Review by Max Bauer -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
-
Max Bauer
- Posts: 14
- Joined: 22 Apr 2017, 11:49
- Bookshelf Size: 7
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-max-bauer.html
- Latest Review: "From Drift to SHIFT" by Jody B. Miller
Review by Max Bauer -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Who Told You That You Were Naked? By William E Combs is a book of Christian theology that looks at the effect of the knowledge of good and evil on Adam and Eve, and the nature of sin. As a pastor, Combs also tries to insert the basics of the Christian message to get the reader to the point of accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
The book, besides looking at the act of Adam and Eve in the garden and how that relates to us, also has creative renditions of the biblical story provided by Comb, and personal testimonials of himself and other Christians. I will look the main text, his creative stories and the Christian testimonials each on their own, then give my overall rating of this book.
Before we begin it is important to note Combs works from a biblical literalist view. That means he doesn't accept the secular explanation of the Bible as a “contradicting yet evolving” mythology, a cultural tradition of legends, allegorical tales and fantastic invention. Nor does he agree with the Christians who try to make the Bible jibe with Darwinist evolution and geological time. For Combs, the bible is a literal history, which is perfect and does not contradict. The fact he references New Testament primarily to explain the Old Testament shows that he comes primarily from a Christian perspective, and that he views the Bible message as one and fully consistent.
In the main text, Combs sometimes puts in hard work, listing multiple sources and forming logically valid conclusions from the text he quotes. Combining quotes from the Old and New Testament with a book of theology or linguistics in hand, he does some nice work indeed. This, however, does not make up the majority of the book. Much of the time he makes tenuous connections, adds to the text without justification, fails to see the overall inconsistency of his beliefs, ignores contradictions and is led by sentiment more than reason.
In Comb’s favor, we have his analysis of the word “sin” and how it is used in different ways throughout the Bible. Indeed, it was interesting to see that sin is not just doing bad acts, but the knowledge of and desire to commit those acts. Combs also gives an interesting explanation for the nature of faith, saying that the issue for the believer is not that he has too little faith, but rather that he has the wrong sort of faith. I'm not sure if his interpretations are right, but it does solve some apparent contradictions in the New Testament.
However, Combs oft comes to conclusions based on sentimentality rather than research. Since God can only be loving and understanding it is impossible, for Combs, that he could be wrathful as well. When God tells Adam he'll have to labor, he is “gifting” him with a sense of accomplishment, when he tells Eve she'll be ruled by her husband and give birth in pain, he is setting up a loving relationship and the joy of holding one's offspring. When God kicked them out of the garden, he wasn't being mean, he was being helpful, because he knew they couldn't do it on their own. Combs even lets Adam and Eve off the hook, saying that are not rebellious, but only wish to imitate God the way a child wishes to imitate their parents.
At times, Combs makes unjustified extrapolations from the text as when he quotes Psalm 111:10 (which is also in Proverbs 9) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” and says this means “reverent fear”, whilst the text makes no distinction at all as to what fear is mentioned. He also makes tenuous connections, as with Moses saying the Israelites shouldn't worry about remembering the complicated Jewish law in Deuteronomy 30:14 “But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" and Paul on how to be saved as a Christian in Romans 10:10 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Combs see’s both as text calling for a direct personal relationship with god, but the only connection between them is the fact they mention the mouth and the heart.
Combs does some creative story telling, explaining the biblical stories with all kinds of additional details (such as Adam having a pet called Lively) or how Adam and Eve got a rash from their fig leaf loincloth. The idea of painting word pictures (as Combs puts it) is a good one, but it confuses the purpose and breaks the flow of the text. It also involves either unjustified speculation, or it is theologically beside the point. This is because the claims of this book on supposed to be based on what the Bible said, not his creative additions to it. On the other hand, I also know many of the readers will enjoy these sections, even if they seem to me to be out of place or overly sweet, so I will not judge them too harshly.
The testimonials are the most interesting part of this book. This is because they tell the actual experiences of Christians, or at least what they claimed happened to them. You have some stories that are rather normal, as when the author's wife claims God helped her remember a musical number in concert that she was struggling with in rehearsal. Some are astonishing miracles, as when God crushed a guy’s kidney stones to dust, thanks to prayer. Others were completely fantastic, as when Comb's wife opened the front door only to discover it was Satan (cleverly disguised as a shy young man), whom she sternly rebukes after which he falls, and the ground opens and eats him up. Ordinary, extraordinary or fantastic, for a believer or a non-believer, these testimonials do make for interesting reading. In fact, a book full of these would meet with my approval.
The differing elements make it hard to rate this piece as a whole, for some parts are of higher quality than others. That said, all things considered, I give this book a 2 out of 4 star rating.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Max Bauer's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Who Told You That You Were Naked? By William E Combs is a book of Christian theology that looks at the effect of the knowledge of good and evil on Adam and Eve, and the nature of sin. As a pastor, Combs also tries to insert the basics of the Christian message to get the reader to the point of accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
The book, besides looking at the act of Adam and Eve in the garden and how that relates to us, also has creative renditions of the biblical story provided by Comb, and personal testimonials of himself and other Christians. I will look the main text, his creative stories and the Christian testimonials each on their own, then give my overall rating of this book.
Before we begin it is important to note Combs works from a biblical literalist view. That means he doesn't accept the secular explanation of the Bible as a “contradicting yet evolving” mythology, a cultural tradition of legends, allegorical tales and fantastic invention. Nor does he agree with the Christians who try to make the Bible jibe with Darwinist evolution and geological time. For Combs, the bible is a literal history, which is perfect and does not contradict. The fact he references New Testament primarily to explain the Old Testament shows that he comes primarily from a Christian perspective, and that he views the Bible message as one and fully consistent.
In the main text, Combs sometimes puts in hard work, listing multiple sources and forming logically valid conclusions from the text he quotes. Combining quotes from the Old and New Testament with a book of theology or linguistics in hand, he does some nice work indeed. This, however, does not make up the majority of the book. Much of the time he makes tenuous connections, adds to the text without justification, fails to see the overall inconsistency of his beliefs, ignores contradictions and is led by sentiment more than reason.
In Comb’s favor, we have his analysis of the word “sin” and how it is used in different ways throughout the Bible. Indeed, it was interesting to see that sin is not just doing bad acts, but the knowledge of and desire to commit those acts. Combs also gives an interesting explanation for the nature of faith, saying that the issue for the believer is not that he has too little faith, but rather that he has the wrong sort of faith. I'm not sure if his interpretations are right, but it does solve some apparent contradictions in the New Testament.
However, Combs oft comes to conclusions based on sentimentality rather than research. Since God can only be loving and understanding it is impossible, for Combs, that he could be wrathful as well. When God tells Adam he'll have to labor, he is “gifting” him with a sense of accomplishment, when he tells Eve she'll be ruled by her husband and give birth in pain, he is setting up a loving relationship and the joy of holding one's offspring. When God kicked them out of the garden, he wasn't being mean, he was being helpful, because he knew they couldn't do it on their own. Combs even lets Adam and Eve off the hook, saying that are not rebellious, but only wish to imitate God the way a child wishes to imitate their parents.
At times, Combs makes unjustified extrapolations from the text as when he quotes Psalm 111:10 (which is also in Proverbs 9) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” and says this means “reverent fear”, whilst the text makes no distinction at all as to what fear is mentioned. He also makes tenuous connections, as with Moses saying the Israelites shouldn't worry about remembering the complicated Jewish law in Deuteronomy 30:14 “But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" and Paul on how to be saved as a Christian in Romans 10:10 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Combs see’s both as text calling for a direct personal relationship with god, but the only connection between them is the fact they mention the mouth and the heart.
Combs does some creative story telling, explaining the biblical stories with all kinds of additional details (such as Adam having a pet called Lively) or how Adam and Eve got a rash from their fig leaf loincloth. The idea of painting word pictures (as Combs puts it) is a good one, but it confuses the purpose and breaks the flow of the text. It also involves either unjustified speculation, or it is theologically beside the point. This is because the claims of this book on supposed to be based on what the Bible said, not his creative additions to it. On the other hand, I also know many of the readers will enjoy these sections, even if they seem to me to be out of place or overly sweet, so I will not judge them too harshly.
The testimonials are the most interesting part of this book. This is because they tell the actual experiences of Christians, or at least what they claimed happened to them. You have some stories that are rather normal, as when the author's wife claims God helped her remember a musical number in concert that she was struggling with in rehearsal. Some are astonishing miracles, as when God crushed a guy’s kidney stones to dust, thanks to prayer. Others were completely fantastic, as when Comb's wife opened the front door only to discover it was Satan (cleverly disguised as a shy young man), whom she sternly rebukes after which he falls, and the ground opens and eats him up. Ordinary, extraordinary or fantastic, for a believer or a non-believer, these testimonials do make for interesting reading. In fact, a book full of these would meet with my approval.
The differing elements make it hard to rate this piece as a whole, for some parts are of higher quality than others. That said, all things considered, I give this book a 2 out of 4 star rating.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Max Bauer's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "From Drift to SHIFT" by Jody B. Miller
