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The marvels of design in the human frame are a constant
source of wonder, and of admiration of the mind of the Creator
Who conceived them. However, it has to be recognised that there
are certain design ‘defects’ in our make-up, and these become
increasingly clear with advancing years. Examples include
fragile bones, arthritic hips, varicose veins, deterioration of
hearing and eyesight, and many others.
Evolutionists often point to these with some scorn as evidence
against there being a Divine Designer, who would not have made
such elementary ‘mistakes’. They, of course, attribute such
failings of design to the random results of natural selection. A
group of scientists who are specialists in human ageing have
written of the reasons for these defects, and of some ‘design
improvements’ that they consider would increase human longevity.1
In their scenario, the living machines we call bodies
deteriorate because they were not ‘designed’ for extended life.
Natural selection, they claim, does not aim for perfection or
endless good health, but to allow individuals to survive long
enough to reproduce and raise their young, thus passing their
genes and body design to the next generation. Defects that
seriously hamper survival in youth will be selected against and
die out, whilst those that take effect past the age of
childbearing will tend to spread. |
A deeply flawed theory
This reasoning does not stand much examination. If the
preservation and passing on of the genes is the principal aim of
life (as argued by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene) then
natural selection might be expected to favour individuals with
extended reproductive ages and hence the opportunity to produce
greater numbers of offspring. This would imply a selective
pressure towards greater longevity, exactly the opposite of the
evolutionary argument above. In fact it raises the question of
why natural selection has not, in the billions of years claimed
to have been at its disposal, eliminated ageing and death
altogether.
The authors describe and illustrate a number of ‘improvements’
to human design that, in their
opinion, would help to extend the human life-span. They do this
to highlight what they see as the deception of those who claim
that ageing can be halted or reversed by certain diets or
life-styles. However, in most cases they admit that their
‘improvements’ would have inherent draw-backs and would require
further modifications. Many of the defects addressed are
considered to result from man’s upright posture and bipedal
locomotion, which sets us apart from nearly all other animals.
These lead to high pressures being applied to the feet, ankles,
knees and back, particularly the disks of the lower back,
leading to inevitable wear and tear over a lifetime. A related
problem is that of the age-related demineralisation of bone,
which leads to increased susceptibility to fracture,
osteoporosis and curvature of the spine. The scientists’ proposed solution to these problems is to have a
shorter, forward-tilting human frame, with thicker bones and
disks, and extra muscles and fat to combat demineralisation.
They also propose additional ribs to hold the internal organs
more rigidly and backward-bending knees to supposedly reduce
wear. Ironically, they seem not to have considered that much of
this would increase the weight and stiffness of the body and so
contrarily lead to increased pressure on the joints and more
wear. They also concede that the backward-bending knees would
lack a locking mechanism, making it difficult to stand for very
long, which might seem to be a major disadvantage!
Additional ‘defects’ of the human frame given the redesign
treatment include relocation of the optic nerve behind the
retina of the eye to reduce the risk of a detached retina,
raising the windpipe above the oesophagus to prevent choking,
and relocating the male urethra outside the prostate gland to
prevent its obstruction. These are commonly cited in
evolutionary propaganda as examples of ‘divine misdesign’. Yet
the authors admit that there may well be unknown advantages from
the existing designs and severe trade-offs with their proposed
fixes: for example, they confess that the raised windpipe would
disrupt breathing through the mouth and the ability to speak.
Fearfully and wonderfully made
All this nonsense is solemnly presented in a serious science
journal because it is discussed in the context of the supposed
evolutionary process. The fact that Homo sapiens is demonstrably
the most successful species of large animal on the planet, with
a rapidly growing population in excess of six billion, suggests
that, in biological terms, our design is astonishingly well
adapted to our environment, and that few improvements could be
made. The true explanation for those design defects that can be
identified in the human frame lies in the Word of God, and His
judgement of mortality upon man because of sin: “for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19). In contrast
with the Creator Himself, Who is “from everlasting to
everlasting”, it has been determined for us that “The days of
our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of
strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour
and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Ps.
90:2,10). We cannot escape the conclusion that human ageing, and
the whole range of diseases which affect us, have been ordained
in the earth by God as part of the general condition that “the
creature [Gk. ktisis, creation] was made subject to vanity . . .
by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope” (Rom.
8:20). Nevertheless it remains true that healthy living in accordance
with the principles established in the Law of God offers the
best strategy for maintaining the lives we have been given in
this age. As God promised the children of Israel: “If thou wilt
diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do
that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His
commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of
these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the
Egyptians: for I am the LORD That healeth thee” (Ex. 15:26).
Decay and mortality are inescapable, but there is an
incomparable hope for the future, in that creation itself is to
be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Whilst we rejoice
in the marvellous design of the bodies that we have been given
in this dispensation, our true focus should be upon the even
finer bodies that will be granted to those who, through faith,
inherit the promise of eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
The Apostle Paul assures us that, for every kind of life, “God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him” (1 Cor. 15:38). Our
present bodies have been designed for our allotted span in this
life of probation. But in the resurrection there is the
assurance that, “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (v. 49), that is, of
the Son of God who died for us and rose to glory.
Consequently, whatever ailments afflict us, we are to take
comfort in the assurance that “our citizenship is in heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be
conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by
which he is able to subdue all things to himself” (Phil.
3:20,21, New King James Version).
Footnotes
1 1. S. J. Olshansky, B. A. Carnes and R. N.
Butler, “If Humans were Built to Last”, Scientific American,
Mar. 2001, p. 43. With thanks to The
Testimony magazine,
http://www.testimony-magazine.org (first
published June 2003) |
