Review by Adora_300 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Adora_300
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Review by Adora_300 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
2 out of 4 stars
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It is a well know fact among Christians that the sequence of all events in the Bible—and in the world —share a root in the book of Genesis. In spite of this awareness, the connection between the story in Genesis and the philosophical aspect of life as it is today is limited to the story of the fall from grace of Adam and Eve. Before the fall, the story of Adam and Eve centered on the revelation of the origin of everything we see in our physical world today and instructions on how they should be used and related to. To most readers, it is just a story of the First Man blissfully walking around a garden and giving names to animals. However, William Combs, a retired Presbyterian minister, saw in this story of the Garden of Eden, interpretations that bring much deeper meaning and understanding to the notion of sin, faith, and salvation. In writing Who Told You That You Were Naked: A Refreshing Re-examination of the Garden, William attempted to examine, explain and debunk naive understandings of these biblical themes.
The book consists of ten chapters, with the first five giving attention to the activities in the garden of Eden and the origin of sin while the last five chapters focused on the deeper meaning of faith and salvation while also debunking simplistic understandings in their regard.
William’s writing style was creative, vivid and with a smooth flow, and he embellished several stories of the Bible with his own imagination, making it interesting and easier for readers to relate to the stories. As I read on, I found myself constantly nodding in approval and thinking, “This makes sense.” Each chapter was also followed by a study guide, designed to keep memory fresh and to challenge readers with critical questions.
Despite all this, I found difficulty in getting to understand where William was driving at with each argument. Sometimes, it seemed as if he was simply over-analyzing stories in the Bible and showcasing differing point of views rather than making a particular argument. And at other times his arguments seemed trivial and unoriginal with unnecessarily complicated and poor theories to prove them. For example, he pointed out that the word ‘sin’ did not appear in the bible until the the story of Cain and Abel in Chapter four. He used this observation to argue that what Adam and Eve did in the garden was actually not sin and that what Adam and Eve suffered was not the consequence of sin but the consequence of eating the apple. Here’s what is wrong with his argument: Sin, by Christian definition is simply disobedience of God’s command. By eating from the apple that they were instructed not to eat, Adam and Eve sinned. Second, William contradicts himself by going back again to point out that the ‘sin’ God told Cain about, which was “always crouching at the door” was also the serpent in chapter three patiently watching Eve before approaching her and telling her to eat from the tree. Making statements and claims like these only serves to confuse readers about what exactly ‘sin’ might be mean.
I rate the book 2 out of 4 star. This is due to the confusing nature of his arguments. While I understand the William’s intention to deeply explore beliefs about sin and salvation, he went about it in the wrong way. However, I still would recommend this book to new believers because of the study guides fixed in each chapter. But I would also recommend that a more knowledgeable instructor guide their readings.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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2 out of 4 stars
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It is a well know fact among Christians that the sequence of all events in the Bible—and in the world —share a root in the book of Genesis. In spite of this awareness, the connection between the story in Genesis and the philosophical aspect of life as it is today is limited to the story of the fall from grace of Adam and Eve. Before the fall, the story of Adam and Eve centered on the revelation of the origin of everything we see in our physical world today and instructions on how they should be used and related to. To most readers, it is just a story of the First Man blissfully walking around a garden and giving names to animals. However, William Combs, a retired Presbyterian minister, saw in this story of the Garden of Eden, interpretations that bring much deeper meaning and understanding to the notion of sin, faith, and salvation. In writing Who Told You That You Were Naked: A Refreshing Re-examination of the Garden, William attempted to examine, explain and debunk naive understandings of these biblical themes.
The book consists of ten chapters, with the first five giving attention to the activities in the garden of Eden and the origin of sin while the last five chapters focused on the deeper meaning of faith and salvation while also debunking simplistic understandings in their regard.
William’s writing style was creative, vivid and with a smooth flow, and he embellished several stories of the Bible with his own imagination, making it interesting and easier for readers to relate to the stories. As I read on, I found myself constantly nodding in approval and thinking, “This makes sense.” Each chapter was also followed by a study guide, designed to keep memory fresh and to challenge readers with critical questions.
Despite all this, I found difficulty in getting to understand where William was driving at with each argument. Sometimes, it seemed as if he was simply over-analyzing stories in the Bible and showcasing differing point of views rather than making a particular argument. And at other times his arguments seemed trivial and unoriginal with unnecessarily complicated and poor theories to prove them. For example, he pointed out that the word ‘sin’ did not appear in the bible until the the story of Cain and Abel in Chapter four. He used this observation to argue that what Adam and Eve did in the garden was actually not sin and that what Adam and Eve suffered was not the consequence of sin but the consequence of eating the apple. Here’s what is wrong with his argument: Sin, by Christian definition is simply disobedience of God’s command. By eating from the apple that they were instructed not to eat, Adam and Eve sinned. Second, William contradicts himself by going back again to point out that the ‘sin’ God told Cain about, which was “always crouching at the door” was also the serpent in chapter three patiently watching Eve before approaching her and telling her to eat from the tree. Making statements and claims like these only serves to confuse readers about what exactly ‘sin’ might be mean.
I rate the book 2 out of 4 star. This is due to the confusing nature of his arguments. While I understand the William’s intention to deeply explore beliefs about sin and salvation, he went about it in the wrong way. However, I still would recommend this book to new believers because of the study guides fixed in each chapter. But I would also recommend that a more knowledgeable instructor guide their readings.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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