Original Sinners by John R. Coats

Review by W.J. Rayment / Conservative Bookstore -- The Bible matters...even for non-believers. This is true for many reasons. In discussions on the subject, I usually point out that whether or not you accept The Book as divine revelation, the language and ideas are so ingrained in our culture that to be truly educated, you must have read the Bible simply to understand Western culture.

The Bible was written with several purposes in mind. First, it is meant as a record, a history. Second, it is a self-help book, describing a code of conduct. Finally, it is a legal contract between God and the people. John R. Coats, in his book, Original Sinners, takes a close look at the first book of the Bible, Genesis, from all of these angles. The result is a witty, scene-by-scene analysis of the beginning of history, God's covenant with the Jews, and the founding of the Semetic peoples.

This book is not a Bible study in the typical sense. Coats is no literalist. He treats the creation story as a myth. Its telling is significant because of what it has to say about the people who wrote it. But more than this, the story speaks out to us today because the people who wrote it were humans, and in our own humanity we can find meaning in it. Coats points out that the Hebrew language in which the Old Testament was written was quite nuanced. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they were suddenly able to discern the difference between good and bad. This is different and more than the modern view that they suddenly knew good and evil. In fact it is far better to know good from bad. I would argue that the story of Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden is really about growing up. These two are willful children sent out into the world, not on the best terms with their stern, but loving parent. Without having partaken of the fruit, they would have been helpless in the harsh world of reality.

To me, even more interesting, is the author's treatment of the story of the line of men who founded Israel as a nation. It begins with Abraham and goes through Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (the one with the coat of many colors). Coats interlaces his chapters with stories from his own boyhood in Texas which are funny, poignant, and apropriate. He draws many lessons from the these Old Testament stories which apply to relationships between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, executives and workers, rulers and people. One lesson I found especially affecting had to do with the difference between a son's love for his father, and a father's love for his son. I retold Coats' own story at the dinner table about how his father had told him that he loved him. Coats replied rather nervously that he loved his father, too. But his father insisted that it was different. He explained that if the old man were to die the son would mourn for a short while and then life would continue. But if the son died before the father, the old man would be broken, never the same. I found this observation so true. When I tried to illustrate the truth of this to my own children they dismissed it lightly, asking to be excused from the table to pursue their own interests. It seemed to me to have been a simple illustration of the truth of the story.

I have done hundreds of book reviews over the last 12 years. Few books I have read have given me so much pleasure, and at the same time made me feel as though I were exercizing myself both spiritually and intellectually. Several times I simply laughed out loud. At others I made notes and dog-eared pages. At others I felt myself probing my own motivations. This book is certainly not for everyone. Those inclined to take the Bible literally will be unsettled. Yet I think Coats has admirably accomplished his task. He has certainly proven to me that the Bible and its in-depth study has relevance even in a society in which Christianity seems to be on the wane. Highly Recommended.

Original Sinners by John R. Coats is available at Amazon.