Did Adam and Eve have Belly Buttons?

Book cover: Did Adam and Eve have Belly Buttons?
Author(s): 
Matthew J. Pinto
Number of pages: 
248 pages
Copyright: 
2013
ISBN: 
9780965922883
Publisher: 
Ascension Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Resource Type: 
Review: 

Not just a catchy title, "Did Adam & Eve have Belly Buttons?" is an actual question posed by an eighteen-year-old boy. In fact, the whole book is organized around questions from teenagers about the faith. To make it easier to follow, the author has grouped them into twelve categories: God, Creation and Man, Religion and the Bible, Jesus Christ, Catholic Morality, etc.

Because of the layout of the book, the reader can either work his or her way through the book from front to back, or pick and choose topics of interest to him or her. For quick reference to find a particular question, there is also a topic/question index at the back of the book. With a total of 200 hundred questions, there are plenty to choose from! The revised edition includes over 800 Catechism and 500 Bible references to the same questions as in the original edition. At the end of the book, in addition to the index of questions, there is also a guide to confession, an examination of conscience, a list of resources, and a bibliography.

Some questions might be found in a Catechism, such as "What is hell?" Many, however, because they are posed by modern teenagers, are anything-but-typical... such as "Is it okay for Catholics to listen to non-Christian music?" In a way, the book is written by teenagers, and therefore should appeal to them. Although the answers are written in an easy to understand language, they are not watered down or silly, but serious, solid, and thought provoking.

Because of the nature of some of the questions concerning sex (there are just a small handful) I would not hand this book over to just any teen (remembering that these can range from 13 to 19 year olds). Since circumstances vary from family to family, the parents should take into account the maturity of the child, how they spend their time, and what kind of school or work they attend. Straightforward, honest and Catholic, the answers do not in any way arouse sexual curiosity. For example, in answer to a question about premarital sex, the author lists seventeen reasons to save sex for marriage.

Most of the questions in the book even a pre-teen could benefit from, such as "What is the difference between Catholic and Christian?"

While a young person may not pick up the Catechism of the Catholic Church voluntarily, he or she might be intrigued by the catchy title and want to read more and in the process enrich their faith.

Update from webmaster, March 2024: A revised edition came out in 2013, and the book details here are from that edition.

Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
1-3-05