Performing Surgery Upon Evolutionary Thinking

Jonathan Sarfati interviews pediatric surgeon Dr Ross Pettigrew, 'Creation' magazine June-Aug 2007.

Ross Pettigrew trained in Christchurch, NZ. His career includes Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago (New Zealand) School of Medicine and consultant surgeon at Dunedin Hospital, researching surgical nutrition and surgical audit. He is responsible for most of the pediatric surgery at Dunedin Hospital, which includes operation on newborn babies. Dr Pettigrew is still a clinical lecturer at the University of Otago, and has a private practice, operating at Mercy Hospital in Dunedin.

Surgeon Dr Pettigrew has long had an interest in faith and science issues: 'My interest in biological matters goes back to school days, with the stories of the "Jungle Doctor". I was brought up in a Christian home, coming to faith at age seven and believing that God created this fascinating world we enjoy.'

But what about evolution teaching? Dr Pettigrew encountered it very early, and first thought that compromise was the answer: 'Like many in the 60s, my faith was assaulted by the uninhibited teaching at school that evolution was a proven fact. In seeking to find a compromise with what my teachers were saying and the first few chapters of Genesis, I found a book which seemed to be the answer. It was called Creation's Amazing Architect and I studied how in six days of creation could be fitted into the "facts" of evolution.

However, as soon as he reached university, he found that this compromise solved nothing:
'My first day at University, pursuing a medical school entry, was quite a shock. My lecturer in biology walked in with a Bible under his arm. He opened it as Genesis chapter 1 and proceeded to demolish any hope of a compromise. "The birds are out of order", he proclaimed. The sun was formed after the plants which needed the sun for photosynthesis,l and on it went.'

So, like many people on the fence, Dr Pettigrew found that the position was unstable and would tip one way or the other. Fortunately, like Joshua he chose to follow God's Word. 'I was stunned, I had to make a choice......

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the Christian who is regarded as the 'father of the scientific method', famously said, 'A little philosophy inclineth man's minds about to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds to religion.' Ross found in his own field a parallel to this saying, as he relates: 'As I advanced in my medical career, I began to see a number of areas where the theories of clinicians were being contradicted by the facts. In my surgical training, I continued to marvel at the human body. The more I studied, the more I was convinced that this was not a chance happening but designed by someone of far greater intelligence'

Dr Pettigrew continues to talk about science versus evolution giving detailed description. An example is the thymus........ 'This sits behind the breast bone in the upper chest. It was known to be relatively large and active in babies and children, but shrunk as one got older. It was removed for many reasons and considered To be redundant and an evolutionary vestige. That was until the understanding of the immunological system in the 1950s and 60s. It was found that this gland is essential to program certain blood cells (called T lymphocytes) to attack foreign tissue which is critical in babies. Children born without this gland succumb to infection and die very quickly without treatment. As our knowledge advances, we have found that many of the "redundant" organs with no "obvious" function, including the appendix, actually are very important.'

Dr Pettigrew states, 'My focus as a surgeon has changed over the years......I continue to be in awe of the intricate design and incredible repair mechanisms built into the human body.'

Glyconutrients are essential for children's health and wellbeing. Mannatech produces Glyco-Bears which contain phytochemicals.