Evolution's "Unnecessary" Organs

It was once thought that the human body was full of useless relics from its evolutionary past. Turns out that those bits and pieces serve a purpose after all.

Why do you have an appendix? Or wisdom teeth? Or something called a coccyx? Since the days of Darwin, numerous scientists and educators have argued that “useless” or “vestigial” organs prove the theory of evolution. These organs, they say, are like leftover scaffolding that had previously performed vital functions in mankind’s “pre-human ancestors.” They just haven’t evolved their way into oblivion quite yet.

Darwin explained in “On the Origin of Species” that: “Organs or parts bearing the plain stamp of non-utility are extremely common, or even general, throughout nature. It would be impossible to name one of the higher animals in which some part or other is not in a rudimentary condition.” His prime examples: the appendix and the coccyx (tailbone).

Subsequent specialists greatly expanded Darwin’s original list of useless organs. In 1895, German anatomist Robert Wiedersheim compiled a list of human structures he considered vestigial which came to be regarded as the official one. How many human parts were on it? More than 180!

These organs supposedly represented evidence that man has descended from ancestors in which these organs were functional. And man has never completely lost these characteristics; he continues to inherit them though he supposedly no longer has any use for them.

Textbook publishers quickly joined the pack, saying the human body – with its myriad useless relics – is like an “old curiosity shop” full of “showpieces” proving evolution.

The rapid embrace of the vestigial organ belief deepened the traction of the evolutionary theory, and also spawned new trends in the medical community. Some medical people said that these vestigial structures are not only useless to man but “worse than useless”. One called the appendix “a veritable death trap,” and throughout much of the 20^th century, medical practitioners removed appendixes, tonsils and other “dangerous” organ as routine operations.

The wormlike abdominal structure called the appendix has long occupied the lowest position on the organ totem pole. The organ’s primary importance seemed to be only for the financial support of surgeons, and to provide fodder for TV sitcoms.

For that reason, experts took note in 2009 when immunologist William Parker at Duke University Medical Center said, “Maybe it’s time to correct the textbooks. Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a vestigial organ.”

Parker had discovered that the appendix serves as a storehouse where good bacteria can lie in wait until they’re needed to repopulate the stomach after an episode of diarrhea or other intestine-emptying illness.

A separate recent study showed that the appendix conducts operations similar to those of the tonsils at the opposite end of the alimentary canal, which increase resistance to throat infections. And the appendix also helps generate, guide and train white blood cells, especially for fetuses and children. Valerie O’Loughlin, a professor of medical sciences at Indiana University, said it is “the site where a type of white blood cell called b-lymphocytes can be recognized and where the newborn and young child’s body can start to recognize certain pathogens that are in the intestinal tract.”

Then there is the tale of the tail. Darwin explained, “The coccyx (human tail-bone) corresponds with the true tail in the lower animals like monkeys.”

Some evolutionists argued that the human coccyx was more of a reptilian relic than a mammalian one. But they agreed that the tailbone is largely useless and therefore a proof of evolution.

In 1994, renowned anatomy professor David Menton explained that among the key functions of the coccyx is its acting as an anchor point for several converging muscles from the ring like arrangement of the pelvic bones. “The incurved coccyx with its attached pelvic diaphragm keeps the many organs in our abdominal cavity from literally falling through between our legs.” He said that the removal of the coccyx often causes incontinence and serious difficulties with sitting, standing or giving birth. Yes, the tail-bone, too, was placed in the body for a purpose.

Even vitally important organs such as the parathyroid and thymus glands were considered vestigial until fairly recently, simply because experts didn’t understand their crucial purposes.

The evolutionary argument claims that the organs in question have no function. But such a conclusion can only be reached with INFINITE knowledge. It is impossible to prove that something has no function. The most a scientist could say would be that, despite rigorous efforts, no clear function was discovered for a certain organ, but that a future experimenter may well uncover one.

So how did such a flawed theory gain widespread acceptance? Why are some scientists willing to compromise their objectivity which is one of the foundations of science? The idea is the product of men groping for evidence to back the theory of evolution.

In the centuries leading up to the Scientific Revolution, the Catholic Church reigned as the primary authority and knowledge source for much of the world. The clergy often viewed scientists and their discoveries as a threat to Catholic doctrine, and sometimes embarrassed the church by striving to defend erroneous church teachings like geocentrism (that everything revolved around planet Earth) that science offered empirical evidence against.

Competition intensified between science and the church and, for some scientists, the desire to undermine the church’s authority became the driving force. Some scientists aimed to challenge God’s very existence as a way to discredit the underpinnings of religion. Such reasoning spawned the evolutionary theory. Proponents of evolution have sometimes undertaken studies with that conclusion already firmly in mind. Whatever they can contort into supporting the arguments for evolution, they keep. All else they often reject or downplay.

The advancements of science only brings the perfection of the Creator’s designs more clearly to light. The astonishing perfection and purpose in every element of the body’s design should deepen man’s faith in the divine intelligence behind our existence.

When evolutionists strive to attribute the wonders of the human body to blind coincidence, they unknowingly exercise a blind, deceptive and irrational RELIGIOUS faith.

Christians face a difficult battle against this blind faith which is often found even among true Christian adherents. We must be able to recognize this blind faith in order to weigh evidence objectively. The wonderment of God’s masterful biological designs should boost our faith in the all-powerful Creator. And His purpose for our lives is as perfect as the bodies He designed to sustain us!