Review by Gerry_9 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

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Gerry_9
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Review by Gerry_9 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

Post by Gerry_9 »

[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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Who told you that you were Naked is a book that truly paints what ails humanity, the knowledge of good and evil. The text is expertly crafted by William E Combs a retired Presbyterian pastor with masters of divinity and a doctor of ministry degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. William E Combs taps into his immense experience in ministry to explain nakedness and with it the need for salvation.

The book lives to its expectation from a man who is described as a painter of word pictures. Through his well cultivated imagination the author launches the reader into the occurrences in the garden of Eden which led to nakedness after consumption of the forbidden fruit .He describes nakedness as the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil. William E Combs argues that the knowledge of good and evil is the reason for the constant battle that mankind faces between good(law of the spirit)and evil(the law of sin and death). He categorically states that as Christians we should not fight the flesh in the flesh but in the spirit.

After describing sin and its root cause William E Combs proposes the solution which is salvation and goes ahead to describe the Christian walk. In the chapters dealing with the Christian walk he categorically describes faith as the foundation of Christian walk and without it one cannot please God. The book Who told you that you were naked boils down to these words by Combs;
If we recognize the root of sin is our mental capacity to discern good and evil then we can begin to understand that we are incapable of overcoming this antagonist and as long as we try we will be functioning under the law of sin and death. But if we quit trying – if we die to sin – and believe there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus then we will live according to the law of the spirit of life and walk in the light as he is in the light.

I concur with William E Combs arguments which are articulated artistically and supported frequently by scripture quotes for better clarity. He argues that the reason many people do not get salvation, is because they view sin as a list of misdeeds and repentance the need to feel remorse for those sins and as long as they view themselves as good people not having committed such sins, they will see no need for salvation. He further says that it is not by our might or power that we acquire faith or rest but it is by the grace of God. He insists that by the use of our efforts we will still fall into the law of sin and death. It is such arguments that make the book so inspiring and a masterpiece in its own right.

How did you know that you were Naked
is a thought provoking book. It caused me to stop severally and mull over the words of Combs. The chapters and the arguments therein forced me to really review my Christian faith and also contrast with the prosperity gospel dished out to the masses across the globe. I liked the book quite a lot. This is due to several reasons which make the book quite outstanding compared to others of the same theme. Williams E Combs uses a rather genius style of explaining biblical events. He creatively comes up with characters and situations which shed light to the occurrences recorded in the bible. This word picture painting technique is quite phenomenal and breaks monotony making the book quite interesting.

William E Combs uses an interactive approach whereby at the end of each chapter he presents questions which I found very helpful. The questions enable the reader to recur what the arguments presented were about. They also give an overview of the chapter. William also incorporates real life stories and situations which strive to enhance understanding of the issues discussed.

However all is not rosy. In chapter ten Combs argues against early commentators such as Calvin in the issue of rebellion and sin to a great extent. I however find the arguments unwarranted and unnecessary because they only make the text complex. In chapter 9,Living in Gods rest, he argues that all believers names were written on the book of life before the dawn of creation which then raises the question of why then the entire plan for salvation. Did not Jesus come on earth to die for the sins of mankind so as we may acquire salvation? What then is the use of evangelism? Should people live careless lives because there are already a chosen people for salvation? I think William E Combs should have come out clear, elaborate and clean in this very controversial issue.

Would I recommend the book? Of course. The book is very informative and precisely achieves its purpose of explaining sin. I would recommend this book to anyone who is after gaining better understanding of sin. It can also be very useful for bible study discussions due to the questions provided. I rate this book 3 out of 4 because of several reasons. I cannot rate this book below 3 because it is well edited, its chapters are arranged in a sequential manner and it also achieves its objective. I did not give it a rating of four because I disagree with some of the arguments presented in the text.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

In chapter 9,Living in Gods rest, he argues that all believers names were written on the book of life before the dawn of creation which then raises the question of why then the entire plan for salvation. Did not Jesus come on earth to die for the sins of mankind so as we may acquire salvation? What then is the use of evangelism? Should people live careless lives because there are already a chosen people for salvation? I think William E Combs should have come out clear, elaborate and clean in this very controversial issue.
There are issues in Christianity that differs in Islam. One of which is believing that Jesus peace be upon him suffered and died to save mankind. Well... It happened. The question is, why is it that not all were saved by Jesus' (pbuh) death?
Gerry_9
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Post by Gerry_9 »

According to the bible Jesus died for all mankind that we may receive salvation. But for one to receive salvation one must believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is the basis of Christianity.
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Poppy Drear
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Post by Poppy Drear »

In my opinion, the point of reading a religious book is to develop a deeper perspective about one's religion, which it seems this book accomplished! It's a shame the author had to complicate his argument near the end like that.
Gerry_9
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Post by Gerry_9 »

Yeah true he achieved his objective and he should also avoid contradiction. Thanks for commenting.
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