THE CREATION IS ENGINEERED – NOT EVOLVED!
The Bible mentions “hair” often with The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance documenting 104 instances for hair, hairs and hairy. In science, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the animal category called mammals. Although the Biblical Christian does not define man as a mammal as do secular scientists, it is undeniable that man does have hair similar in design to that of animals. The creationist sees that man is made in the image of God and has abilities above and beyond any combination of animals. Again, we see here the fundamental conflict between the biblical and the anti-biblical worldviews. The evolutionist lumps man with the animals, while the creationist accepts the biblical idea that man is separated from any and all animal groupings.
For mammals, the secular scientist would say that the primary evolutionary need for hair is to offset the endothermic design of that particular group of animals (mammals) where their body temperature is maintained by the burning of food within the body. For evolutionists the question is always what evolved first, but for the creationist there is no question because it is understood that the whole organism had to be engineered simultaneously in order to properly function. Anyway, the endothermic “burning” of food is a combination of chemical reactions all of which are temperature dependent. In mammals, the hairy coat is designed in various ways, but generally there is often an outer layer of large, more bristle-like, water repellent guard hairs that provide covering for densely-packed, softer underfur. For these coats to be effective under all the environmental conditions to which they are subjected requires complex engineering design.
An aspect of this design can be seen in the way the volume of air trapped among the hairs of an animal’s coat depends on whether or not they are erected by muscles in the skin. And, hairs are often waterproofed by secretions, called sebum, from glands associated with their roots.
For humans, an obvious primary function of hair is cosmetic. In the beginning, after Adam and Eve had sinned, God chose to provide garments of animal skin for them. I think this indicates that the amount of hair on their bodies was insufficient for covering their nakedness or to keep them warm. Another thing it indicates is that the amount of body hair Adam and Eve had was likely similar to the amounts exhibited by mankind today. I mention this to counter the notion accepted by many that early man looked like a hairy ape.
People who have the condition hypertrichosis have an abnormal amount of hair growth on their bodies. This is unusual and can be caused by congenital mutations or be due to the side effects of drugs, be associated with cancer, or possibly linked with eating disorders.* I wonder if Esau (Genesis 27:11) may have had this condition.
Evolutionists say they believe both hair in mammals and feathers in birds evolved from the scales of reptiles. There is no real scientific evidence for this as the structures are entirely different. (See my article here regarding the engineering of feathers.) The complexity of a human hair follicle and root can be seen in the image below.
It is amazing how human hair has been engineered so as to grow to specific lengths and thicknesses in various locations on our bodies. Imagine if our eyelashes and eyebrows normally grew to be as long as our head hair! Body hair has been designed to serve as levers for squeezing out oil from glands that keep the skin from drying out. Have you noticed that people who shave their legs often have to apply some sort of anti-drying lotion after shaving? Special particulate catching hairs are located in human ears and nostrils as well. And thank the Designer that hair does not normally grow on the palms of our hands, the soles of our feet or on other sensitive skin areas such as our lips and eyelids. God understood, too, that hair cells must be “dead” so that we can trim and cut our hair without pain.
So hair really is an amazing and critical component for man and animals. Jesus said that every hair of our heads is numbered by God (Matthew 10:29-31). What a loving Creator God we have!
*From Wikipedia
J.D. Mitchell
