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Did chance evolution leave us with unneeded vestigial body parts -- or did a Creator carefully design every part of us? As it turns out, there are uses for body parts previously assumed to be useless!
If you sat down and counted all the cells in the human body, you would find more than 10 million million (10,000,000,000,000) cells. About 12,000 million of these are nerve cells linked by more than 10 million million connections. The body's cells make up groups of systems that work together to sustain life-the skeletal system, the muscular system, the digestive system, the nervous system, the reproductive system and the cardiovascular system.
All of these systems have subsystems. For instance, the muscular system has involuntary and voluntary muscles. Involuntary muscles work without our conscious effort-such as the cardiac or heart muscle. Voluntary muscles are muscles that we have to think about to use-like a bicep muscle that helps us to pick up things.
Not only do the systems in the human body perform specific tasks, but they also work together to improve the work of each system. For example, the skeleton provides the framework to support the body and to protect vital organs. It also provides mobility to the body and produces red and white blood cells that move energy through the body, fight infection and remove waste material.
Despite how impressive and complex our bodies are, evolutionists have long insisted that parts of the human body are useless. They think these so-called "vestigial organs" are just leftovers of man's evolutionary process. Believers in the theory of evolution often point to human body parts like the appendix, coccyx bone, adenoids and tonsils, claiming they serve no important bodily function.
A Discovery News article (at Discovery.com), reposted at FoxNews.com Oct. 14, 2011, features a list of supposed "useless" parts in the human body without any follow-up or consideration as to what value these body parts could have. Are these "vestigial organs" really useless body parts, or did a Creator God Himself design them with important roles to play?
The plica semilunaris , or the "third eyelid" located in the corner of your eye near the tear duct, looks like an "extra" fold of skin. Evolutionary theory sees it as a remnant of an extra eyelid like the kind a lizard or a shark has. The fact is, it has an important job.
When we wake up we often have gunk in the corner of our eyes-the result of the plica semilunaris secreting sticky mucus that collects dust, dirt and other matter on the surface of our eyes. This debris is gently moved to the corner of our eye where it can be easily removed. If not removed, it could scratch or damage our sensitive eyeballs. The plica semilunaris also provides a first line of defense to prevent the entrance of microbes into the eye.
The tonsils are located on each side of the back of the mouth, and the adenoids are located above the roof of the mouth behind the nose. Evolution's supporters claim that these organs are prone to infection and should be taken out early in life. After all, they think, these perform no important function in the body. Not true! Just glance in any medical reference book. It will show that these organs are prone to infection because they trap bacteria as part of the lymphatic system.
These two organs are situated where they are because they're a vital part of the body's first line of defense. Doctors have found that the adenoids and tonsils "sample" bacteria and viruses that enter through the nose and mouth to help figure out the body's response. While they can become infected, this is more a result of the job they perform rather than being useless. On top of that, the adenoids have specialized cells that make antibodies to help fight infections.
The coccyx serves a very important purpose as an anchor for various muscles, tendons and ligaments. While most medical doctors know how important the coccyx is, many still think it's a leftover tail from earlier primate evolution (think monkeys). The coccyx is actually three to five separate or fused vertebrae. As the lowermost part of the spinal column, it is designed to be an anchor while the rest of the spinal column remains more flexible.
If we didn't have a tailbone for attaching the abdominal muscles that help us lean back and sit down comfortably, we couldn't function. Many ligaments that cooperate in the flexing and support of the spinal column attach to the coccyx . It works along with muscles of the pelvic floor and muscles that help us walk. The coccyx also offers some protection when we fall on our rear, helping to prevent the more sensitive spinal column from being damaged.
Though their assumption that various parts of the human body are useless has been proven wrong, most scientists hold desperately to evolutionary teaching. Rather than taking another look at their premise, they stick to their scientifically inaccurate guns. While they admit there are no truly useless organs, they argue that there may be some useless vestigial biochemistry, genetics or smaller anatomical features. They don't want to be proven wrong, so many now describe these smaller features as having "no known function."
There is no doubt that the human body is amazing. The more scientists study it, the more complexity they discover. The bodies of other creatures are of course amazing too-as we all share the same Designer. The evidence is abundantly clear that God created us, and we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:14; Romans 1:20).
God made you and me, and He did so for a purpose. The next time you hear or read some statement about how evolution has shaped us, take the time to do the research and find out more about why God designed our bodies to work the way they do.
For more insight into many of the shortcomings of the theory of evolution, we recommend that you read our free booklet Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe? You can find it online at ucg.org/booklets . You can read more about what evolutionists view as useless body parts in this article "More Useless Body Parts ".
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Keywords: vestigial organs tonsils adenoids third eyelid evolution
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