Review by Nikki Dewing -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

[Nikki Dewing]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Who Told You That You Were Naked? is a revisit to the Garden of Eden through thought-provoking analyses by Reverend William E Combs. The book is divided into Chapters which end with challenging questions on the topics discussed. The book gives a different look into the heart of God and His divine intention for mankind.

So-called Christian books are normally other people’s interpretation of the Bible. For that reason I am a very critical reader of such books. The credentials of the author are also an important determinant in how open-minded I am when reading the content. William E Combs is a retired Presbyterian minister, married for 48 years and studied at Fuller Theological Seminary. So far we are good.

Biblical revelation has its roots in the first book of the Bible. Genesis tells us the beginning of everything and Satan particularly hates it. And that is why so many people dismiss a deeper study of the Beginning. Who Told You That You Were Naked? takes us back to the Garden for a revisit with our first parents, the events that forced them to leave and the consequences.

The author uses beautiful word-pictures which imaginatively puts the reader in the Garden right next to Adam and Eve. A good example is his description of the creation of Eve, “So, the Lord caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. With a natural anesthetic in place, God removed a rib from his side and performed the world's first major reconstructive surgery: He molded the rib into a woman.”

These images are combined with Scripture readings and the occasional personal testimony. With this revisit the reader is guided to look beyond the words and phrases that we have become too accustomed to. The reader gets to see the real point of Genesis and how it fits in with the rest of the Bible. It certainly challenges the traditional concept of original sin. According to the author, Adam and Eve were innocent and thus had no idea of sin or disobedience. They were not rebelling against God, but were in fact searching for a closer relationship with God. The rest of the book takes the reader on a journey from hopelessness to God’s redemptive solution through a continual walk of faith in Jesus Christ.

I was pleasantly surprised at the way the author points out single words and phrases in a sentence and how this somehow changes the fairy-tale image of a Creation Story – for example, the latex sap of fresh fig leaves! I can’t mention them all without giving away “spoilers”, but just have to add that every challenging interpretation is backed up by Scripture, or by drawing the reader's attention to the obvious - as with the fig leaves.

I also liked the fact that the main purpose of the book in its entirety is to develop knowledge of and a closer relationship with God. The author is not suggesting a new reality, but instead uses Bible history, his personal testimonies as well as those of others to inspire the reader towards a closer faith walk, seeing sin as not just a list of transgressions, but realizing that there is an enemy bigger than us “crouching at the door”. Although there are one or two statements that I personally did not totally agree with, these are minor differences of opinion and in no way discredit the purpose for which the author wrote this message.

I recommend the book to everyone, whether Christian or not, because of the simple way in which the author explains the foundational truths of the Bible. I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. It is really a thought provoking and life changing read. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter are challenging and make the book excellent for small group Bible study.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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[Anthony__]

I read this book and its really intriguing. I love the fact that the author explained Knowledge of sin, Salvation and faith in a more insightful way focusing on the old testament, through the lens of the new testament.