Why Genesis Still Matters
John R. Coats
Free Press
October 2010/ ISBN 14391022104
Nonfiction/Religion
Amazon
Reviewed
by Willie Elliott
John R. Coats gives us a new and entertaining account of the early
icons of the New Testament in Original Sinners: Why Genesis
Still Matters. Coats tells the same story, but in his account,
we see these great men on a human level. The author's purpose, which
he states bluntly, is to connect with these stories at a primal
level. He does a terrific job in accomplishing this task.
Coats, in several
of the stories, makes a connection with the biblical characters
and his own life and the lives of those around him. It is not his
aim to lower the esteem of these great characters but to put them
in human terms that we can identify and relate to. In other words,
these stories, in a different time and place are about you, me and
and us. They are stories about life.
Some stories
are what I would at first call far-fetched. For example in the story
about Ham seeing his father Noah, the author suggests, there might
have been a case of homosexuality. Then he has what documentation
to back up his claim.
To illustrate
how the book is about us, Coats tells us that Jonah did what most
of us would do when asked to do something we don't want to do—run
away. Does this makes us see Jonah as less of a heroic man? No,
it makes us see him in light of what a human being would do. What
we learn from from these stories is that despite these men's high
callings, they were just that—men and acting in a human way.
Each of the
stories rather than detract from the understanding of the material
adds more understanding. This is an interesting book and should
be read whether you accept or reject his interpretation.
Reviewer's
Note:
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