Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Free Press (October 19, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1439102104 ISBN-13: 978-1439102107	Order book here:
		Order E-book here:

How does the stories of Genesis apply to our lives today. In Original Sinners, author John R. Coats illustrates sometimes through personal examples some of the stories of Genesis. He does this in conjunction with explaining what the Genesis story is telling us. He also doesn’t take the view that only his interpretation is correct, which I find refreshing in religious texts. While he does bring religion into the discussion, the lessons he draws from them will fit anyone regardless of religious background.

I found the book very interesting. Some of the Jewish history, I was already familiar with. He doesn’t take the side of it’s all myth or the side of it’s all fact, and leaves the reader to determine that for themselves. I’m not certain that some of the more conservative readers though would appreciate it, since it does challenge some long held beliefs.

The author often references other scholars, some Rabbinical, an d the works they’ve written. There is a nice bibliography section at the end, and the book is indexed.

If one thing was confusing it was the authors references to the different sources of biblical writing (one of the things that would challenge people’s beliefs). The author seems to work under the assumption that you’ve read The Bible with Sources Revealed by Richard E. Friedman, which I hadn’t. I found myself having to research the time periods for J, E, P, D, and R (the sources). Having done the research though, I think Mr. Friedman’s book may be one I check out.

If you are open minded and have any interest in spiritual paths, or learning about religious history and how it applies to the present, then you should check out this book. If you are easily offended by others beliefs, then I’d probably skip it.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Anna at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review.

See our giveaway here or an article by Mr. Coats here.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.