Review by verna smalling -- Who Told You That You Were N...
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verna smalling
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Review by verna smalling -- Who Told You That You Were N...
[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. Coombs, published by Carpenter’s Son, 2016. In this religious book, written from a Christian perspective, Coombs explains how sin came into this world through our fore parents Adam and Eve and how God has redeemed us from sin by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In his discourse, and as the title suggests, Coombs refers to his work as a reexamination as he looks at a number of concepts in a different light from that portrayed over the years by various bible scholars and commentaries.
This book is divided into ten chapters which are easy to read, both because of the type of print and fairly simple language used. The cover of the book is very eye-catching with the illustration of a bright red apple that seems like an invitation to delve right into the book. Coombs makes good use of imagery, descriptive words, dramatization, personal anecdotes and testimonies to enhance his explanations. He also encloses important points in grey boxed areas for emphasis and places .discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
Coombs takes his readers on an enlightening journey visiting our first parents in the Garden of Eden where he opened with a dramatization of Adam and Eve’s first few days after their creation. He examined the circumstances that caused them to leave Eden and how the consequences of their actions impacted both Cain and Abel and ultimately enslaved us all. At this point he felt a reexamination of the Garden of Eden was necessary as he feels that contrary to most other commentaries, Adam’s sin did not result from rebellion but more from a lack of faith in God’s commandment. Continuing on the journey, Coombs outlines the hopelessness of our plight as Adam’s descendants through to God’s redemptive solution through faith in Christ and how faith sets us free from a life of sin and death. He discusses that faith is not just an occasion but a continual walk. During this walk there will be opposition from our adversary the devil. However it is possible for us to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ and obey his call to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. In following Christ, we are to be ‘salt’ in a world where secular institutions have failed to solve the problem of sin and evil.
I was impressed with the features of this book. The stories and anecdotes are in a different font in order to distinguish them from the rest of the text. I appreciate that the author places the reference scriptures in the pages of the text in order not to break the flow of reading. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter makes this book a valuable resource for personal and group bible study. One thing that confuses me is that in his dramatization of the early days of Adam, Coombs portrays the lion as a dangerous predator in a setting where all creatures were supposed to coexist peacefully.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars as it was well written. It was also professionally edited as I did not encounter any grammatical or spelling errors.
The young Christian seeking to understand the concept of original sin and its implications for the human race, the seasoned Christian who continues searching for new insights in the word of God and a church leader who wants to encourage his congregation in their quest for truth would find this book very resourceful. Persons not open to alternate explanations of the concept of original sin and those with no interest in religious matters would not find this book useful.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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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. Coombs, published by Carpenter’s Son, 2016. In this religious book, written from a Christian perspective, Coombs explains how sin came into this world through our fore parents Adam and Eve and how God has redeemed us from sin by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In his discourse, and as the title suggests, Coombs refers to his work as a reexamination as he looks at a number of concepts in a different light from that portrayed over the years by various bible scholars and commentaries.
This book is divided into ten chapters which are easy to read, both because of the type of print and fairly simple language used. The cover of the book is very eye-catching with the illustration of a bright red apple that seems like an invitation to delve right into the book. Coombs makes good use of imagery, descriptive words, dramatization, personal anecdotes and testimonies to enhance his explanations. He also encloses important points in grey boxed areas for emphasis and places .discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
Coombs takes his readers on an enlightening journey visiting our first parents in the Garden of Eden where he opened with a dramatization of Adam and Eve’s first few days after their creation. He examined the circumstances that caused them to leave Eden and how the consequences of their actions impacted both Cain and Abel and ultimately enslaved us all. At this point he felt a reexamination of the Garden of Eden was necessary as he feels that contrary to most other commentaries, Adam’s sin did not result from rebellion but more from a lack of faith in God’s commandment. Continuing on the journey, Coombs outlines the hopelessness of our plight as Adam’s descendants through to God’s redemptive solution through faith in Christ and how faith sets us free from a life of sin and death. He discusses that faith is not just an occasion but a continual walk. During this walk there will be opposition from our adversary the devil. However it is possible for us to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ and obey his call to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. In following Christ, we are to be ‘salt’ in a world where secular institutions have failed to solve the problem of sin and evil.
I was impressed with the features of this book. The stories and anecdotes are in a different font in order to distinguish them from the rest of the text. I appreciate that the author places the reference scriptures in the pages of the text in order not to break the flow of reading. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter makes this book a valuable resource for personal and group bible study. One thing that confuses me is that in his dramatization of the early days of Adam, Coombs portrays the lion as a dangerous predator in a setting where all creatures were supposed to coexist peacefully.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars as it was well written. It was also professionally edited as I did not encounter any grammatical or spelling errors.
The young Christian seeking to understand the concept of original sin and its implications for the human race, the seasoned Christian who continues searching for new insights in the word of God and a church leader who wants to encourage his congregation in their quest for truth would find this book very resourceful. Persons not open to alternate explanations of the concept of original sin and those with no interest in religious matters would not find this book useful.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like verna smalling's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Wilderness Cry by Hilary L Hunt M.D.
