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

Miss_BeckyG · Post by **Miss_BeckyG** » 27 Feb 2019, 07:49

[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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Who told you that you were naked? A refreshing reexamination of the Garden of Eden by William E. Combs is a Christian book that seeks to explain how sin and death came to be. The book itself is divided into ten chapters with study questions included at the end of each chapter. The questions just like the chapters' content are very thought provoking and are aimed at getting the reader to reflect on scripture.

As stated by the title: Who told you that you were naked? A refreshing reexamination of the Garden of Eden, the book begins with the story of Adam and Eve. The author uses reenactment of scenes to make scripture more relatable. This is one quality that I really enjoyed about the book. In one such vignette Combs shows how the serpent convinced Eve that the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil was good enough to eat. She eats of the fruit and gets Adam to sample the fruit, which begins their downfall from God’s graces. The author goes on to expound on the fact that neither Adam nor Eve sinned as a result of rebellion but their actions had life changing consequences.

Throughout the book the author highlights points of interest to the topic discussed in the particular chapter. The formatting makes it easier to identify the points being communicated. There is use of italicized, underline or bold words in the text to make immediate explanations but readers will also find more explanation in the end notes towards the end of the book. This was another concept about the book that really set it apart in comparison to many Christian books that I have read. The inclusion of personal testimony of experiences that Combs and his family can attest to is another bonus. Combs who is a retired Presbyterian minister also relates scriptures in Genesis to others in the old and the new testament to drive his explanations home. In this way the reader can appreciate that both books of the Bible are relevant. This negates the belief that one set of scripture is more important than the other.

I agree that Comb’s purpose in writing the book has been achieved. He is able to reexamine the origin of sin and show how the Lord has redeemed us by the sacrifice of Jesus. The extent of the context is then spanned throughout the Bible linking prophets like Isaiah and apostles like Paul to the message of redemption. The book did have me question so many notions that I held about sin. Once of these is that sin is a lifelong list of errant acts and committing less of the acts makes me a better Christian.

This is a book I would certainly recommend the book to individuals or groups involved in Bible study and in particular the topics of sin and death. The only thing that seemed to overwhelm me about the book was trying to read it in one go. I would advise the readers to approach the book chapter wise in order to appreciate the author’s intention.

I believe the book deserved a 4 out of 4 stars rating. A great job was done on the editing as I noticed one grammatical error though I may have missed a few as I was engrossed in scripture.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Espie · Post by **Espie** » 29 Mar 2019, 06:14

I like the way you've brought out the most noteworthy aspects of this piece. Anything that uplifts and brings us closer to the right path is a worthy read, indeed. Thank you for your insightful review.