Review by Silas Nyamweya -- Who Told You That You Were N...

Silas Nyamweya · Post by **Silas Nyamweya** » 16 Jan 2018, 07:29

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

3 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

The book by William Combs presents a reassessment of the events which occurred at the Garden of Eden. However, the narrations are done sarcastically as the events are not presented as they appear in the book of Genesis. Nonetheless, the author has done well to idealize the experiences of Adam and Eve, the first created human beings from a non-Biblical perspective. Essentially, the author is inviting readers and the audience in general, to delve into the events through which sin and death penetrated the world.

Through this approach, the author happens to be successful in drawing the audience especially those who are used to the Biblical narration of creation. The author’s intent is to take the readers on the journey of hope from the fall of Adam to God’s redemption of humanity through Jesus Christ. The key message in this book is therefore, that of salvation.

Maybe, we need to ask ourselves whether the authors approach has succeeded in passing the message across. From my perspective, the answer is positive. Yes, William Combs has indeed succeeded and is poised to succeed in attracting the attention of readers from the way the narration is presented. It is acknowledged that many people have heard or overheard about the story of the first man and woman. Literary, most of them would get bored if they are presented the same stories from the same source; the Bible. It seems Combs is aware of this and hence wants to break this monotony.

The events in “Who Told You Are Named” are drawn from the everyday lives in today’s homes. Therefore, readers will be in a position of relating with the presentations and then applying these to the themes being relayed. These events are obviously intermingled with the Biblical contexts and themes. A good example is a statement on page 118 “I attended college at Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage and often helped serve mass at nearby Providence Hospital. Still, the sense of belonging eluded me”. This statement can be supported by another statement on page 111, “We learned we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), meaning our sin separates us (our spirit) from God”. Therefore, the relation of everyday life with the Biblical texts is well amalgamated.

I could give the book a rating of 3 out of 4 due to various reasons. One is that it effectively serves its purpose which is to communicate Mans redemption right from the time of Adam to Jesus Christ. Two is that the statements are well articulated with an easy to understand language. The book is also short, only 200 pages and hence; readers cannot be turned away from the volume or length. However, the author need to correct the introduction part as the narration provided do not actually point to the key them to be relayed. Moreover, the part is unnecessarily long and may turn away some readers who may feel that their expectations are not being met.

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

Like Silas Nyamweya's review? Post a comment saying so!

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 14 Feb 2018, 22:02

You stated the one of the main teachings as: our sins separate us from God. The other is our redemption in Jesus Christ. God in His mercy extended that promise of redemption right after the first sin. That message never gets boring. Glad you liked the book.

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 14 Feb 2018, 22:03

kdstrack wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 22:02 You stated one of the main teachings as: our sins separate us from God. The other is our redemption in Jesus Christ. God in His mercy extended that promise of redemption right after the first sin. That message never gets boring. Glad you liked the book.