3 out of 4 stars
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?, by William E. Combs, is a modern Christian's second look at the early chapters of Genesis, especially the Garden of Eden, but it is not just that. Revisiting Adam and Eve is the starting point of the book, but Combs discusses much more in the span of 10 chapters, covering concepts like the nature of sin, the meaning of spiritual death, and the source (and value!) of suffering. He explores the answers to questions such as: What does it mean to be "of little faith"? How do we hear God's voice?
I have mixed feelings about this book, although I appreciated many aspects of it. I loved the idea of figuratively dusting off the events described in Genesis and reexamining what the narrative really tells us. While I don't necessarily agree with all of Combs' conclusions or suggestions, reading Who Told You That You Were Naked? caused me to appreciate the story of Eden in a new way. The author's take on Biblical tales sparked some outside-of-the-box thinking about creation and the fall, stories that had sadly become so rote to me that they had practically lost their color.
Combs uses highly descriptive "vignettes" to help envelop the reader into the story of Biblical characters that may have become stilted or flat to us over years of reading the same fact-laden text. These narrative interludes fleshed out the Biblical account and reminded me that these were real people with emotions, needs, and depth. Also, the author's educational background and knowledge of the text in its original language played heavily into the concepts introduced. I found that words and phrases in the Bible that I had always taken for granted or just overlooked were suddenly very significant and demanded fresh attention.
I appreciate the format of this book, as each chapter is followed by several questions, encouraging the readers to examine the issues raised in the chapter and the corresponding scriptures for themselves and draw their own conclusions, rather than just accepting those of the author. This also makes Who Told You That You Were Naked? great for use in a study or discussion group. This book is peppered with Combs' personal anecdotes, which not only help to illustrate some of his points, but also keep it from feeling like a textbook.
Throughout the book, scripture is used to support the author's points, usually with a direct quote, but sometimes with just a chapter and verse source reference. This is helpful and makes it easy for the reader to follow Combs' reasoning by opening his or her own Bible. However, I found several of the scripture quotations or references to be in error. For example, in chapter 9, within the section titled "No Rest for the Israelites," the author references Exodus 13:28, which doesn't exist. In chapter 6, within the section titled "Christ's Sacrifice Fulfilled God's Righteousness," the verse quoted is 2 Corinthians 5:21, but it is cited as 2 Corinthians 5:23, and there is no such verse. I did not give this book a 4 rating because of these errors. I believe these mistakes would confuse readers who are newer to navigating the Bible and I also found that they undermine Combs' credibility. These inaccuracies, coupled with a few dead hyperlinks given in the footnotes, resulted in my giving Who Told You That You Were Naked? a rating of 3 out of 4.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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