Review by BRJWriting -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?

[BRJWriting]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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A review of Who Told You That You Were Naked?: A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden

The story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man in the Garden of Eden is one of the most important and well-known stories in the Bible. But how well do we really understand the story? Why is it that what took place in the first few chapters of Genesis doomed mankind and required salvation through Jesus Christ?

William Combs, a retired Presbyterian minister, sheds light on this topic in his book, Who Told You That You Were Naked?: A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden. The first few chapters serve as a thorough analysis of the story of the fall of man, including the Serpent deceiving Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, then leading Adam to do the same, thus introducing sin into the world. With his analysis, Combs intersperses an interesting though somewhat fictional account of the story; indeed, he even admits a couple of times that he embellished the Biblical account. Combs then spends the second half of the book analyzing how God sending his son Jesus to die as punishment for our sins saves us, despite being born as sinners. He relies heavily on the story of the Apostle Paul and his writings in the Bible. At the end, Combs ties it all together, explaining the significance of what happened in the Garden of Eden and offering his conclusions on how it relates to salvation for Christians today.

The book is an easy read, as Combs discusses these stories in a way that is simple for the average person to understand. At the same time, it’s a thought-provoking book. The analysis is insightful, as Combs makes many great points and asks questions I had never thought about before, not only about the story of Adam and Eve, but about the Christian doctrine of salvation in general. Each chapter includes a list of questions for discussion at the end. I imagine that if a Bible study group were to read this book and discuss it at their meetings, they could have some great conversations.

There are some things about the book that the author could improve. Once he gets into the middle chapters, addressing the New Testament more, the book tends to stray from Genesis, often going many pages without even mentioning Adam and Eve. The tone of the book changes in the second half, making for a slightly uneasy read. According to the book’s back cover, the purpose is to examine how sin came into the world and how the Lord redeemed us. The author eventually does prove this at the end of the book, but he takes a long route to get there.

I would also like to have seen more of a personal touch to the book. I don’t doubt the author’s desire to witness and to bring others to Christ, but only in the last few pages did I sense a real call to action for the reader. The Biblical analysis is great, but if one of his goals is to guide non-believers to a relationship with Jesus Christ, I don’t see this book accomplishing that.

Despite these shortcomings, I have decided to give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Combs’s analysis caused me to think about the fall of man in new ways, and he asks questions of the readers that will prompt them to use their critical thinking skills and to better understand the Biblical story of salvation. I can tell that Combs put a lot of effort and research into this book and that he is passionate about the subject. The book’s title promises a “refreshing” account of the Garden of Eden, and on that the book delivered. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Christian theology or who otherwise wants to better understand the story of Adam and Eve.

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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