Does autism affect your relationship with God?

[Sabertooth]

I mean...the immune system aspect seems variable, but that's the case for neurotypicals as well.

You need to stop dismissing such statements out-of-hand.
Google [giftedness immune dysregulation]
Google [autism immune dysregulation]

Me not needing something to that degree does not mean we should just be cut loose like a chick from the nest and be expected to flourish like our neurotypical peers.

ASD1 still has a severity level.
Are you being obtuse on-purpose?

 

[NBB]

I think lots of advice and 'techniques' i don't know how to say it, to live the christian life and fight and believe etc, doesn't work very well on me, NTs take this things and say to you to do, but i have issues sometimes doing them.

Sometimes they say i am very stubborn, when in reality i just 'don't get it' the same way they do.

 

[Sabertooth]

I think lots of advice and 'techniques' i don't know how to say it, to live the christian life and fight and believe etc, doesn't work very well on me, NTs take this things and say to you to do, but i have issues sometimes doing them.

Sometimes they say i am very stubborn, when in reality i just 'don't get it' the same way they do.

The best thing that you can do is pray, go to an autism-friendly church and read your Bible. God will meet you where you are.

 

[Clintpauljohnson]

Do you feel your symptoms of ASD (anywhere on the spectrum) affect how your relationship is with the Holy One? Do you have doubts about being a Christian because of your uncontrollable demands for logic as we see it and all sentences having a literal interpretation?

absolutely relations with people and comprehension of the bible is hard for me

 

[Sabertooth]

...comprehension of the bible is hard for me

Even if it is hard, read through it anyway.
If you are Born-Again, the Holy Spirit will remind you what it says when He needs to.

 

[Clintpauljohnson]

Even if it is hard, read through it anyway.
If you are Born-Again, the Holy Spirit will remind you what it says when He needs to.

True John 15 took me a while to comprehend. Now when a preacher preaches any passage I read I at least recognize it. I just need to read and re read thanks I agree

 

[MDCSWildcats86]

Do you feel your symptoms of ASD (anywhere on the spectrum) affect how your relationship is with the Holy One? Do you have doubts about being a Christian because of your uncontrollable demands for logic as we see it and all sentences having a literal interpretation?

Not at all. In fact, knowing God loves us on the spectrum just as much as the non-disabled is a HUGE relief.

 

[rachelrising]

No. God speaks Autism; He knows how to communicate effectively with me.

This has been so helpful to me to read and I have sometimes come back and read it again. The world as someone with some level 2 needs can make you feel like you need a lot of support, which for some is just not there in the real world. God though knows how to take care of me and how to speak to me. That is so reassuring. Sometimes I have been so overwhelmed I have felt like the prescence of God calming me down. I can find being overwhelmed challenging with my faith, but it gives me insight and I know God understands. I did share my testimony in this forum and mentioned my journey with autism as well.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit acting in today's world. My Christian witness on the gift of prophecy with a disability.

https://racheltestimony.blogspot.com/ Link where it can be read, Hi, I am a Christian and I am sharing my witness testimony above with you in the link about the gift of prophecy in today's world. I am diagnosed with Anorexia and Autism. I hope you can take away something from the testimony. God...

www.christianforums.com

 

[Sabertooth]

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise;
and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;..."

1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV​

 

[NBB]

God has treated me with an 'special grace' to sustain me spiritually, i would say it's only related to my autism, and normal people don't have that.

 

[Purge187]

I suspect I'm an undiagnosed autistic myself, and I sometimes bite my fingers when I get flummoxed. Not nearly hard enough to bleed, but even still, It's a habit I could do without. For a long time, I thought it was some sort of curse from God, but then I saw several posts on Reddit that said other autistics do it as well. It was a pretty big relief.

2024 has been a year of revelation and breakthrough for me.

 

[Terek]

I regret to say that it does. Every day I pray to God for wisdom and guidance in my daily life. But despite this, I lived all the time in ignorance of my condition. Just a few months ago that I found out what autism is and after a thorough analysis, I concluded that I have it. I think that if I had found out earlier (and received the right help through God) my life would have been different.
People say that God works in subtle ways: giving inspiration to people, putting the right persons or situations in their path. But none of that happened to me. No one even suggested to me that I might be autistic, despite the visible symptoms. I hadn't epiphany and considered my condition to be a character trait that I could work on through my own efforts and God's help. I felt guilty that I wasn't succeeding, although when I look at it now, I was performing within (maybe just slightly below) my capabilities. I didn't come across any materials that made me think. Quite the opposite - I only saw extreme cases of autism and I was convinced that autism is a disease in which a person doesn't speak but covers their ears, makes sounds and nods their head intensely. I remember seeing an advertising campaign about autism that showed just such a person and I was glad that if I ever saw such a person, I would know what was wrong with them, and besides, social awareness and empathy towards people with such problems would increase.
So even though I had heard the word 'autism' I had no reason to suspect that I had it. This is proof that God didn't answer my prayers. Someone may say: "God acts at the right time. How do you know He didn't decide that now was the right time?" I would like to believe in that. But I don't see any reason why this should be the case and what harm would have happened if I had found out earlier, but I see many benefits that I would have gained by having this knowledge earlier. In addition, under videos about autism there are many comments like: "I'm 60+ and I've always felt different. Now I finally know what's wrong with me". It seems that the awareness of autism is related to greater access to knowledge, not to God's inspiration of individual people.
In conclusion, I don't think about autism in the way: "God, why did this happen to me?" but rather: "Lord God, I understand that my condition can have many advantages for me, for You and for my neighbors. But it also has many disadvantages. Please help me overcome these difficulties." Unfortunately, I don't see any help at the moment. It especially hurts me that God didn't help me realize that I had autism much earlier. So as not to end so pessimistically: for now I'm not dying of hunger and I still have hope and faith

 

[Sabertooth]

Hello & welcome @Terek.
For many of us older* ASD1s, not knowing helped us to develop useful coping skills & strategies.

Did you know that, in the Bible, David trained to take on Goliath by defending his flock from lions & bears...!? [See 1 Samuel 17:34-37]

*I am 62.

 

[rachelrising]

Sorry, can I just write this as it is often used to refer to Autistic people in particular it seems. Names like Indigo child, rainbow, crystal and Star Children should become a thing of the past. It was never God's intention and it can be taken both ways. Autistics are just Christians the same as everyone and God knows everybodys needs.

 

[Sabertooth]

@rachelrising, what post are you replying to?

 

[rachelrising]

@rachelrising, what post are you replying to?

Sabtertooth I am not replying to any post but I said sorry and thought I gave my reasons briefly for posting that. I have seen it going round and when it was first noticed by me was when my autism strongly came to light. I had never seen such a thing before about autism amd googled and started seeing it. There is only one I see could be one name Children of Light which I imagine would extend to all Christians. Although the name I gave perhaps gave more lenicency however, not as the spin they gave on it. I think this may stop some people getting needed help and many need it. I have no idea on this but perhaps it drives things like belief that autism needs for everyone to removed instead of perhaps managed. Who is anyone though to question the will of God. It is not our business. We all carry the divine spark of God which the Bible supports. I think we can draw that one there unless you have your own thoughts as an adult.

 

[Sabertooth]

Maybe your point would be more clear if you started a new thread about it.
I do not follow your point in the context of this one, "Does autism affect your relationship with God?"

 

[rachelrising]

Point taken Sabterttooth. That is why I said sorry before I posted. I don't intend to make this again, I have seen a few diversions on this forum I am sure I think. Thank you for pointing that out.

 

[Sabertooth]

@rachelrising, I wanted to send you a PM about your new topic, but you have to adjust your permission/privacy settings to be able to receive PMs, or PM me first.

 

[johansen]

Im not autistic but rather a handful of people think i am schizophrenic...and i would say no, it did not affect my relationship with God. It affected my lack of emotionally authentic relationships with people, and like everyone else who had a traumatic childhood, i presumed God would treat me the same way my parents did.. in a very hands off, business type relationship. But we all have this problem to a varying degree.

My wife who is definitely on the neurodivergent spectrum was trapped in catholic ideologies because she believes people are supposed to be legally, academically, spiritually, and logically self consistent in all situations.

So as such at the age of 22 she literally believed verses that are gender specific to men, mean only men, not women. So i literally had to convince her: that she doesnt need male headship over her, in order to be saved.

She was raised by liberal catholics, so, she did this to herself, not under the influence of any single person.

She could easily blame such false beliefs on an autistic minds perspective interpreting the bible literally. I hope no one here is trapped in such snares.