Review by Paul78 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 11 Nov 2017, 13:26

[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

William E. Combs a retired Presbyterian Minister in his book, “Who told you that you were Naked? A Refreshing Re-examination of the Garden of Eden published by Carpenter’s Sons,” shows the devastating effects of the knowledge of good and evil which was acquired by the first man and his wife after eating the fruit which they had been forbidden to.

The author introduces us with an account of his youthful life and desire for adventure in the dark winter nights which he likens to his attempts to understand God who he did not see. He explains how the words, “Who told you that naked’’ changed his understanding of his understanding of sin, salvation and faith. In the first chapter, we see Adam interacting with his world before and after he is taken by the Lord to the Garden of Eden. His main work was to take care of the garden and exercise his authority over the entire creation. The Lord also allows him to eat from all the trees in the garden except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His first assignment which was to name all animals leaves him with the need for a companion which he could not find from the animals. The Lord makes the woman from man thus defining how marriages would work for all mankind. Throughout all this time they were naked and unashamed.

Their stay in the garden is however thwarted when they took the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The first expression of fear and shame is experienced when they have to hide from the Lord. The Lord makes pronouncements that would affect the mankind and eventually man loses his place in the garden Even as they leave the garden, we see a redefined relationship between Adam and his wife. Cain and Abel are born outside the garden and we see Cain’s insecurity and frustration when he murders his own brother despite the Lord warning him to guard against sin which was crouching at the door. In his re-examination of the Garden of Eden, the author explores the possible reasons that made the serpent approach the woman and why she was convinced into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It also explains why it was possible for the woman to convince the man into eating the fruit.

The book also in the subsequent chapters shows a detailed account for God’s remedy for sin, believers’ walk of faith and freedom. It also exposes the fact that a Christian is always opposed by powers of darkness in his daily walk of faith. The book finalizes by examining how one can attain God’s rest, showing how the early scholars had erred in their interpretation for sin and how each Christian needs to approach his daily walk of faith.

The author provides questions for discussion at the end of each chapter which assist the reader in further interrogating the scriptures with a view of gaining understanding on the author's point of view . The emphasis of Bible verses would assist him to quickly interact with the Bible passages without necessarily leaving the book to look out for the actual Bible verses. The book is complete with creative stories, personal testimonies and highlighted lines in every chapter that compliment the topics being discussed in each chapter.
I did not find any topographical errors on this book. I however slightly differ with the author on his account on the pronouncement to the man. In my opinion, the author did not fully consider the devastating effects on the curse of the ground for the sake of man as one would later see in Genesis 5.

Despite the above difference in opinion, this book is an excellent piece of work and it is a must read for all the people both Christians and non Christians. I therefore rate this book with 4 out of 4.

******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Paul78's review? Post a comment saying so!

CommMayo · Post by **CommMayo** » 13 Nov 2017, 23:25

It is amazing how different the reviews can be for the same book. You gave a compelling overview of the novel and a really fair assessment despite disagreeing the the author on key points of his argument. Good review!

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 13 Nov 2017, 23:31

Thanks I appreciate your comment.

Jordan David · Post by **Chelsy Scherba** » 15 Nov 2017, 00:52

I always love to hear the opinions of people who chose to read the same book I did. You did a good job describing the different genres the writer used in his book. Excellent review!

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 15 Nov 2017, 01:15

Thanks I appreciate

Rosemary Okoko · Post by **Rosemary Okoko** » 15 Nov 2017, 01:41

I read and reviewed this book. I liked the idea of asking questions at the end of the chapters. This would work well with Bible study groups. Nice review.

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 15 Nov 2017, 02:31

Rosemary you are right. Any Bible study group would find this book.

Dr Nefarious · Post by **Dr Nefarious** » 15 Nov 2017, 06:25

Even though our views regarding the book's quality and pertinence (and, may i add, sanity) differ widely, this a good review. Thanks.

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 15 Nov 2017, 09:10

Dr. Nefarious the essence of this forum is honesty in our reviews. We all have different approaches to the said text and we obviously not have the same results or even rating of the author.
Thanks for your comment.

The Researcher · Post by **The Researcher** » 16 Nov 2017, 01:22

I have seen this book around and Paul78, your take on this book brings a very fresh approach towards it. Thanks for sharing your views.

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 19 Nov 2017, 01:59

The Researcher wrote:I have seen this book around and Paul78, your take on this book brings a very fresh approach towards it. Thanks for sharing your views.

Thanks for your compliment.

-- 19 Nov 2017, 02:02 --

Rosemary Okoko wrote:I read and reviewed this book. I liked the idea of asking questions at the end of the chapters. This would work well with Bible study groups. Nice review.

I agree with you. This book will be great for Bible study groups. It would form a good ground for such healthy debates.

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 19 Nov 2017, 15:33

Thanks for the great review. It is very thorough.

Shirazi Cat · Post by **Shirazi Cat** » 20 Nov 2017, 13:12

This is a good presentation of the book. Thank you.

Paul78 · Post by **Paul78** » 21 Nov 2017, 06:57

Shirazi Cat wrote:This is a good presentation of the book. Thank you.

You are welcome

Penny Lee · Post by **Penny Lee** » 23 Nov 2017, 13:00

A thoughtful and thorough review. I also disagreed with some of the author's opinions, where he differed from the Biblical narrative and did not seem to have a clearly-cited Biblical basis, but overall his main points were helpful.