3 out of 4 stars
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Retired Reverend William Combs takes readers on a journey of an interpretation of where sin originated in his non-fiction Christian text, Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden.
Combs revisits the Garden of Eden with Adam, Eve, and the infamous serpent. In the Garden, he gives the first people a voice and conversations. Then, he touches upon other Biblical stories and its significance to sin. The readers reflect on Cain, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, and others.
I really enjoyed the conversations that Adam and Eve held in this book. It made the read more pleasant and easier to follow. Of course, no one has a way of knowing what was said those beginning days, so this contradicts the non-fiction genre, but it was a nice touch for my enjoyment.
The author's tone is conversational and fairly light. He includes his own thoughts and applications to his own life throughout most of the text. At the end of every chapter, there is a list of reflection questions to help readers summarize the content of that chapter. The subsections within each chapter is clearly and appropriately labeled.
It is easy to see that Combs has done quite a bit of research and has given the content much thought. However, I was disappointed in the presentation of information. I was given the impression that most of the read would focus on reexamining the Garden of Eden, but the author included more of the Bible. This isn’t necessarily a negative addition, but for one who isn’t a strong Bible reader, I did feel overwhelmed at times. After trying to connect the pieces together, I found the ending to be repetitive, circling back to the Garden of Eden.
The writing is also distant and not very personal. I have found that I tend to enjoy non-fiction when there’s a more personal connection to the author. Combs did include a few anecdotes of his life. Aside from uncertainty of my feelings toward these snippets of his life, there wasn’t enough for my liking.
I would recommend this read for those who would a deeper look into the book of Genesis and the Bible. Specifically, to those who are Christians or believe in the Christian faith. If there were more personal connection to the author and a bit more focused on one topic of the Bible, then I would have easily given this read a four-stars. As it is, I give this read a 3 out of 4 stars.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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