Review by eddix -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
-
eddix
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 08 Feb 2018, 07:15
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 98
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eddix.html
- Latest Review: Heartaches 3 by H.M. Irwing
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Review by eddix -- 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
Share This Review
In his book, Who Told You That You Were Naked? the author, William E Combs, invites his readers to take a fresh look at the occurrences of the Garden of Eden. His focus is on the first question God asked Adam when he tried to hide from Him. Mr Combs employs both expositions and testimonies to explain his book. He also supplies penetrating study questions at the end of each chapter for discussion purposes, which are aimed at cementing the material presented. I like that the most about this book.
In Chapter 1, the author introduces the food chain as we know it today, when an eagle captures its meal – a fish – and a lioness attacks and kills a ewe. In Chapter 2 he explains the saga between Eve and the serpent, and later Adam. Because of their disobedience, and resultant sinning, God has to re-clothe then remove the man and the woman from their beautiful Garden, for their own protection. The consequence of disobeying God was the acquisition of knowledge of good and evil, which gave rise to sin, as discussed in Chapter 3. However, in Chapters 4 and 5, the author reexamines the events of the Garden, and introduces the role of faith then, and now. He contrasts little-faith (which is presumptive and devoid of prayer) with real faith (which seeks God’s will in a matter, and believes in God’s ability to do His Will in that matter).
Chapter 6 deals with the question of man’s sin, God’s solution to the sin problem, and our response. Basically, man needs to be reborn by accepting Jesus Christ into his life as his Lord, through faith in Christ. Chapter 7 highlights the three avenues that God uses to communicate with us today, namely, the Bible and His voice, as well as His peace. Believers are to use these avenues in our daily walk with the Lord. In Chapter 8 believers are reminded that their struggle is not so much ‘against flesh and blood’ as it is against “the spiritual forces of” darkness. We should therefore clothe ourselves with God’s armour to be able to stand against evil, and resist the devil, so that he will run from us. Chapter 9 features God’s Rest, which is more than singling out one day of the week when we worship Him and cease labouring. It is actually a future Event which can only be accessed by faith in Christ through the Spirit of Life. In Chapter 10, the author offers an alternative proposal for the definition of sin, and states the importance of that proposal, in his view.
I am still trying to ‘wrap my head around’ the first part of the author’s elaborate Introduction. It appears unnecessary, so I liked that the least about the book. I also have a problem with his version of Adam’s early days in the Garden of Eden, as expressed in Chapter 1. For one thing, the author concludes that God gave the animals “every green plant for food” (p 12), so the eagle and the lioness attacking and eating members of their animal kingdom seems out of place. Also, the author says that the Lord presents Adam with a paradise – which seems to be outside the Garden. But according to the Bible’s account, all of Adam’s and God’s encounters occurred inside the Garden, at the beginning. Additionally, I do not understand the author’s version of the Lord’s speech to Adam in the last paragraph on page 6, where God mentions Adam’s “new home”. In the Bible, Adam lived in the Garden of Eden. That was his home. That’s where God warned him not to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The author shares his wealth of knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages with his readers. I like that. He brilliantly explains the incidence of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience of God’s command to not eat of a particular tree in the Garden. Adam and Eve were naked before they ate the forbidden fruit, but neither was aware of it, and it didn’t seem to matter to them. After eating the fruit, however, they acquired the knowledge of good and evil, as God said they would have, and both realized that they were naked. But, it seems it was neither guilt nor shame that was their biggest problem, but rather that their relationship with God was now different, which is precisely what God was trying to avoid in the first place. They only needed to continue to have fellowship with Him, and trust in His love for them. The author cleverly brings out that realization by focusing on the question that God asked Adam, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’, instead of, ‘What is this that you have done?’ Brilliant! That never occurred to me. I was with the many who thought that Adam and Eve had acted because of guilt and shame. Instead of seemingly punishing Adam and Eve, the author feels that God uses hardships (pain in child-bearing, and ploughing the earth for food) to distract them from each other’s flaws, and to bring them closer together. The blood that was shed to re-clothe the man and the woman, represents the blood that God’s Only Son would have to shed to redeem Adam’s offspring – all of humanity. Also, their new clothing foreshadowed His Son’s clothing of righteousness for all believers in Him.
Mr Combs feels that with the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil, humans have inherited the ability to generate a number of sinful acts. This causes us to be slaves to sin, through the law of sin and death which governs those acts. However, God has made it possible for us to live victorious lives through His Spirit of Life who lives in believers, as we read His word, the Bible, and listen to and obey His voice, thereby experiencing His peace. As we walk with the Lord, believers are sometimes buffeted by the devil, but clothing ourselves with God’s weapons, and resisting the advances of the devil will discourage him. God has prepared a Rest for all believers – active participants in God’s Spirit of Life – who are known to Him from before the world was created. This does not include merely religious persons who just go through the motions of worshipping and serving God without Him being Lord of their lives.
In Chapter 6 the author stresses the attitude we should have towards sin. Sin is not just a list of wrongdoings for which we need to feel sorry. If that were the case, then some persons could argue that they don’t need salvation since they are already ‘good’. However, sin is actually a law which features death, and is constantly warring in our flesh. Only Jesus, who was the only son from Adam with the ability to live on this earth ‘free from the law of sin and death’, was able to live a life which reflected ‘the law of the Spirit of Life’. When Jesus took on our sin on Himself and sacrificed His life on the cross, He enabled us to become righteous in God’s eyes as long as we believe on Him (Jesus). It is not our physical bodies that are created in God’s image and likeness – we are all physically different – but our spirits, which will eventually return to Him. So, we are to present our bodies to Christ, daily, so that He can transform and renew our minds as He continuously cleanses us from our sins. That involves inviting Christ to come into and take over our lives and become our Lord.
I agree with the author that it wasn’t rebellion against God that caused Eve to eat the fruit, but rather her innocent desire to be more like the person she loved – God. I suppose it’s no different than when we, today, try to emulate persons we admire or love. The highlight of this book, to my mind, is the role faith plays in our lives. I also agree that ‘little-faith’ – which was explained earlier – is a kind of nakedness. As the caterpillar metamorphizes into a butterfly, so believers on Christ (through their spiritual rebirth) cease to rely on their knowledge of good and evil, as they walk in the light of the Spirit who lives within them – by faith. We need faith to believe in and please God, daily. As a result of Adam’s choice, all of us are slaves to sin, but God’s grace is big enough to redeem us, through faith. Indeed, faith is the victory: it brings freedom! And we can have faith in God because God is faithful!
Christian scholars have described and explained Adam’s action as sin, disobedience, transgression, or rebellion. However, the author offers an alternative interpretation. He emphasizes that sin is separation from God, resulting from the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil, which led to a relational and a spiritual death. This alternative is important for people to understand, so they don’t think sin is a list of wrongs that they can prevent themselves from doing – so they don’t need salvation. Only God can save mankind from our hopeless attempts at saving ourselves, as we accept His Spirit of Life, and His Lordship, through faith in Him. I totally agree with him.
I rate this book, Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden, 4 out of 4 stars, because it is comprehensively put together, and is suitable reading material, for all ages, despite the few errors which managed to elude detection. Serious Bible students can gain a wealth of knowledge from its contents, and all others can be assisted to understand it. It is also appropriately named.
So, in my opinion, the answer to the question, “Who told you that you were naked?” is, Adam and Eve told themselves after they had acquired the knowledge of good and evil, and realized that they were relationally and spiritually separated from God.
The author, William E Combs, did an awesome job!
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like eddix's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
In his book, Who Told You That You Were Naked? the author, William E Combs, invites his readers to take a fresh look at the occurrences of the Garden of Eden. His focus is on the first question God asked Adam when he tried to hide from Him. Mr Combs employs both expositions and testimonies to explain his book. He also supplies penetrating study questions at the end of each chapter for discussion purposes, which are aimed at cementing the material presented. I like that the most about this book.
In Chapter 1, the author introduces the food chain as we know it today, when an eagle captures its meal – a fish – and a lioness attacks and kills a ewe. In Chapter 2 he explains the saga between Eve and the serpent, and later Adam. Because of their disobedience, and resultant sinning, God has to re-clothe then remove the man and the woman from their beautiful Garden, for their own protection. The consequence of disobeying God was the acquisition of knowledge of good and evil, which gave rise to sin, as discussed in Chapter 3. However, in Chapters 4 and 5, the author reexamines the events of the Garden, and introduces the role of faith then, and now. He contrasts little-faith (which is presumptive and devoid of prayer) with real faith (which seeks God’s will in a matter, and believes in God’s ability to do His Will in that matter).
Chapter 6 deals with the question of man’s sin, God’s solution to the sin problem, and our response. Basically, man needs to be reborn by accepting Jesus Christ into his life as his Lord, through faith in Christ. Chapter 7 highlights the three avenues that God uses to communicate with us today, namely, the Bible and His voice, as well as His peace. Believers are to use these avenues in our daily walk with the Lord. In Chapter 8 believers are reminded that their struggle is not so much ‘against flesh and blood’ as it is against “the spiritual forces of” darkness. We should therefore clothe ourselves with God’s armour to be able to stand against evil, and resist the devil, so that he will run from us. Chapter 9 features God’s Rest, which is more than singling out one day of the week when we worship Him and cease labouring. It is actually a future Event which can only be accessed by faith in Christ through the Spirit of Life. In Chapter 10, the author offers an alternative proposal for the definition of sin, and states the importance of that proposal, in his view.
I am still trying to ‘wrap my head around’ the first part of the author’s elaborate Introduction. It appears unnecessary, so I liked that the least about the book. I also have a problem with his version of Adam’s early days in the Garden of Eden, as expressed in Chapter 1. For one thing, the author concludes that God gave the animals “every green plant for food” (p 12), so the eagle and the lioness attacking and eating members of their animal kingdom seems out of place. Also, the author says that the Lord presents Adam with a paradise – which seems to be outside the Garden. But according to the Bible’s account, all of Adam’s and God’s encounters occurred inside the Garden, at the beginning. Additionally, I do not understand the author’s version of the Lord’s speech to Adam in the last paragraph on page 6, where God mentions Adam’s “new home”. In the Bible, Adam lived in the Garden of Eden. That was his home. That’s where God warned him not to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The author shares his wealth of knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages with his readers. I like that. He brilliantly explains the incidence of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience of God’s command to not eat of a particular tree in the Garden. Adam and Eve were naked before they ate the forbidden fruit, but neither was aware of it, and it didn’t seem to matter to them. After eating the fruit, however, they acquired the knowledge of good and evil, as God said they would have, and both realized that they were naked. But, it seems it was neither guilt nor shame that was their biggest problem, but rather that their relationship with God was now different, which is precisely what God was trying to avoid in the first place. They only needed to continue to have fellowship with Him, and trust in His love for them. The author cleverly brings out that realization by focusing on the question that God asked Adam, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’, instead of, ‘What is this that you have done?’ Brilliant! That never occurred to me. I was with the many who thought that Adam and Eve had acted because of guilt and shame. Instead of seemingly punishing Adam and Eve, the author feels that God uses hardships (pain in child-bearing, and ploughing the earth for food) to distract them from each other’s flaws, and to bring them closer together. The blood that was shed to re-clothe the man and the woman, represents the blood that God’s Only Son would have to shed to redeem Adam’s offspring – all of humanity. Also, their new clothing foreshadowed His Son’s clothing of righteousness for all believers in Him.
Mr Combs feels that with the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil, humans have inherited the ability to generate a number of sinful acts. This causes us to be slaves to sin, through the law of sin and death which governs those acts. However, God has made it possible for us to live victorious lives through His Spirit of Life who lives in believers, as we read His word, the Bible, and listen to and obey His voice, thereby experiencing His peace. As we walk with the Lord, believers are sometimes buffeted by the devil, but clothing ourselves with God’s weapons, and resisting the advances of the devil will discourage him. God has prepared a Rest for all believers – active participants in God’s Spirit of Life – who are known to Him from before the world was created. This does not include merely religious persons who just go through the motions of worshipping and serving God without Him being Lord of their lives.
In Chapter 6 the author stresses the attitude we should have towards sin. Sin is not just a list of wrongdoings for which we need to feel sorry. If that were the case, then some persons could argue that they don’t need salvation since they are already ‘good’. However, sin is actually a law which features death, and is constantly warring in our flesh. Only Jesus, who was the only son from Adam with the ability to live on this earth ‘free from the law of sin and death’, was able to live a life which reflected ‘the law of the Spirit of Life’. When Jesus took on our sin on Himself and sacrificed His life on the cross, He enabled us to become righteous in God’s eyes as long as we believe on Him (Jesus). It is not our physical bodies that are created in God’s image and likeness – we are all physically different – but our spirits, which will eventually return to Him. So, we are to present our bodies to Christ, daily, so that He can transform and renew our minds as He continuously cleanses us from our sins. That involves inviting Christ to come into and take over our lives and become our Lord.
I agree with the author that it wasn’t rebellion against God that caused Eve to eat the fruit, but rather her innocent desire to be more like the person she loved – God. I suppose it’s no different than when we, today, try to emulate persons we admire or love. The highlight of this book, to my mind, is the role faith plays in our lives. I also agree that ‘little-faith’ – which was explained earlier – is a kind of nakedness. As the caterpillar metamorphizes into a butterfly, so believers on Christ (through their spiritual rebirth) cease to rely on their knowledge of good and evil, as they walk in the light of the Spirit who lives within them – by faith. We need faith to believe in and please God, daily. As a result of Adam’s choice, all of us are slaves to sin, but God’s grace is big enough to redeem us, through faith. Indeed, faith is the victory: it brings freedom! And we can have faith in God because God is faithful!
Christian scholars have described and explained Adam’s action as sin, disobedience, transgression, or rebellion. However, the author offers an alternative interpretation. He emphasizes that sin is separation from God, resulting from the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil, which led to a relational and a spiritual death. This alternative is important for people to understand, so they don’t think sin is a list of wrongs that they can prevent themselves from doing – so they don’t need salvation. Only God can save mankind from our hopeless attempts at saving ourselves, as we accept His Spirit of Life, and His Lordship, through faith in Him. I totally agree with him.
I rate this book, Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden, 4 out of 4 stars, because it is comprehensively put together, and is suitable reading material, for all ages, despite the few errors which managed to elude detection. Serious Bible students can gain a wealth of knowledge from its contents, and all others can be assisted to understand it. It is also appropriately named.
So, in my opinion, the answer to the question, “Who told you that you were naked?” is, Adam and Eve told themselves after they had acquired the knowledge of good and evil, and realized that they were relationally and spiritually separated from God.
The author, William E Combs, did an awesome job!
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like eddix's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Heartaches 3 by H.M. Irwing
