When Creation Speaks Did Adam Have a Belly Button?

 

Some questions are simply too ridiculous to ignore am I right? Like does a tiger wear a tutu? This is one of them. Somewhere, a Sunday school teacher has already sighed deeply or a nun is mentally flipping me the bird. Somewhere else, a theology professor has smiled because they know exactly where this question eventually leads. Now somewhere on the internet, two complete strangers are probably writing fourteen-paragraph essays, without a single paragraph break, arguing passionately about the abdominal anatomy of a man whose stomach the Bible never actually describes. 😂😂😂

Humanity is a fascinating species. We are so smart sometimes we are stupid. Like I legit saw a loo that required an app to flush... A smartphone to flush...

Put the kettle on, sweetie. We're going to make it worse. So much worse... At first glance, this seems like one of those questions designed to derail Bible studies or to dumb to ask...

It's a simple question.

Did Adam have a belly button?

Yes? No? Who cares? Next question. Except...

That's never really been the question. You see yhe moment you ask whether Adam had a belly button, you've accidentally wandered into some of the biggest questions human beings have ever asked ever... In a way. Kind of. Or something...

You must now decide... What counts as evidence? Can God create something mature without creating a false history? What does it actually mean to "create"? How do science and Scripture investigate the same reality from different directions?

Also if you think perhaps you noticed the question here hiding beneath all the others... It's rather clever... How do we know what we think we know?

Not bad for one hypothetical scar. See? You are now inside a Bunny Hole. I warned you these happen. Is it warm, wet and a lil naughty?

Before we go any further, let's make one thing clear. This series isn't about winning arguments. If that's what you're after, the internet already has plenty of those so go play with a troll on Reddit or Twitter...

This is about investigation. I don't particularly care whether an idea is fashionable. Or stupid... Heck homie... I care whether it's true. Those aren't always the same thing. So here's the agreement. We'll read Scripture carefully. We'll read creation carefully. We'll distinguish evidence from assumptions whenever we can. We'll admit uncertainty when it's deserved and if we end up changing our minds because the evidence demands it...

Deal? Awesomesauce. You see changing your mind isn't failure. No, it's maintenance. Now then... Open your Bible. Open your science textbook. Let's see what both have to say unless you're scared...

The first surprising thing is how little Genesis actually tells us. Go and read it.Really. It's totally fine. I'll wait. Genesis never mentions Adam's stomach or his hair or his fingernails or whether Eve preferred tea or coffee... Last one doesn't matter as tea hadn't been domesticated yet 😂 Tragic.

The point is that Genesis is astonishingly selective isn't it? It tells us exactly what it intends to tell us, and almost nothing it doesn't. That's frustrating if you're looking for anatomical details. It's wonderful if you're trying to understand what the author believed actually mattered.

Genesis tells us that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground.

The Hebrew verb is יָצַר (yatsar).

If you've ever watched a potter at work, you're already closer to the image than most modern illustrations of this... This isn't a factory assembly line popping out bodies. It's craftsmanship. Hands shaping clay. Purpose. Intention. Deliberate design. Adam isn't described as an infant who grows into adulthood...He's fully formed and then God breathes into him. Then he lives. Fully alive and aware. Fully capable of tending the garden, naming animals, receiving instruction, and entering into relationship.

That's a remarkably mature beginning for someone... Which immediately raises another question. If Adam never had a mother...Why would he even have the scar left behind by a placenta?

See? Look...Just like that... Our funny little question about belly buttons has become a discussion about biology, theology, philosophy, and what it means for something to be created complete.

We're only getting started.