I am just wondering what creationists think about vestigal organs?

Question

For example- most of the hair on the human trunk and limbs. Also, the piloerector muscles which cause hair to stand on end in response to cold, fear, or other stimuli.

We know that these organs have useful purpose in other mammals- insulation, making the animal appear larger and more "puffed up" to a potential enemy.

These organs serve no useful purpose in humans, however.

So I am wondering, how is this explained by creationism?

Martin S- Uh.. sorry, but you didn't even MENTION the organs I pointed out. Also, I was looking for an answer from YOU, not a pamphlet of religious propaganda.

Carnac- the hair on a man's chest is FAR too scanty to serve the purpose of insulation, with the exception a few men. Anyone who has studied human anatomy can tell you that.

Answer 1

ORGANS FROM THE PAST—Evolutionists tell us that there are "vestiges" in people that prove the theory of evolution. These vestiges are supposed to be human body parts that are no longer needed, and are just castoffs from some earlier creature that we descended from. Because earlier creatures needed them—and we do not—is supposed to prove that we descended from those earlier life-forms. That is how the theory goes.

The "theory of vestiges" has gained prominence as a major "proof" of evolution, only because there is no other evidence in either the present or the past of transition of one type of animal or plant to another. Yet in this chapter we will learn that there are no vestiges!

Frankly, the situation for evolutionists is a matter of desperation. When there is nothing else to turn to, Darwinists are willing to grasp at any possibility that might help their cause.

The vestiges argument was one of the few "scientific evidences" the evolutionists were able to present at the 1925 Scopes Trial. Zoologist *Newman, a zoologist, made this statement on the witness stand for the defense:

"There are, according to Wiedersheim, no less than 180 vestigial structures in the human body, sufficient to make of a man a veritable walking museum of antiquities."—*Horatio Hackett Newman, quoted in The World’s Most Famous Court Trial: The Tennessee Evolution Case (1990), p. 268.

In the first half of this chapter we will deal with vestiges, and will answer two questions: (1) Do we have any vestigial organs? (2) If we do, would they prove evolution?

SOME OF YOUR USELESS ORGANS—What are all these useless organs that we are supposed to have within us? *Charles Darwin said they included wisdom teeth. *Robert Wiedersheim, a German disciple of Darwin’s, wrote a book in 1895 in which he listed 86 vestigial organs: including valves in the veins, the pineal gland, the thymus, bones in third, fourth, and fifth toes; lachrymal (tear) glands, and certain female organs. Later he expanded it to 180. Earlier Darwinists assumed that if they were ignorant of an organ’s function, then it had to have no function.

School textbooks as recent as the 1960s listed over 200 vestigial (useless) structures in the human body, including the thyroid and pituitary glands!

To date, not one dedicated evolutionist has been willing to have all his "vestigial organs" removed. To do so, would require taking out most of his endocrine (hormonal) glands!

In reality, the list of "useless organs" has steadily decreased as scientific knowledge has increased. As our knowledge and understanding of physical structures has multiplied, we have arrived at the point where there are no more vestigial ones! Today ALL organs formerly classed as vestigial are known to have a function during the life of the organism!

The truth is that the theory of useless organs as a proof of evolution was based on rank 19th-century ignorance of those organs! No capable biologist today claims that any vestigial organs exist in human beings. But, unfortunately, that fact is not mentioned in the school textbooks. You will still find them talking about your "vestigial organs" which prove evolution!

EIGHT USELESS ORGANS—Here are some of these supposedly useless organs in your body:

1 - The Tonsils. Here is one of those "worthless organs," which we now know to be needed. These two small glands in the back of your throat help protect you against infections.

2 - The Appendix. This is the classic "useless" organ of evolutionary theory. Science recently discovered that man needs this organ; it is not useless after all. It helps protect you from gastrointestinal problems in the lower ascending colon. The appendix is now known to be an important part of what is called the reticulo-endothelial system of the body. Like the tonsils, the appendix fights infection.

"There is no longer any justification for regarding the vermiform appendix as a vestigial structure."—*William Straus, Quarterly Review of Biology (1947), p. 149.

Because the appendix becomes swollen at times, it was said to be vestigial and useless. But people have far more problems with their lungs and stomachs than they have with their appendixes. We hope the evolutionists do not decide to call any more organs "vestigial," and begin cutting them out also!

The fact that tonsils can be cut out without apparent harm is a major reason for calling them "vestigial." But you will also survive if your eyes and arms are cut off, and no one considers them "vestigial," or useless organs.

It would be well to clarify the special role of the tonsils and appendix: The human alimentary canal is a long tube leading from mouth to anus. Near each opening, the Designer placed an organ to protect your entire gastrointestinal tract from pathogenic invasion while you were an infant. The appendix was crucial during your first months, and your tonsils during your first several years. In later years, you do not have as urgent a need for either your tonsils or your appendix as you did while you were a small child.

According to *Science News, March 20, 1971, both the tonsils and appendix are now believed to guard us against Hodgkin’s disease.

3 - The Coccyx. Another organ declared useless, by evolutionists, is the coccygeal vertebrea (the coccyx). This is the bottom of your spine.

Scientists have found that important muscles (the levator ani and coccygeus) attach to those bones.

Without those muscles, your pelvic organs would collapse; that is, fall down. Without them you could not have a bowel movement, nor could you walk or sit upright.

4 - The Thymus. Try cutting this one out, and you will be in big trouble! It was once considered a worthless vestigial structure, but scientists have discovered that the thymus is the primary central gland of the lymphatic system. Without it, T cells that protect your body from infection could not function properly, for they develop within it. We hear much these days about the body’s "immune system," but without the thymus you would have none.

"For at least 2,000 years, doctors have puzzled over the function of the thymus gland. Modern physicians came to regard it, like the appendix, as a useless, vestigial organ, which had lost its original purpose, if indeed it ever had one. In the last few years, however . . men have proved that, far from being useless, the thymus is really the master gland that regulates the intricate immunity system which protects us against infectious diseases . . Recent experiments have led researchers to believe that the appendix, tonsils and adenoids may also figure in the antibody responses."—*"The Useless Gland that Guards Our Health," in Reader’s Digest, November 1966.

5 - The Pineal Gland. This is a cone-shaped structure in the brain, which secretes critically needed hormones, including, for example, melatonin which inhibits secretion of luteinizing hormone.

6 - The Thyroid Gland. Many years ago, surgeons found that people could live after having their thyroid cut out, so it was decided that this was another useless organ. Ignorance breeds contempt. Yes, you may survive without your thyroid, but you will not do very well. The thyroid gland secretes the hormone, thyroxin, which goes directly into the blood. This hormone is essential to normal body growth in infancy and childhood. Without it, an adult becomes sluggish. Either an oversupply or an undersupply of thyroxin will result in over-activity or under-activity of many body organs. Deficiency of this organ at birth causes a hideous deformity known as cretinism. Thyroxin triggers cell batteries (the mitochondria) to provide energy to the cell for all its functions.

7 - The Pituitary. Once claimed to be vestigial, this organ is now known to ensure proper growth of the skeleton and proper functioning of the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive glands. Improper functioning can lead to Cushing’s syndrome (gigantism).

8 - The Semilunar Fold of the Eye. *Charles Darwin, and others after him, claimed that the little fold in the inner corner of your eye is a vestige of your bird ancestors! But contemporary anatomy books describe it, not as a vestige, but as a very necessary part of your eye. It is that portion of your conjunctiva that cleanses and lubricates your eyeball.

9 - Other Organs. There are many more such organs in your body which, at one time or another, evolutionists declared to be worthless. Well, such organs are not useless as was thought. Gradually the list of "vestigial organs" lessened as their function was discovered. For example, it was said by one scientist (Wiedersheim) that ear muscles were totally unnecessary. Later research disclosed that without those tiny muscles within the inner ear, you would not be able to hear properly.

"Many of the so-called vestigial organs are now known to fulfill important functions."—*Encyclopedia Britannica Vo1. 8 (1946 ed.), p. 926.

The more we study into these "useless" vestiges, the more we find ourselves in awe before a majestic Creator who carefully made us all.

Answer 2

I did read that rudimentary hind limbs appear briefly in the embryos of whales and dolphins, and I said "Lord, why briefly?" but got no response.

When I get my degree in church science I hope to be able to answer your questions and mine too. Also, why did Jesus rise into the sky? Couldn't he have just gone instantaneously to heaven? Or was it to impress the people, so thay would start his legend and make him divine? Well, it didn't happen, so that's not the answer either...

Answer 3

I think you're mistaken. Why wouldn't a hairy chest help keep a man warm just as it does for an animal?

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Edit -- Certainly a man has less hair on his chest than an ape so it insulates less but it's still enough to make a significant difference. For example, a three day beard on my face is not much hair, less than one sixteenth of an inch, but if I shave it off I feel the difference on a chilly day. Therefore, you haven't convinced me that chest hair is necessarily a "vestigial" organ.