love how some religious terms (such as sin and transgression) are properly defined and the solutions provided to deal with the full ramifications of sin. Furthermore, the author answers some long debated religious questions such as, “Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden?”
However, I give Who Told You You Were Naked a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. This is because of a proposition in the book that healing is proscribed if the will of God is not inquired. I believe that God is always ready to heal any person of any infirmity as evidenced in the Bible and discussed extensively in books on healing written by Kenneth E. Hagin and Andrew Wommack.
This book is a must-read for whoever wants to understand the position of man after the fall in the Garden of Eden and the reason for redemption through Christ. It also helps to comprehend why we struggle with sin and the need for us to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ Jesus continuously.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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