Reviewed by Lily Andrews
Douglas A. King’s “An Innocent World” is a thought-provoking Christian fiction book that uses logic to argue what would have happened if Adam and Eve had refused to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and instead chose to eat from the Tree of Life. Purchase here.
King contends that before Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge and Evil, they were unable to distinguish between good and evil. He believes that they lacked the emotions required to discern between the two, and that staying innocent- with no clear purpose to do right or wrong was what God meant for them to maintain. In a convincing manner, he depicts a world that would be full of innocent people today. By presenting that image, he poses questions about what that world would have looked like and if catastrophes, evil, and bad luck would still have infiltrated it.
The idea of challenges helping the Guilty—those born in sin—develop a strong character is carefully examined by the author, who also asks whether the Innocents might have had a more valued character. He links this to the idea that God in His Wisdom, planted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for a reason that would never be immediately obvious to the ordinary eye. With this, he simultaneously answers the question of whether the Guilty chose their path or if it was predetermined for them.
This is not your average creation story book; rather, it is a rational exploration of deep realities beyond what the Genesis account implies. It has offered priceless insight on how to make the right choices and act in ways that might alter the course of one’s life from one of guilt and pain to one of innocence and peace. By giving a logical explanation of what happened in the Adam and Eve story, it effectively dispels myths while also appealing to the reader’s deepest investigative abilities with its probing questions and hints that reveal startling realities.
The foundation of Douglas A. King’s book “An Innocent World” is a startling revelation that, if accepted and put into practice, promises a happier and more fulfilling existence. It is deep, strongly based in the Bible, and unquestionably unique among religious texts in its perspective on suffering and hardships. Although it is brief, it effectively presents one of the most compelling arguments of a well-known biblical story. It is without a book that demonstrates the power of logic to solve an issue of concern that the Christian world has long been baffled by. Anyone wishing to develop in their faith and have a better grasp of the role trials should play in their relationship with God should definitely read it.