How does an autistic person accept themself?

Ben Collyer said:

I appreciate the heart behind your message and the overall message but I disagree that being gay is genetic, I think it is an outward expression of the sinful heart and rebellion against God. you were not born gay

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Well said brother. Spot on.

Ben Collyer said:

How can I accept myself as autistic?

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Seek God and do esteemable things, become an esteemable person. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required". There are some to whom much has been given. Put them to shame.

Ben Collyer said:

I disagree that being gay is genetic, I think it is an outward expression of the sinful heart and rebellion against God. you were not born gay

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I agree.

Just to chime back in quickly if I may.

We have an severely autistic young man in our family and my wife is a teacher and each year has two or three in her classroom. We find them to be very special people and the world would not be complete without them.

M-Bob

SeraTaru said:

So repentance from the sin that God repeatedly calls an abomination didn't work then?

Interesting...I'll have to remember that if I ever cheat on my wife...I'll just say "but honey you know this is the way God made me"....then I'll just blame God, accept myself, continue cheating but give God the credit for it.

I may even make a little flag and demand my colleagues in work accept my adultery as well....

Rubbish. You can't compare willfully wallowing in sin with someone having a genuine illness.

Insulting to the OP and more insulting to Christ.

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I am only going to make one comment here regarding this - as this is not the thread to discuss this, as that would be insulting to Ben. It's also why I said specifically "not for discussion here". If anyone actually wants to know what it's like to be gay and Christian, or to know about my understanding of the Bible, feel free to message me. But this is not the place to launch an attack on someone trying to help. Beyond my post, you know nothing about me.

Comments like yours are exactly why I left the Church, you've fundamentally misunderstood what it is to be gay, and (with respect) clearly have no understanding of what lies behind sexuality. Cheating on your wife would be a choice you make. I didn't choose this. I fought it for years, and as I said, ended up suicidal. I am NOT willfully "wallowing in sin". Being gay is part of who I am, if you say that's an abomination, you're saying I am an abomination. That is not the same thing as saying something you did (like your example of cheating) is an abomination, the difference is night and day. Let's assume you did cheat - you can repent of that, and seek the forgiveness of God and your wife. How do you repent of who you are? It's like asking someone to repent of the colour of his eyes! The scientific evidence for a genetic or biological basis for sexuality is well documented (as well researching this for obvious personal reasons, I have a degree in psychology, with my dissertation linked in with this, so I know what I'm talking about). It's not a choice, like tea or coffee. The fact that so many Christians know so little about it, yet think it's okay to judge and condemn someone - that is tragic.

The point of my post was NOT about comparing sin (in your view) with an illness. It's about dealing with something innate that you cannot choose, that has you questioning why God would make you that way (or allow you to be that way). My point was (is) that I know what it is to reject yourself, and struggle to believe that God "might" somehow love me. I'm sorry you seem to have missed that and saw fit to latch on to homosexuality.


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Ben, I hope and pray you find your way to accepting yourself, and experience God's love for you. I'll not be responding to any more anti-gay comments in this thread, I'm sure someone else will choose to have the last word on this. So, all I'll say to you based on my experience, is to keep on following Jesus, no matter what. Nothing is more important, and nothing is more worthwhile. See yourself as God sees you. Accept God's truth about you - not the world's, not what others say.

No...I've not "fundamentally misunderstood" at all.

I read my Bible, see the standards that God has laid down and believe that He meant what He said and said what He meant.

I'm sick and tired of certain groups claiming special right to indulge a wicked lifestyle and expect nay demand special treatment from God, the workplace and even the local bakers shop.

End of.

Ben Collyer said:

but autism is a result of a genetic error. it wouldn't exist if it wasnt for the fall

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I can't back you on that. Even Jesus presented as autistic sometimes. (Remember, "autism" is just a human label. )

Ben Collyer said:

surely it must be, they have identified the specific genes that are different

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If I may be so alliterative, genes infer deliberate design, not a defect.

(And no such gene has been identified to date.)

Ben Collyer said:

..., resulting in autism, downs syndrome, etc...

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Autism (without subsequent CNS injury) is not a defect. It cannot be compared to Downs, which includes heart issues, etc.

As Temple Grandin put it, a little bit of autism is a good thing.

DW1980 said:

Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

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Yes!!!!!! Now thats a verse of strength and confidence. Thanks for this verse saint.

I'm autistic too. I've learned to focus on my strengths. Yes, there are things I have trouble doing but there are plenty of things I can do too. Some things I may be even better at then the general population, for example my autism causes me to pay great attention to details.

Ben Collyer said:

How does God command me to be full of joy and peace yet rob me of the things that usually make life worth living?

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You have to find out what makes life worth living for yourself. I think that's the first step towards accepting yourself.

For now, put peace and joy, the way you think God wants you, on the backburner, they can wait. Start on figuring out what you like out of life. Stop trying to fit yourself as a square peg into a round hole.

In Christ.



I say this only because I have experienced it myself. go back about 7 years and I was saying the same things the OP is saying. The LORD saved me and all that changed. I didn't find out about Asperger's syndrome until recently but all the symptom were there. the inability to maintain relationships, loneliness, etc. I'm still pretty much a loner, but my identity is in Christ and not in how others feel about me.

Ben Collyer said:

well God created adam and even with perfect DNA, and since then DNA has mutated and information in the genome has deleted itself, resulting in autism, downs syndrome, etc etc etc

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PM me if you want better information, more encouraging than this which you apparently were taught in error.

Ben, have you read the My Aspergers is a Good Thing thread? Some positive comments there.

Praying you will know peace about your diagnosis and even blessings in your situation. You never know, God could be allowing this to happen so that you can help someone else in a similar situation.

Gillian

BryanJohnMaloney said:

Prove it. Prove that the alleged "increase" is not due to more sensitivity to the matter and more sensitive diagnostic tools.

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I will take the word of the elementary school teachers who I know who nowadays have some training with autism that say they have seen a rise.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...ved=0ahUKEwiMvKyhtpHZAhUFbK0KHbDfBd8QgQMICDAA


M-B

Ben, I don't know if you are still following this discussion, but I think I have felt the kind of difficulty you describe. What helped me the most recently is Phil 2:5-11
I think of it like this. Jesus, though he was God became a man, and "being found" to be a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. God asks me--who am by nature only a creature--nothing more than to humble myself and become obedient unto life lived as an autistic person--often not accepted, respected, or even tolerated--almost always misunderstood and misjudged. Yes, that kind of sucks--it's humiliating--but nothing like what Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to for us.

I don't know if that connects with you, but I have found it helpful.

Ben Collyer said:

I struggle to understand how God can expect me to accept myself and love myself when he has created me defective, mandated that the entirety of the first 22 years of my life be one of rejection and bullying, humiliation and everything else.

How does God command me to be full of joy and peace yet rob me of the things that usually make life worth living?

How can I accept myself as autistic? I reject myself!

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Ben hearing you say these things makes me sad. You can't care so much what others think of you. What matters most is that you are good person. You are not defective we all of different strength and weakness none of which are the same. You have to learn to understand yourself better your own strength and weakness and work around them and even inform others of them so they hopefully can be considerate. You have to come to terms that you are no less than anyone else, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, you are not defective you simply just have a different set of strengths and weakness than the average folks do.

Amy

Why do believe you are defective, Ben? The label defective doesn't belong on humans. Unique is a much better word! Bullies are committing sin! They were probably bullied at home and thus find joy in making someone else feel rejected. You should reject their lies; they are gaslighting.

Ben, rejoice in your abilities! Think of those who can't verbalize their feelings or communicate with any words. I'm thinking of non-verbal autistic children.



You can maximize the abilities you find in yourself, Ben.