Atheists argue that we have “useless” organs which prove that we have evolved. Creationists respond that since the knowledge of the body is incomplete, we cannot know that an organ is useless. In the 1890's, scientists said that the human body had about 200 features that were useless leftovers of our evolutionary past. As a result of this evolutionary belief, doctors in the 1950's were quick to remove a child's tonsils. As our knowledge has increased, we have found that the organs on that list (such as tonsils, appendix, thyroid gland, and pituitary gland) have very important functions. Today we know our tonsils have several jobs and are a necessary part of our immune system. Our appendix has been found to serve as a backup system for other organs, such as taking over some of the spleen's functions when it is damaged. The thyroid gland is now known to be vital for body growth. Too much or too little of this gland's hormone, thyroxine, will cause all of our other organs to become over or underactive. We also know that the pituitary gland ensures proper growth of the skeleton and proper functioning of the thyroid, adrenal, and sex glands. When the pituitary gland does not work properly it can lead to Cushing's Syndrome (giantism).
True science has found useful functions for virtually all the so-called “leftover” organs. Yet if we evolved from some other life form, our bodies should be full of leftover nonfunctional features. Where are they all?
From A Closer Look at the Evidence by Kleiss, April 7.
