Click to read Ephesians 6:10-18
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Theory of Vestigial Body Parts (1895).  Like the vagueness of homologies, the argument from vestigial organs appears persuasive, yet it too suffers from the lack of objective measure.  When we find that an organ makes a positive contribution to fitness, then we disprove the vestigial claim.  In 1895, Ernst Weidersheim published a list of eighty-six organs in the human body that he supposed to be vestigial.  The vast majority of items on Weidersheim’s list are now known to be functioning organs.  The pineal gland, for example, is now known to be part of the endocrine system…Weidersheim also claimed the coccyx, a short collection of vertebrae at the end of the spine, was vestigial.  But the coccyx is the attachment point for several important muscles and ligaments.  And Weidersheim claimed the thyroid and thymus glands and appendix were vestigial, but important functions for all three have since been discovered.[i]  In 1981 zoologist S.R. Scadding analyzed Weidersheim’s claims and had difficulty finding a single item that was not functional, although some are so only in a minor way.[ii]  Hunter said Scadding concluded that the “vestigial organs” provide no evidence for evolutionary theory.  Furthermore, Hunter argues: “When evolutionists identify a structure as vestigial, it seems that it is the theory of evolution that is justifying the claim, rather than the claim justifying the theory of evolution.”[iii]  If a penguin’s wing is highly efficient for swimming, then why should we think it is vestigial, aside from simply presupposing it was formed by evolution? 

 

 



[i] Cornelius G. Hunter, Darwin’s God, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2001), p.32.

[ii] S.R. Scadding, “Do Vestigal Organs Provide Evidence for Evolution?” Evolutionary Theory 5, 1981, pp.173-176.  Cited in Hunter, p.32.

[iii] Hunter, p.33.