4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Who told you that you were naked? by William E. Combs Is a book with a purpose and a plan to achieve it.
The book seeks to change the way believers and people in general understand concepts like faith and sin. It provides the reader with a short reexamination of the first couple stories found in the Old Testament and then it uses this analysis to make claims and prove some points.
The book is divided into ten relatively short yet very informative chapters which share common religious themes like faith, sin, and the role of these in the life of believers. The first couple chapters provide the reader with a reexamination of the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. This analysis seeks to convince the reader that this story is one of the most important stories found in the Bible because it sets the basis for all the other books and their messages. The author claims that it is not possible to really understand the Bible and its messages without first understanding, really understanding, this story.
After this, the following chapters seek to further elaborate this idea and a few others, taking the reader on a short journey through several other stories, reexaminations, and even testimonies. In the last couple chapters of the book, the author explains to the reader why his claims are relevant and valid and how a believer can use these ideas to improve his spiritual life and his relationship with God.
Many of the ideas in this book are easy to understand and easy to revisit. This is important because with few chapters and many pages dedicated to extra notes, and even study questions, this book makes for a short read.
I was drawn to this book after reading short summaries that described it as a “refreshing reexamination” of the Genesis. For the most part, Who told you that you were naked? delivered what it promised, a review of some key concepts found in the Genesis and to some degree, a new way to understand them. William E. Combs has clearly put a lot of thought in this book; his writing style is concise to the point where every paragraph in the book is packed with ideas and every sentence matters. Also, the study questions at the end of each chapter would help readers make the most out of the book by discussing it with friends or family.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was that the “fresh” reexamination was not so fresh. The more you read, the more you might feel that some of the author’s ideas are similar in tone to those found in other Cristian books; the analysis in the first chapters evolves into a religious speech that at times feels a bit too preachy and not so original. The last couple chapters explain why Cristian faith is important, but they explain it in a way that both believers and non-believers might feel have already heard multiple times.
Also, I believe my main problem with this book is just how much this reexamination relies upon reimagined details. While reexamining some of the passages, especially in the Adam and Eve story, the author had to add reimagined details in order to provide a better context for the reader. These new bits make the story easier to understand but they also alter it slightly. For example, the author makes Adam’s character more relatable and easier to understand by making some small assumptions about his thoughts and his reactions to certain events. The author then uses all of this to elaborate his ideas and later on, prove his points. But in the end, these bits are mere assumptions that were never there in the first place and should not be necessary in order to understand the points presented in the book, yet they are.
There are also some paragraphs where you might feel the author reads too much into some things, assigning a special meaning to some seemingly simple phrases and then using this meaning to make his point. Although most of the time his arguments are good, it is impossible to avoid the feeling that he is stretching some of his ideas way too much.
In general, Who told you that you were naked? Is a good read. Again, it is well-written and it’s also packed with a lot of interest ideas. Personally, I would only recommend it to religious people, especially to those who adhere to Christian beliefs. As a non-believer myself, I wouldn’t recommend this book to those who don’t care about these religious themes because even the most in-depth analysis found in the book is done solely with the purpose of justifying Christian Faith.
For all of this reasons, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It was wonderful to read, concise, and very informative, I actually learned many new things. I think it delivered most of what it promised and that people who actually care about faith might enjoy it a lot.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Javier Campos's review? Post a comment saying so!
