Review by sheeps44 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

sheeps44 · Post by **sheeps44** » 18 Jul 2018, 09:57

[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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Adam and Eve is a classic story in the holy bible; it centers around the first humans in the Garden of Eden, and how they were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit, it gave them great knowledge for the tradeoff of cursing humanity with negative emotions and desires such as temptation and sin. The original Adam and Eve story was memorable, but because it’s a biblical story; there is a distinct feel to it that makes the story more of a summary than an actual story. In the book Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden the author William E. Combs tries to rectify this issue by instead analyzing the story itself through narrative and opening discussions about the biblical story of old.

Being a Christian, I was intrigued by the premise alone, one of the biggest things I always noticed in any of the bible stories is that most of them force you to uphold your suspension of disbelief. In most bible stories, the characters would do specific actions that were unnatural to how ordinary people would do in a similar situation. Thankfully, William E. Combs studious take to the Adam and Eve story is well-written, highly engaging and thought-provoking without disrespecting its original historical origins.

The biggest strength of this book is the discussion that can arise while reading it; the author goes into detail about specific themes in the bible such as sin and demonstrates how it isn't as rigid as it initially was conceived in the Bible. Each chapter explores certain biblical elements with a critical and inquisitive eye and ends with a couple of discussion questions that you can ask yourself or other people of Christian faith. It's an excellent way to connect with readers for it's an inviting way to open a discussion. Another thing that I also liked was that whenever the author needed to make a point or apply some evidence to his thoughts on a biblical theme, he references an actual Bible quote that supports his claims. This way of writing makes his claims easier to grasp and understand, and thus can be relied on to give a different take in the old Bible story.

The book has little to no grammar or spelling issues. However, one thing that irked me was that the fonts and spacing would change whenever the author needed to reference the bible. I felt like the quotes could’ve been more woven in with the rest of the story in a way where it wasn’t so bizarre.

Before I give a rating, I must say that despite my praise, this book itself is for a specific audience: Christians. I’m not saying that only Christians will like it, I’m just saying that since it centers around discussing the Adam and Eve story; I feel like it naturally tailored for Christian readers. Because of this, I higly recommend the book to fellow Christians like myself.

In conclusion, my rating for Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden by Willaim E. Combs is a 4 out of 4 Stars, for its intriguing premise, its respectful but engaging analysis of a story from the Bible, and for its ability to open up discussions.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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LaurenHaupt · Post by **LaurenHaupt** » 30 Jul 2018, 23:33

I've seen this book before. I just wasn't sure if it was going come out cheesy or not. Great review! I think I might try it.

Abigail R · Post by **Abigail R** » 31 Jul 2018, 10:22

It sounds like the author did a great job supporting his book with actually biblical references. I think this book would become a great topic of conversation for those that have read it.
I appreciate your honesty about the probable audience, this is always helpful in a review.
Thanks for the honest review!