According to certain religions Adam is supposedly the first human being created by god from mud and clay and breath life into his nostrils. I don't know if there is a more precise version of the story, but in any case the above statement is sufficient to grab the whole idea.
One fine day some body asked, did Adam really have a navel (belly button). Yes we are talking about that dent on our belly caused by the umbilical cord that was our lifeline once when we were in our mother's womb. I hope now you can clearly see where the argument is heading to. If Adam (and for that matter Eve as well since Eve was the first women and god created Eve from Adams ribs) did not have belly buttons, then how could we, the descendants have belly buttons?. If Adam did have belly button, then it was pure case of false testimony from god (I mean the misleading belly button on Adam). If god is really "capable" of giving false testimony is something that is beyond the scope of this article. Any way this is essentially the essence of the argument.
You might be thinking it is silly of me to write on something like this. But this is an interesting argument which was around for centuries, and I came to know and think about it only lately. So I thought I should write on it.
Apart from theologists and church, the renaissance painters as well had difficulties in painting Adam. But renaissance painters like Michelangelo and Raphael were brave enough to paint Adam with navel, like this on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
However Michelangelo was careful to clad god in a robe, so that he could be silent about the belly button on him. I am also sure that it would be odd to look at a naked human like figure without belly button
The debate on Adam's belly button had surfaced in US congress during the second world war. The house of representatives military committee refused to authorize a small booklet "Races of Man" to be distributed among US armed personnel on the grounds of belly buttons in the paintings of Adam and Eve.
(to be updated)
Sources: http://www.gracecentered.com/did_Adam_and_Eve_have_belly_buttons_navals.htm
One fine day some body asked, did Adam really have a navel (belly button). Yes we are talking about that dent on our belly caused by the umbilical cord that was our lifeline once when we were in our mother's womb. I hope now you can clearly see where the argument is heading to. If Adam (and for that matter Eve as well since Eve was the first women and god created Eve from Adams ribs) did not have belly buttons, then how could we, the descendants have belly buttons?. If Adam did have belly button, then it was pure case of false testimony from god (I mean the misleading belly button on Adam). If god is really "capable" of giving false testimony is something that is beyond the scope of this article. Any way this is essentially the essence of the argument.
You might be thinking it is silly of me to write on something like this. But this is an interesting argument which was around for centuries, and I came to know and think about it only lately. So I thought I should write on it.
Apart from theologists and church, the renaissance painters as well had difficulties in painting Adam. But renaissance painters like Michelangelo and Raphael were brave enough to paint Adam with navel, like this on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
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| Creation of Adam: Michelangelo, Courtesy Wikimedia Foundation |
The debate on Adam's belly button had surfaced in US congress during the second world war. The house of representatives military committee refused to authorize a small booklet "Races of Man" to be distributed among US armed personnel on the grounds of belly buttons in the paintings of Adam and Eve.
(to be updated)
Sources: http://www.gracecentered.com/did_Adam_and_Eve_have_belly_buttons_navals.htm
