I recently heard on the radio that the proponents of intelligent design are shunned and even censored by their fellow scholars. The reason cited by the radio commentators is fear of the truth.

I don't think fear is the main reason for this shunning. The opponents of intelligent design don't have to give up their paradigms of how the universe evolved. They may have to be open to the possibility that natural selection is not random but is directed by an intelligent designer. This is a reasonable belief, considering the intricasies of this universe. One may observe the workings of the eye and it would be perfectly reasonable to think that the formation of the eye has an intelligent designer behind it. Things that are functional and beautiful usually has intelligent design behind it.

I think the real issue is contempt. For some scholars, belief in an intelligent designer, especially one who holds some commonality with the God of scriptures, is considered contemptible. People who are otherwise open-minded can be contemptous of those who believe in the God of scriptures.

How do we as Christians deal with contempt? I believe the answer is the Gospel. God does not value us based on our intelligence, beauty, or even morality. God loved us before the foundation of the world, even before we put our faith in Jesus. This same gospel also helps us deal with our own contempt. If we are honest with ourselves, we hold some people with low regard. This may be those who have different beliefs, or have lifestyles that are contrary to God's law. This same gospel reminds us that without God's grace, we are dead in our blindness and sins, and in this world that held him in contempt, he continues to seek his lost sheep.  

In the Gospels, it is said that if we are to enter the Kingdom of God, we are to become like little children. What does this mean? As I was watching how my little daughter was interacting with some people in the park, I got a glimpse of the antidote to contempt. Little children do not seem to have contempt. They will approach others and talk to them about their day, what they have, etc. This welcoming attitude is true even with the younger emotionally disturbed children I work with. This might be what it means to live according to the gospel, to become like little children. Little children are satisfied with God, they know that they can come to him for life and love. Little children are also willing to extend grace to the outsider. May we be people who find their life and their affirmation from God. May we be people who extend grace to those outside our circle of family and friends.