A New Commentary on Genesis Book

Original Sinners, by John R. Coats, is subtitled Why Genesis Really Matters. With my love for faith, the Bible and science, I simply had to read it. The author has a Masters degree from Virginia Theological Seminary, so he knows a lot about the Bible. It's clear he's thought a lot about it too and researched its background well. The stories he tells, based on events and characters both familiar and unfamiliar, are much more than paraphrases of a well-known book or short readings leading to sermons.

In Original Sinners the author imagines, and analyzes, real lives behind the Biblical tales'why did Cain feel so angry and rejected? How could Abraham uproot his family like that, and why did he lie about his wife? Why is Isaac almost invisible in the tale? And how can anyone imagine we might want to emulate sneaky Jacob?

With anecdotes drawn from his own life and lives of friends, the author shows how archetypes of Genesis really are relevant today, not just to people of faith, but to anyone interested in human nature. Sometimes he seems to reject the Bible's depictions as fable or embellishment. Other times he brings them so thoroughly to life it's hard to remember there might be other interpretations. But all the time, John R. Coats writes of real people, real worlds, really researched, and allows the reader to see the stories and characters in a new light.

One reader might say "Of course, the Bible's literally true"; another that of course each word is myth; but it would be hard after reading this book to say the Bible's irrelevant. It would be a shame if readers rejected the author's writing in favor of preconceived notions, since there's so much to inform both faith and reflection, and the narrative is so eloquent and intriguing. Who are we? Why are we here? And why do we do what we do? Original Sinners might not answer the questions, but it points in an interesting direction.



Disclosure: I read about this book in a blog and was lucky enough to obtain a copy to read and review.