Review by Frank Alapini -- Who Told You That You Were Na...

[Frank Alapini]

[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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A retired Presbyterian Pastor, William E. Combs, whose understanding of sin, salvation, faith, and God is based mainly on the New Testament decides to share a better understanding of these notions in a theological and inspirational book using an analysis of the story of Adam and Eve in the Old Testament. This assignment is triggered by a meditative experience around the question “Who told you that you were naked?” The question transports him back to ancient times, at the beginning of the book of Genesis. He tries to fill the gaps of the story of the first biblical human ancestors as if he were an eyewitness in order to better explain the key aspects of Christianity mentioned, especially sin.

Hence, the original sin is Adam and Eve gaining the knowledge of good and evil or becoming able to discern good and evil. Through this, they are able to feel their nakedness and cloth themselves out of shame. This feeling of shamefulness damages the good relationship between both who become suspicious of one another (relational death) as well as their relationship with God (spiritual death). The process of their physical death also starts the very day they ate of fruit, though death would take several centuries to occur while their descendants would die just after about a century because of the persistence of sin in humankind. Only by having faith in Jesus Christ and obtaining God’s rest will humans be able to vanquish anxiety and death.

What I like the most about this book is its effort to touch readers with new thoughts and words to strengthen their religious comprehension and life. Christians and non Christians alike need them since the world is in a bad shape. William E. Combs should be thanked for trying to help others. He exposes well the Christian faith. The dramatization style is a good way of teaching by wrapping the message in strong emotions. Acknowledging this as a fiction shows the intellectual honesty of the author. However, I would have preferred that the warning be given before or within the introduction. I have not noticed any editing error, which is another positive element.

What I like least is what I present as theological errors. Indeed, I do not think that the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis is to be equated with the discernment of good and evil as in 1 Thessalonians 5: 19-20. The concept in Genesis is negative and humans are warned against it by God while the one in Thessalonians is positive and the Apostle Paul encourages its development. The clue is that "knowledge" in the story of the forbidden fruit does not seem to be used as a synonymous of "discernment." What is close to discernment is the Tree of Life which was the other important tree in the Garden, in Eden. William Combs does not describe that tree. According to Proverbs 3: 18, wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her. Either wisdom or discernment generates life while lies or false word bring death. Countless examples exist in the entire Bible. One can begin to see why the "knowledge" of good and evil brings death according to God in Genesis 2. The analysis of Proverbs 30: 20 offers the understanding that "to eat" can mean "to do" or "to practice."

So, in the context of Genesis, to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is to practice good and evil. God’s will for Adam and Eve is to practice only good, eating from the Tree of Life or wisdom which is the root of any good creation. Let’s remember that it is through the Divine Word full of Wisdom (see Genesis 1 and Proverbs 8:1-36) that life and good things emerge and are maintained. When evil actions are mixed up with the good creation, the door is opened for destruction or death. Deuteronomy 30: 16-19 is a good illustration. Evil begins with lies or false wisdom. Eve was after wisdom but was fed up with false wisdom or lies from the serpent. Jesus portrays the devil as the father of lies in John 8: 44.

The nakedness in question is not a physical one. Though he describes it as such, the author comes close to my definition of this particular concept on page 30 where he says that the devil wanted to rob Adam and Eve of their innocence. To me, the nakedness they were not ashamed of at first and which they despised after eating the forbidden fruit, is their positive immaturity related to youth. Children are not ashamed of being naked or ignorant, immature and innocent. As they grow up, they are supposed to get instruction to do the right things with the difficulties that go with them. The problem comes when an adolescent wants great results without the appropriate effort. So many people nowadays look for an easy way, just like Eve. Let’s notice that God does not say in the Bible that Adam and Eve would stay naked or immature forever. Eating from the Tree of Life was his solution. But as the reader could have observed, people often become impatient and try odd things only to discover sooner or later that they lived a lie, just like Eve and Adam.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of the qualities I mentioned. I want people to read it at least for the reasoning in it and because the time spent on that meditative exercise is very likely to be free of evil deeds. Though faith is emphasized in the book, the practical reasoning in it should contaminate the readers even if the end results are different. I do not give it 4 stars because of what I see as theological inaccuracies. The book and this review will certainly help the reader agree with one or the other or come up with a different interpretation of the original sin as it relates to nakedness. Let us all meditate like William Combs.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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