Review by clyoblue -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
Posted: 30 Mar 2017, 15:17
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Modern life demands an accounting of our assets, of our potential risk. Electronic devices count our steps and our keystrokes as our online behaviour is collected and coded into a series of 0’s and 1’s to reveal our consumer profile. When the language of commerce infiltrates even our most intimate relationships, it’s no surprise then that some Christians approach their relationship to God in the same fashion: Maintaining a balance sheet where one pays in acts of salvation for each individual transgression. In his new book, Who Told You That You Were Naked, William Combs questions this approach, arguing that it creates a false sense of security where “we can convince ourselves we are becoming better persons because we are committing fewer sins.”
Treating the bible as an English professor would treat a great novel, Combs dissects the metaphorical nuance of self-awareness and shame in the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve suffer original embarrassment before God. Combs suggests that we are currently clothing ourselves with the material trappings of a gasping American Dream. Playing on the question in the title he asks, who told you that you were naked? Who told you that you must define yourself by the standards of our increasingly shallow society? No amount of treasure, he contends, can substitute for offering yourself up to God, entrusting the spirit as Jesus did finally, to the hands of his Father.
Combs characterizes the struggle to curb sin and the rewards we grant ourselves when we do as pure vanity. Adam and Eve’s gift to humanity was not to identify a set of rules to dominate, but the understanding of good and evil. When we recognize our “total inability to free ourselves from our feelings of nakedness” we stop trying to cover up and begin the painful process of entering faith as we abandon the illusion of power and place our fate in the hands of God. Combs weaves relevant biblical text and an approachable intelligence while taking narrative leaps as well into the minds of Cain, Paul, and others as they attempt to understand that the act of sin is only the symptom of the larger malady of untested faith.
Combs strikes a comfortable balance between informal personal anecdotes and scholarly attention to the history of language. He summons the weight of his argument and calls his readers to come forward and take the necessary steps to walk in the light with God. Invoking current perceived backlash for fundamentalist Christians, he warns that the journey will be rough. Who Told You That You Were Naked does not necessarily attempt to convert, but Combs is writing for a very specific audience of Christians who may find themselves vaguely unsatisfied with the intensity of their commitment to God. He writes both for Christians who think they have all the answers and those who understand a relationship without scrutiny will lie fallow and eventually decay.
Combs earns three out of four stars for characterizing the epic battle between good and evil in a way that is accessible and relevant to his readers’ daily lives. His call to separate the self/spirit from the flesh echoes those who use meditation to arrive at a healthier relationship with the person in the mirror. However, he is a preacher in the business of saving souls which is clear in his conclusion when he makes a formal request for his readers to be “born again” in the eyes of the Lord. The consequence of his call to action is to alienate those who practice different religious beliefs.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Modern life demands an accounting of our assets, of our potential risk. Electronic devices count our steps and our keystrokes as our online behaviour is collected and coded into a series of 0’s and 1’s to reveal our consumer profile. When the language of commerce infiltrates even our most intimate relationships, it’s no surprise then that some Christians approach their relationship to God in the same fashion: Maintaining a balance sheet where one pays in acts of salvation for each individual transgression. In his new book, Who Told You That You Were Naked, William Combs questions this approach, arguing that it creates a false sense of security where “we can convince ourselves we are becoming better persons because we are committing fewer sins.”
Treating the bible as an English professor would treat a great novel, Combs dissects the metaphorical nuance of self-awareness and shame in the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve suffer original embarrassment before God. Combs suggests that we are currently clothing ourselves with the material trappings of a gasping American Dream. Playing on the question in the title he asks, who told you that you were naked? Who told you that you must define yourself by the standards of our increasingly shallow society? No amount of treasure, he contends, can substitute for offering yourself up to God, entrusting the spirit as Jesus did finally, to the hands of his Father.
Combs characterizes the struggle to curb sin and the rewards we grant ourselves when we do as pure vanity. Adam and Eve’s gift to humanity was not to identify a set of rules to dominate, but the understanding of good and evil. When we recognize our “total inability to free ourselves from our feelings of nakedness” we stop trying to cover up and begin the painful process of entering faith as we abandon the illusion of power and place our fate in the hands of God. Combs weaves relevant biblical text and an approachable intelligence while taking narrative leaps as well into the minds of Cain, Paul, and others as they attempt to understand that the act of sin is only the symptom of the larger malady of untested faith.
Combs strikes a comfortable balance between informal personal anecdotes and scholarly attention to the history of language. He summons the weight of his argument and calls his readers to come forward and take the necessary steps to walk in the light with God. Invoking current perceived backlash for fundamentalist Christians, he warns that the journey will be rough. Who Told You That You Were Naked does not necessarily attempt to convert, but Combs is writing for a very specific audience of Christians who may find themselves vaguely unsatisfied with the intensity of their commitment to God. He writes both for Christians who think they have all the answers and those who understand a relationship without scrutiny will lie fallow and eventually decay.
Combs earns three out of four stars for characterizing the epic battle between good and evil in a way that is accessible and relevant to his readers’ daily lives. His call to separate the self/spirit from the flesh echoes those who use meditation to arrive at a healthier relationship with the person in the mirror. However, he is a preacher in the business of saving souls which is clear in his conclusion when he makes a formal request for his readers to be “born again” in the eyes of the Lord. The consequence of his call to action is to alienate those who practice different religious beliefs.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like clyoblue's review? Post a comment saying so!