4 out of 4 stars
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Who Told You That You Were Naked
This "Reexamination" of the Book of Genesis was phenomenal. The author uses a wonderful mix of Theological examination, psychological understanding and creative writing in this endeavor. I read the book front to cover in one day; the entire time thinking, "I can't wait until this is available to bring to my Bible Study group!"
I loved the introduction in this book, where the author gave a wonderful glimpse of his childhood life, and then tied that into his examination of the Book of Genesis. Throughout the book, his occasional references to his personal and adult life are absolutely appropriate, and helped me to take the opportunity to compare the teaching points of the book to my own life.
The writing style I found to be wonderful. Too often, when writing such an examination of either a theological topic or a historical document, authors tend to have a dry and straightforward style which makes the reading often tedious, albeit necessary. This author, however used a descriptive and colorful story telling of the story of Adam and Eve, giving a secondhand experience to their possible thoughts and feelings at each mile marker in the story. That style being followed by an analytical analysis of the theological and personal implications made this book a delightful and fun reading experience.
Most importantly, this book would be a fabulous tool for use at discussions where multiple different faiths are represented. I find this to be one of the most captivating aspects of this book. Often, conversations between faiths and denominations regarding the stories of the Bible become a focus on whether the individual views each story as fictional, factual, anecdotal or somewhere in between. The conversation about the story, the lessons the story was designed to teach us and the moral compass the Bible is designed to guide us along often get lost in these heated discussions.
This author is able to explain the likely psychological teachings the Book of Genesis is attempting to convey in a manner that is logical and thought provoking to even a reader who may not believe the story of Adam and Eve to be historical fact. His approach is not one of absolute authority or that of a person who is attempting to convert or dissuade the reader. Rather, this approach gives the reader the freedom to accept their own personal and religious beliefs while still engaging in the discussion regarding how this story can be applied to our lives, and how the teaching is still applicable today. I sincerely hope this author intends to undertake such a reexamination of additional books in the Bible, as I would be most interested to read them. I anxiously await the availability of this book and intend to purchase several copies for friends. I give this book 4 out of 4 stars, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a study of theology, psychology and introspective subjects
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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