Review by Lola_d -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Lola_d
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Review by Lola_d -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The review of this book titled ‘WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED BY WILLIAM E. COMBS (a refreshing examination of the Garden of Eden) is divided into 2(two) parts; 1st part is review of Chapters 1-5 and the 2nd part Chapters 6-10.
Before I delve into the review of the book, I would like to state that the cover page is good; gives an indication of what the book is all about.
Part 1: CHAPTER 1 – 5
Right from the introduction of this book, there is an easy flow of words, very descriptive thus making it easy for the reader to relate to the story being told. One Example in the introduction of the book is a description of ‘The Three holder’ outhouse built by the author’s Grandpa you could almost feel yourself right there in the events being described and the way he tied it into spirituality is indeed commendable because this book is about the Christian faith.
The sub-title of the book is ‘a refreshing examination of the Garden of Eden’ and it lived up to it, it was a refreshing and different approach to the interpretation of the events that took place at the Garden of Eden and its resultant consequences in the book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3
The author employed a method of re-enacting each event/story that took place at the Garden of Eden, thus giving the event some flesh and bring the story to life, the effect of this is to make you relate to the story, challenge you to think outside the box, ask your yourself some very critical questions especially on the instructions given to Adam and his wife Eve and the consequences of their disobedience and the pronouncements made by God
Chapter 1 – Innocent in the Garden through a fantastic re-enactment the author gave us a look into what life at the Garden of Eden must have been like, here the reader will be give an examination of God’s instruction to Adam about the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, Adam having a help mate, the relationship of Adam and his wife Eve as one flesh which shows the level of companionship and intimacy available to all married couples who would follow, God’s plan for the newly -weds which is to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion over all the animals, through the actions of Adam one is able to deduce that though Adam and his wife were innocent but they were very intelligent beings. Chapter 2 – Naked in the Garden; here the author discussed the meaning of ‘nakedness’ within the context of the Adam and Eve story in the Garden of Eden. The author also examined in details the instructions given to Adam and Eve i.e. if you eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, you shall surely die, what type of death was referred to here, a physical, relational or spiritual death or a combination of all three. The author challenges the reader to look at another perspective of God’s pronouncements/’judgments’ after the disobedience of Adam and Eve on the serpent, Eve and Adam, taking the view that the ‘punishments’ pronounced by God is redemptive as opposed to punitive. This is indeed a different view (that I am just coming across and am sure it will be the same for most readers), it is a view that is put across in such a way that makes it worthy of studying further and not in a forceful or oppressive manner. Chapter 3 talked about Sin, the first time it was used in the Bible, sin as an adversary and as the fountain head of our transgressions. Chapter 4 dealt with the question ‘Why re-examine Eden’ it is very interesting to note that the presentation in this book is completely different from most commentaries and analysis of the ‘Garden of Eden story with the events that happened there leading to the fall of man, the other commentaries mainly viewed the disobedience of Adam and Eve as an act of rebellion and the pronouncements of God that followed as judgments on Adam, Eve and the Serpent. It is the author’s opinion that a careful re-examination and analysis of the events that transpired at the Garden of Eden showed that firstly God planted the tree of good and evil to test the faith of Adam because as a creation of God he had to live by faith to please God, the desire of Eve especially to eat of the fruit of the tree after being deceived by the serpent stemmed more from a child-like desire to be like God as opposed to being rebellious. Chapter 5 – The Relationship of Faith, here the author examined what faith is and the quantum of faith we are required to possess following the example Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 17: 19-20 which lead to the question what then is ‘Little Faith’ as it is the style of the author he did a re-enactment of the story in Matthew 17:19-20 for the reader to better understand the events and also gain new insights, he concluded that Little faith as used by Jesus Christ refers to us having anxieties for God to perform miracles for us since he has performed similar miracles for others as opposed to having real faith which is asking for the will of God concerning the situation believing if God wills it, then it will come to pass; he gave two examples in the Bible to better understand this definition of real faith in comparison with Little Faith – the story of the Leper and that of the Centurion in Luke 7: 6-8
Part 2: Chapters 6-10
Chapter 6 talked about the topic ‘Free Indeed’, about the meaning of Sin and being a good person, if it is one and the same thing and the sacrifice of Jesus for the sin of all, what that sacrifice really means. Jesus unlike us was sinless the question now is how we can be liberated from the law of sin and death which we had inherited from the fall of Adam in the Book of Genesis. The author gave an answer to this very important question; Our Lord God is a righteous God and must judge sin, he cannot just forgive our ‘offenses’ as an act of grace and mercy without violating his righteous nature hence the sacrifice of his son Jesus who is sinless and did not fall short of the glory of God. The sacrifice of Jesus reconciled all the children of Adam under the sentence of death. Chapter 7 – Walking in the Way talks about the importance of establishing a relationship by faith with Christ and the 3 ways we receive guidance from God; Bible, God’s voice and His peace. Chapter 8 – We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood; in this chapter the author explained that in the Christian race, our adversary the Devil will contend with us and this does not always manifest in the physical but in the spiritual realm, he further gave us a guide as stated in the bible how we can deal with these adversary followed by personal encounters and the way he overcame the adversary. I find these personal encounters really encouraging that we can indeed overcome the adversary. Chapter 9 – Living in God’s Rest; the meaning of Rest right from the creation story when God rested after he finished the creation work, that there is more to word Rest than setting aside a day to refrain from work to worship God. Chapter 10 the final chapter of the book delves deeper into the meaning and definition of sin and our perception of the sin affects our relationship with Christ. Here the author discuss the alternative proposal in interpreting sin and I must say it was indeed an eye opener and a refreshing approach that pushes you to question and study the word of God for better understanding, further it awakens a desire for a relational and spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.
The author gives a list of study questions at the end of each chapter that relates to the topic treated therein, the questions are to make the reader THINK and embark on a journey of Knowledge to know and understand better. Further it ensures that the reader is engaged and looks forward to the next chapter.This book will definitely appeal to new converts to the Christian Faith as well as old converts who desire a deeper understanding of the Christian Faith, i truly enjoyed reading this book and also learnt a lot.
I rate this book 4 STARS out of 4 . The only issue I have with this book is with the End notes, which is placed at the end of the book. It would have been preferable to have them as footnotes or better still placed at the end of each chapter for easy of reference.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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4 out of 4 stars
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The review of this book titled ‘WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED BY WILLIAM E. COMBS (a refreshing examination of the Garden of Eden) is divided into 2(two) parts; 1st part is review of Chapters 1-5 and the 2nd part Chapters 6-10.
Before I delve into the review of the book, I would like to state that the cover page is good; gives an indication of what the book is all about.
Part 1: CHAPTER 1 – 5
Right from the introduction of this book, there is an easy flow of words, very descriptive thus making it easy for the reader to relate to the story being told. One Example in the introduction of the book is a description of ‘The Three holder’ outhouse built by the author’s Grandpa you could almost feel yourself right there in the events being described and the way he tied it into spirituality is indeed commendable because this book is about the Christian faith.
The sub-title of the book is ‘a refreshing examination of the Garden of Eden’ and it lived up to it, it was a refreshing and different approach to the interpretation of the events that took place at the Garden of Eden and its resultant consequences in the book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3
The author employed a method of re-enacting each event/story that took place at the Garden of Eden, thus giving the event some flesh and bring the story to life, the effect of this is to make you relate to the story, challenge you to think outside the box, ask your yourself some very critical questions especially on the instructions given to Adam and his wife Eve and the consequences of their disobedience and the pronouncements made by God
Chapter 1 – Innocent in the Garden through a fantastic re-enactment the author gave us a look into what life at the Garden of Eden must have been like, here the reader will be give an examination of God’s instruction to Adam about the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, Adam having a help mate, the relationship of Adam and his wife Eve as one flesh which shows the level of companionship and intimacy available to all married couples who would follow, God’s plan for the newly -weds which is to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion over all the animals, through the actions of Adam one is able to deduce that though Adam and his wife were innocent but they were very intelligent beings. Chapter 2 – Naked in the Garden; here the author discussed the meaning of ‘nakedness’ within the context of the Adam and Eve story in the Garden of Eden. The author also examined in details the instructions given to Adam and Eve i.e. if you eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, you shall surely die, what type of death was referred to here, a physical, relational or spiritual death or a combination of all three. The author challenges the reader to look at another perspective of God’s pronouncements/’judgments’ after the disobedience of Adam and Eve on the serpent, Eve and Adam, taking the view that the ‘punishments’ pronounced by God is redemptive as opposed to punitive. This is indeed a different view (that I am just coming across and am sure it will be the same for most readers), it is a view that is put across in such a way that makes it worthy of studying further and not in a forceful or oppressive manner. Chapter 3 talked about Sin, the first time it was used in the Bible, sin as an adversary and as the fountain head of our transgressions. Chapter 4 dealt with the question ‘Why re-examine Eden’ it is very interesting to note that the presentation in this book is completely different from most commentaries and analysis of the ‘Garden of Eden story with the events that happened there leading to the fall of man, the other commentaries mainly viewed the disobedience of Adam and Eve as an act of rebellion and the pronouncements of God that followed as judgments on Adam, Eve and the Serpent. It is the author’s opinion that a careful re-examination and analysis of the events that transpired at the Garden of Eden showed that firstly God planted the tree of good and evil to test the faith of Adam because as a creation of God he had to live by faith to please God, the desire of Eve especially to eat of the fruit of the tree after being deceived by the serpent stemmed more from a child-like desire to be like God as opposed to being rebellious. Chapter 5 – The Relationship of Faith, here the author examined what faith is and the quantum of faith we are required to possess following the example Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 17: 19-20 which lead to the question what then is ‘Little Faith’ as it is the style of the author he did a re-enactment of the story in Matthew 17:19-20 for the reader to better understand the events and also gain new insights, he concluded that Little faith as used by Jesus Christ refers to us having anxieties for God to perform miracles for us since he has performed similar miracles for others as opposed to having real faith which is asking for the will of God concerning the situation believing if God wills it, then it will come to pass; he gave two examples in the Bible to better understand this definition of real faith in comparison with Little Faith – the story of the Leper and that of the Centurion in Luke 7: 6-8
Part 2: Chapters 6-10
Chapter 6 talked about the topic ‘Free Indeed’, about the meaning of Sin and being a good person, if it is one and the same thing and the sacrifice of Jesus for the sin of all, what that sacrifice really means. Jesus unlike us was sinless the question now is how we can be liberated from the law of sin and death which we had inherited from the fall of Adam in the Book of Genesis. The author gave an answer to this very important question; Our Lord God is a righteous God and must judge sin, he cannot just forgive our ‘offenses’ as an act of grace and mercy without violating his righteous nature hence the sacrifice of his son Jesus who is sinless and did not fall short of the glory of God. The sacrifice of Jesus reconciled all the children of Adam under the sentence of death. Chapter 7 – Walking in the Way talks about the importance of establishing a relationship by faith with Christ and the 3 ways we receive guidance from God; Bible, God’s voice and His peace. Chapter 8 – We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood; in this chapter the author explained that in the Christian race, our adversary the Devil will contend with us and this does not always manifest in the physical but in the spiritual realm, he further gave us a guide as stated in the bible how we can deal with these adversary followed by personal encounters and the way he overcame the adversary. I find these personal encounters really encouraging that we can indeed overcome the adversary. Chapter 9 – Living in God’s Rest; the meaning of Rest right from the creation story when God rested after he finished the creation work, that there is more to word Rest than setting aside a day to refrain from work to worship God. Chapter 10 the final chapter of the book delves deeper into the meaning and definition of sin and our perception of the sin affects our relationship with Christ. Here the author discuss the alternative proposal in interpreting sin and I must say it was indeed an eye opener and a refreshing approach that pushes you to question and study the word of God for better understanding, further it awakens a desire for a relational and spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.
The author gives a list of study questions at the end of each chapter that relates to the topic treated therein, the questions are to make the reader THINK and embark on a journey of Knowledge to know and understand better. Further it ensures that the reader is engaged and looks forward to the next chapter.This book will definitely appeal to new converts to the Christian Faith as well as old converts who desire a deeper understanding of the Christian Faith, i truly enjoyed reading this book and also learnt a lot.
I rate this book 4 STARS out of 4 . The only issue I have with this book is with the End notes, which is placed at the end of the book. It would have been preferable to have them as footnotes or better still placed at the end of each chapter for easy of reference.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Randy Love...at your service by Shay Carter
