Review by March Reviewer -- Who Told You That You Were N...
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March Reviewer
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Review by March Reviewer -- Who Told You That You Were N...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
2 out of 4 stars
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There is a rather slow pace to the writing, but clear and concise. You will need to have a bible handy when reading this book as in some instances only the Bible book name, chapter and verse are mentioned but the verses themselves are not included in the text. The reader will have to keep turning the pages of the bible to do a reference check. I find this to be a bit inconvenient as it interrupts the flow in reading the book.
This is a Bible Study book with a "Discussion Questions" section at the end of almost every chapter. The whole book seems to be a collection of sermon notes. There is a rather scholarly feel to the manner of writing. The book assumes its readers have at least a general familiarity with the bible. Hence, is appropriate for bible students but may make for a challenging read for the casual Christian.
As the title of the book implies the main focus of the book centres around the time that Adam, the first man, transgressed God's commandment. The whole book dwells on this and uses other part of the Old and New Testaments to bolster the author's argument.
In Chapter 1 the author recounts the first day of Adam. The details are just enough to bring the reader into the story. In chapter 2 the author dramatizes the story of how the serpent managed to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The story is quite compelling. Adam and Eve were both deceived by the serpent. This brought a lot of new insights to me about the gravity of Adam's sin e.g. Example our fear comes about because of our sins. The author explains this quite well. Offers new insight with regards to where one of the verses in Isaiah 11:6-9 came from.
Chapter 3 presents quite a wonderful exposition of sin by tying the verses from New Testament (Book of Romans) to the Old Testament (Book of Genesis). Chapter 4 relates the Old Testament (Genesis 3:4) to the New Testament (John 2:16). This chapter also includes a personal testimony of the author's wife while she was still in college. She badly needed rest and found herself drifting off in the arms of the Lord. It was a short rest but she felt refreshed as if she had a whole night's sleep!
Chapter 5 explain the meaning of faith. Author reasons that faith has a quantitative spiritual property. 1 personal testimony about healing by faith included. Very nice! Chapter 6 dwells on Romans 7:25. Many a book has tried to explain this verse. I'm afraid, like all the other books the author has not quite succeeded where most other authors have failed. Luke 22:42 is wrongly quoted on page 95. A spelling mistake which changes the entire meaning of the verse. This is a bit off-putting for a book which expounds the idea that every word of the bible is important.
Chapter 7 Looks at Romans 10:9-10 as being the foundational believe for salvation. In page 125, Matthew 22:36 are wrongly quoted from the bible. The word "greatest" should be used instead of the word "great." This is a quite a major typo error and disturbs the flow of the explanation for the phrase quoted. Chapter 8 is very short but it does include another personal testimony (i.e. how the author rebuked the evil force in the name of Christ) to reinforce his writing. Wonderful!
Chapter 9 and 10 seem to be not quite in sync with the rest of the book. In chapter 9 the author seemed to suddenly sojourn to the time of the Hebrews’ exodus out of Egypt. The story does not seem to flow as well as the rest of the prior chapters. Chapter 10 can be read on its own, separate from the rest of the book. It has a rather preachy tone and may not appeal to new Christian readers. This final chapter does not seem to relate much to the rest of the book. We are the salt of the earth stuff. The author is trying to impress upon us that each one of us must take up our cross and spread the Word.
Overall the book is quite insightful so I’m giving it a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. There are at least 2 personal testimonies which I find quite uplifting to read. I would probably give it a slightly higher rating of 2.5 if all the bible verses quoted had been included in the text. That would have saved me from having to frequently open the bible to find where the quoted verses are. I do recommend this book to serious Christian readers who want to specifically understand the nature of sin.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
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There is a rather slow pace to the writing, but clear and concise. You will need to have a bible handy when reading this book as in some instances only the Bible book name, chapter and verse are mentioned but the verses themselves are not included in the text. The reader will have to keep turning the pages of the bible to do a reference check. I find this to be a bit inconvenient as it interrupts the flow in reading the book.
This is a Bible Study book with a "Discussion Questions" section at the end of almost every chapter. The whole book seems to be a collection of sermon notes. There is a rather scholarly feel to the manner of writing. The book assumes its readers have at least a general familiarity with the bible. Hence, is appropriate for bible students but may make for a challenging read for the casual Christian.
As the title of the book implies the main focus of the book centres around the time that Adam, the first man, transgressed God's commandment. The whole book dwells on this and uses other part of the Old and New Testaments to bolster the author's argument.
In Chapter 1 the author recounts the first day of Adam. The details are just enough to bring the reader into the story. In chapter 2 the author dramatizes the story of how the serpent managed to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The story is quite compelling. Adam and Eve were both deceived by the serpent. This brought a lot of new insights to me about the gravity of Adam's sin e.g. Example our fear comes about because of our sins. The author explains this quite well. Offers new insight with regards to where one of the verses in Isaiah 11:6-9 came from.
Chapter 3 presents quite a wonderful exposition of sin by tying the verses from New Testament (Book of Romans) to the Old Testament (Book of Genesis). Chapter 4 relates the Old Testament (Genesis 3:4) to the New Testament (John 2:16). This chapter also includes a personal testimony of the author's wife while she was still in college. She badly needed rest and found herself drifting off in the arms of the Lord. It was a short rest but she felt refreshed as if she had a whole night's sleep!
Chapter 5 explain the meaning of faith. Author reasons that faith has a quantitative spiritual property. 1 personal testimony about healing by faith included. Very nice! Chapter 6 dwells on Romans 7:25. Many a book has tried to explain this verse. I'm afraid, like all the other books the author has not quite succeeded where most other authors have failed. Luke 22:42 is wrongly quoted on page 95. A spelling mistake which changes the entire meaning of the verse. This is a bit off-putting for a book which expounds the idea that every word of the bible is important.
Chapter 7 Looks at Romans 10:9-10 as being the foundational believe for salvation. In page 125, Matthew 22:36 are wrongly quoted from the bible. The word "greatest" should be used instead of the word "great." This is a quite a major typo error and disturbs the flow of the explanation for the phrase quoted. Chapter 8 is very short but it does include another personal testimony (i.e. how the author rebuked the evil force in the name of Christ) to reinforce his writing. Wonderful!
Chapter 9 and 10 seem to be not quite in sync with the rest of the book. In chapter 9 the author seemed to suddenly sojourn to the time of the Hebrews’ exodus out of Egypt. The story does not seem to flow as well as the rest of the prior chapters. Chapter 10 can be read on its own, separate from the rest of the book. It has a rather preachy tone and may not appeal to new Christian readers. This final chapter does not seem to relate much to the rest of the book. We are the salt of the earth stuff. The author is trying to impress upon us that each one of us must take up our cross and spread the Word.
Overall the book is quite insightful so I’m giving it a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. There are at least 2 personal testimonies which I find quite uplifting to read. I would probably give it a slightly higher rating of 2.5 if all the bible verses quoted had been included in the text. That would have saved me from having to frequently open the bible to find where the quoted verses are. I do recommend this book to serious Christian readers who want to specifically understand the nature of sin.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Andalusian in Jerusalem by Mois benarroch
