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DangerMouse72

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I'm an Aspie, and I'm looking for help from other Aspies. Please do not reply if you're an NT, as you can't relate.

I'm trying to figure out how someone who lacks emotional connections and relies on logic and reason is able to take a leap-of-faith. I can't just 'believe'. I'm not wired that way. I'm a literal person, and the Bible makes little sense to me. Less so when I look at contradictions. As Aspies, what allowed you to believe? What allowed you to give yourself to Christ? What advice can you give?

Note: I don't need any responses from people who just want to pat their own backs with "I'll pray for you." (let's assume everyone's praying for everyone); and please don't give pointless posts such as "Reading 1st John may help you."

FYI - Jumping up and down on one leg may help, but if you can't tell me in what way it will, I'm not going to try it. I've read multiple versions of the Bible, so let's assume that more reading is not the answer. Please know I'm blunt and to the point, but I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm frustrated, and just want real help. I look forward to your replies. D.M.
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You have asked some very good questions. Please allow me to share my experience and thoughts.

First, understand that faith is a gift from God given through His Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:8-9. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Second, you can ask for this gift.

Matthew 7:7-8. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

That is a promise from God. And since God is perfect and therefore cannot lie, He will do it.

My Journey

I was in your position once. I have written about my journey to saving faith. You can read about it at the link below.

http://hyper-wired.blogspot.com/2015/06/evangelizing-mr-data.html

I did not write the following, but I am including it because it also shows the "logic" of my faith in Jesus.

The Romans Road to Salvation

There are many people who believe that they will gain entrance into Heaven because they were "good" people during their lives. The problem arises when we ask, "Good compared to whom? Compared to Charles Manson - who isn't? Compared to God? Who could be?" In fact, most of us would fail the "compared to Mother Teresa" test!

The 10 commandments were given as a tutor to lead us to Christ. Think about it. Who could possibly obey just these 10 commandments perfectly? You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not covet. These are impossible to obey - especially when Jesus points out that it isn't just the actual act, but what goes on inside us as well. An example is when Jesus speaks of murder in Matthew 5:21,22. He says that to be angry with another without cause has murdered him. It's our heart attitudes that get us into trouble and will ultimately prevent us from entering into Heaven.

Fortunately for us, God knew this and made provisions in advance. Here's what the Bible has to say about this matter:

Romans 3:10 . There is none righteous, not even one. **Everyone has done something wrong during their lifetime - no matter how small it might seem, wrong is wrong. God does not have degrees of sin. Doing any one of them is enough to keep us out of Heaven.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. **No matter how "good" we've been during our lifetime, none of us has lived perfectly. This lack of perfection prevents us from being able to enter the presence of a perfect God.

Romans 6:23 for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. **The payment for sin - any sin - is death. Eternal separation from God, but through His death on the cross, Jesus offers eternal life as a gift! We don't have to do anything to deserve it - we never could!

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. **God knew every wrong thing we would ever do, every wrong thought we would ever have, long before He created us. He loved us anyway and sent Christ to die for us before we were ever born. Every sin we would ever commit - and every sin we have yet to commit - was paid for that day on the cross.

The statement, "It is finished!" as recorded in John 19:30 is the Greek word tetelestai. It is the same word they used when prisoners had paid their debt to society. While in prison, there was a letter posted on the door of each prisoner's cell that stated what crime he was being punished for. When he had completed his sentence, they would write "tetelestai" on this paper and give it to the prisoner. The word means "paid in full" and prevented him from ever being tried and sentenced for the same crime (AKA Double Jeopardy). This was the final statement Jesus made from the cross before He died. At that moment every wrong you or I would ever commit was yet future, but they were all paid for when He uttered this word.

Romans 10:9 .if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. **To receive this free gift, we have to do nothing more than believe that it's ours for the taking.

Romans 10:13 for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. **Note that it says "will call upon the name." Note that it does not say, "will call upon the name and teach a Sunday School class, read his Bible every day, etc." It's not Jesus "and".......it's just Jesus.

Romans 11:6 but if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. **Again, it's not Jesus plus something else. Remember the thief on the cross. When he asked Jesus to remember Him when He came into His kingdom, Jesus replied, "THIS DAY shall you be in Paradise with Me." The thief did not have to survive his crucifixion, then go out and feed the poor, preach on the street corners, have lots of "converts" to the faith before he would be accepted by God. The moment he asked, the thief became a member of the family of God.

John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. **There is no other way to eternal life, but through Christ. The way is narrow - it's only as wide as the cross on which He died.

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast. **There are going to be a lot of disappointed people who stand at the throne with their long list of good deeds, insisting that these are adequate payment for entrance into Heaven. Had there been any other way other than the death of His Son, God would have done it. If we were able to buy our way into Heaven through good works, then Jesus died for no reason.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. **As Hallmark so eloquently put it, God cared enough to give the very best - His own Son.

II Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. **Up until the moment of our death, God holds out this offer to everyone. He longs for every one of us to accept His gift.

There are many things happening in the world right now that point to the immanent return of Jesus Christ for His church. It could be any second - literally. There are no more prophecies to be fulfilled before the Rapture. I fully expect to see it in my lifetime.

I do not know where you stand with all of this. Perhaps you've taken care of this important piece of business long ago. If not, it is my prayer that you would take this moment to thank our Father for this precious gift He has so freely given. Eternity is such a long time to spend separated from God - the Giver of all that is good. Without any good thing, eternity is too horrible to imagine.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, " 'I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope."**And what a future it will be! It is my prayer that you will be there to share in it.

Ask God to forgive you for your sins. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 Say this: "Dear God, I know I am a sinner. Please forgive me."

Believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins. "And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed." I Peter 2:24 Say this: "I know that Jesus died on the cross for me."

Turn your back on sin, and ask God to take over. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." II Corinthians 5:17 Say this: "Father, help me turn away from sinning. Come into my life and make me what You want me to be."

Thank God, because as soon as you ask, He gives. "Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open." Matthew 7:7,8 Say this: "Thank You, Father."

Pray in the name of Jesus, as we are told to do. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." John 14:13. Say this: "This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Now tell someone you did this. Jesus does not have any secret friends. We are told that "Whosoever confesses me before men, him will I confess before my Father in Heaven."

When you have done this, you are saved. You have gone through the trapdoor are now safe on the other side, and neither death nor Tribulation can have any terror for you. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John 10:27

"Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching" Luke 12:37
 
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grandvizier1006

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For me, coming to Christ was something I did when I was desperate and had nowhere else to turn. I ultimately had to get my Christian journey going by myself, but what you'll mainly want to have other people helping you. Do you have a pastor or Christian friend to go to so that you can have some questions answered?

I also want to add that there are many things in the Bible that look like contradictions that really aren't. A large portion of them have a good explanation for being "contradictory". A degree of "comtradiction", actually, helps to establish the validity of the entire narrative. Can you Imagine if the scribes who wrote down the Scriptures said to each other, "guys...crap. I just found this thing and then this other thing. We have to change it before it gets on the scroll! Everything could get ruined!"

Instead they just copied what they had. Another thing to remember is that a lot of sources from "experts" regarding Bible stuff are either theorizing or presenting some explanation to try and avoid what the text actually says. christians are probably guilty of that, too!

And while I know you are probably not happy with me saying this, but faith is actually a very important component. I'm 100% sure of being a Christian now but I still struggle with faith sometimes, so don't think you're alone and don't think that you just "can't get faith". It isn't really a conscious process.
 
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When I became a child of God, I realised that no matter what happens, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit will always love me. I haven't got an Earthly Father, but I've got Father God as my Father. One of my favourite Jesus movie is The Visual Bible and it shows him as a loving, joyful person. As soon as I began watching it, I thought to myself "That's how I see Jesus."

 
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Sabertooth

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  1. I felt a dissatisfaction with my life, even with my seeming successes. King Solomon felt the same way in his book Ecclesiastes.
  2. I asked God to reveal Himself to me.
  3. I began to see philosophical dilemmas in my life that couldn't be accounted for with natural, rational logic.
  4. My uncle explained to me the rationale of salvation in a way that I have never heard before. It better accounted for those dilemmas, much like Einstein's physics superseded Newton's.*
  5. Seeing where I fit in that scheme of things, I said, "Where do I sign!?" and I haven't looked back since.
God is not opposed to reason. In fact, He said, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -Isaiah 1:18

But if you want to reason with God, you will have to let Him bring you to the next level,...
and that can only take place once you have surrendered to Him, per John 3:3.

*If you remember, there was a discrepancy in Mercury's orbit, from the standpoint of Newtonian physics. Einsteinian physics accounted for that discrepancy.
 
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DangerMouse72

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My Journey

I was in your position once. I have written about my journey to saving faith. You can read about it at the link below.

http://hyper-wired.blogspot.com/2015/06/evangelizing-mr-data.html

Thank you for the reference to Evangelizing Mr. Data. I too am a black & white thinker, & can appreciate anyone else who uses logic & reason rather than emotion.

I'm a very liberal person. For example, I apply the common writing rule of enclosing items in quotation marks as Sarcasm, when not a direct quote, so I take it that you were being sarcastic when you offered to show me "the 'logic' of my faith in Jesus." I agree that it does not appear to be a logical choice, & that's my problem. How did you overcome logic & reason in order to accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior?

I'm not wired to simply accept anything as true. I have to have proof. What proof, other than Bible quotes do you have for me? It looks to me that there's nothing that can help me short of your God, & I guess he wants nothing to do with me. I can't blame him, most people tend to hate me sooner or later too. You said "God's spirit" reached you. Why won't he do the same for me?

Thank you for your help. I look forward to your reply, as well as anyone else's (Aspies only, please!) that can help. D.M.
Danger Mouse
 
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DangerMouse72

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For me, coming to Christ was something I did when I was desperate and had nowhere else to turn. I ultimately had to get my Christian journey going by myself, but what you'll mainly want to have other people helping you. Do you have a pastor or Christian friend to go to so that you can have some questions answered?

Thanks for your post. Yes, I have several Chaplains available (all NTs) to answer questions, but none seem to be able to find me anything to help me with my Aspie wired brain.

I understand that some variances in witness statements add to the validity of a narrative (I love to study law), but I'm not just speaking of witness testimony. In addition, I studied textual criticism of the Bible, & there are issues exactly as you wrote of. There are times when a scribe changed a text to correct the entry, & it was later reverted back to the error, & a note placed in the margin to "keep the original". This can be seen in the Vatican Codex, but has nothing to do with my concerns - not really.

I do understand that everyone has a bias, & that all experts, even those in "Bible stuff" are not able to put their biases to the side (Christian & non-Christian).

I don't have Faith, & I don't see how I can. To me, Faith is pretending to know things you can't know. At best, I could be agnostic towards something, but I don't think I'll ever have Faith.

What do I need to do? How can I ever believe if my brain is not wired that way? Help me please. Thank you for your help. D.M.
Danger Mouse
 
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Bookmaker

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How did you overcome logic & reason in order to accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior?

I didn't overcome logic and reason. I used them. The Bible's description of man's condition (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked; Who can know it?) is a far better match for what I observe in the world that what we are told, that man is inherently good. We are not.

One of the greatest proofs of Biblical accuracy is fulfilled prophecy. The reemergence of Israel is a prophecy fulfilled in our time.

It looks to me that there's nothing that can help me short of your God, & I guess he wants nothing to do with me. I can't blame him, most people tend to hate me sooner or later too. You said "God's spirit" reached you. Why won't he do the same for me?

Have you asked God to give you faith?

I another of my blog posts, I wrote the following:

With intellectual awareness, you pretty much get what you get. If you are of average intelligence now, you will not be a genius later. However, the cool thing with spiritual awareness is that you can ask for it! If you earnestly seek Him, God will open your spiritual eyes.

Mathew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

I didn’t see the words “might” or “may” in that verse. The word “will” is used three times. It is a promise from God.


There are two books you may find helpful:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell

I think these two provide the logical arguments you seek.

I will be praying for you!
 
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grandvizier1006

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Thanks for your post. Yes, I have several Chaplains available (all NTs) to answer questions, but none seem to be able to find me anything to help me with my Aspie wired brain.

I understand that some variances in witness statements add to the validity of a narrative (I love to study law), but I'm not just speaking of witness testimony. In addition, I studied textual criticism of the Bible, & there are issues exactly as you wrote of. There are times when a scribe changed a text to correct the entry, & it was later reverted back to the error, & a note placed in the margin to "keep the original". This can be seen in the Vatican Codex, but has nothing to do with my concerns - not really.

I do understand that everyone has a bias, & that all experts, even those in "Bible stuff" are not able to put their biases to the side (Christian & non-Christian).

I don't have Faith, & I don't see how I can. To me, Faith is pretending to know things you can't know. At best, I could be agnostic towards something, but I don't think I'll ever have Faith.

What do I need to do? How can I ever believe if my brain is not wired that way? Help me please. Thank you for your help. D.M.
Danger Mouse
Try checking out the Yotubue channel of InspiringPhilosophy. He's a Christian who goes into belief in God and how it is logical and coherent. I don't know if you have a trouble with theism or just Christian beliefs, but he's still worth checking out. He's also been doing some videos on the Resurrection (Easter stuff). That, as you probably know, is the one supernatural thing you need to understand more than anything else.

Furthermore, I think you're looking at this with way too much analysis. Faith should come first and analysis supplements it, although that isn't always the case for every Christian.

Try prayer. Not me praying for you, I mean you praying to God. Something simple like, "I'm having a hard time believing you're even there. Let me know somehow". Then wait. It might be subtle and it might take time, and it probably won't 100% convince you, but right now you need a bit of spiritual understanding to go along with the knowledge you've accumulated. Don't be concerned about letting a church congregation do the work for you, nor should you try some website or ritual or anything like that. Just keep your mind open.

Lastly, don't assume that you can't ever have faith. Aspies are not a separate species. I was convinced of this a year or so ago and I felt that not a single person in my church could help me. It came down to me pleading to God to get me out of this terrible situation where I felt I was at the end of my rope. And that was pretty much it. I still had doubts and questions and fears, but they didn't matter so much anymore because I was confident that there was an explanation or an answer out there somewhere.
 
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BryanMaloney

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I'm an Aspie, and I'm looking for help from other Aspies. Please do not reply if you're an NT, as you can't relate.

I'm trying to figure out how someone who lacks emotional connections and relies on logic and reason is able to take a leap-of-faith. I can't just 'believe'. I'm not wired that way. I'm a literal person, and the Bible makes little sense to me. Less so when I look at contradictions. As Aspies, what allowed you to believe? What allowed you to give yourself to Christ? What advice can you give?

Note: I don't need any responses from people who just want to pat their own backs with "I'll pray for you." (let's assume everyone's praying for everyone); and please don't give pointless posts such as "Reading 1st John may help you."

FYI - Jumping up and down on one leg may help, but if you can't tell me in what way it will, I'm not going to try it. I've read multiple versions of the Bible, so let's assume that more reading is not the answer. Please know I'm blunt and to the point, but I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm frustrated, and just want real help. I look forward to your replies. D.M.
Danger Mouse

I'm a scientist (biologist). The more I actually was a real scientist, and the more I discovered just how NON-logical the way bodies work turns out to be and how all our models are really just ad hoc approximations that we need to be ready to discard at a moment's notice--and that a great way for me to become famous as a biologist is to destroy any major biological model in a conclusive fashion, the gnat of Scripture became nothing for me. In other words, once I, as a scientist, saw how much science is based on a different kind of leap of faith, I realized that rejecting a leap of faith in and of itself is invalid. That being said, that doesn't mean you have to take this particular leap of faith.
 
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NewbieinChrist

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I'm an Aspie, and I'm looking for help from other Aspies. Please do not reply if you're an NT, as you can't relate.

I'm trying to figure out how someone who lacks emotional connections and relies on logic and reason is able to take a leap-of-faith. I can't just 'believe'. I'm not wired that way. I'm a literal person, and the Bible makes little sense to me. Less so when I look at contradictions. As Aspies, what allowed you to believe? What allowed you to give yourself to Christ? What advice can you give?

Note: I don't need any responses from people who just want to pat their own backs with "I'll pray for you." (let's assume everyone's praying for everyone); and please don't give pointless posts such as "Reading 1st John may help you."

FYI - Jumping up and down on one leg may help, but if you can't tell me in what way it will, I'm not going to try it. I've read multiple versions of the Bible, so let's assume that more reading is not the answer. Please know I'm blunt and to the point, but I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm frustrated, and just want real help. I look forward to your replies. D.M.
Danger Mouse
Hi, Danger Mouse. I'm an Aspie woman and I take everything literally. I struggle with reading my Bible because I have cognitive difficulties and I see everything in black and white. So I get where you're coming from. I don't have any idea as how to "take a leap of faith". I need examples, illustrations, and lists. I'm also the queen of confusion & frustration! I will just share with you MY own personal experience as to how I came to believe in Christ. I literally walked off of the homeless streets of Arlington, Tx and I was tore up from the floor up ( strung out on cocaine and exhausted from 12 horrible years of abusive boyfriends). I had an overwhelming feeling of guilt, shame, and self-hatred. I walked into a church and was greeted with such kindness and forgiveness. I had streams of tears pouring down my face and at the end, the pastor asked if there was anyone new and I raised my hand. He prayed over me and God INSTANTLY removed my desire for cocaine and I felt loved for the first time in my life. 2 months later, I got baptized and Jesus is now my Lord. I have Aspergers too and I know we're wired differently, but I know God is real. I hope this helps.
 
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Propianotuner

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When I became a child of God, I realised that no matter what happens, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit will always love me. I haven't got an Earthly Father, but I've got Father God as my Father. One of my favourite Jesus movie is The Visual Bible and it shows him as a loving, joyful person. As soon as I began watching it, I thought to myself "That's how I see Jesus."


This movie rocks! I love how it portrays Matthew with his amenuenses/scribes.

I'm an Aspie, and I'm looking for help from other Aspies. Please do not reply if you're an NT, as you can't relate.

I can see why you feel this way, having ASD (autism spectrum disorder) myself, although I don't see why an NT necessarily wouldn't have anything to say of value. Regardless, I hope along with the others here that I might be able to produce some statements you find not only edifying but helpful in stimulating an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

I'm trying to figure out how someone who lacks emotional connections and relies on logic and reason is able to take a leap-of-faith.

Emotions are passing mental states that are not inimical to logic but actually a component of it. Think with me for a moment why: would anyone be compelled to reason without a certain excitation of interest in this or that subject and thinking about it with rigor? Are there not certain thought patterns that reward and reinforce the use of reason? It is simply a neurological fact that emotions are part of every reasoning process, otherwise there would be nothing to stimulate activity in the first place. So it would be more technically accurate to say that you naturally tend to prefer certain emotional processes over others.

Faith in the Lord God is far more than a set of emotions. It is not some transitory sensation. Pistis/faith and metanoeo/repentance are regularly used interchangeably by NT authors because they are both integral components of the conversation experience. Pistis has connotations that actually directly imply a rational process, as when one accepts a pistis they are being convinced by a persuasion. Metanoeo is a compound term that involves both internally changing and orientation towards something.

What does the sum of this linguistic information indicate? That believers aren't expected to take an anti-rational leap of faith at all. The authentic Christian experience is sensible. However, the God experience is far more than emotional or intellectual. It is of another distinct kind and part of why it is so difficult for us to articulate our experiences is that they simply aren't easily analogical to any emotional or intellectual perceptions we've had. The conversion experience is a transition into a new state of being.

If it be of any profit to you, please take a look at my testimony before proceeding further.

As Aspies, what allowed you to believe? What allowed you to give yourself to Christ? What advice can you give?

I was a longtime agnostic like yourself, and had spent years studying philosophy, theology, and history as well as a diverse panoply of other academic subjects before encountering God. While that academic experience was and is greatly helpful now, it didn't make up the ultimate substance of my conversion experience, and neither did any emotional sensibilities for that matter.

What allowed me to believe? Well, there were great impediments to my ability to conceive of Christianity as a sensible way to think. Also I was turned off by my perceptions, however mistaken or on point, of people who were ostensibly Christians. Self examination, patience with people, and academic rigor eased these impediments but they weren't actually instrumental in compelling the God experience itself.

Even after I was convinced through ontological, teleological, and historical arguments of the veracity of the Bible and the existence of God, and I had considered myself Christian while attending a church for years, I had never truly felt spiritually receptive by any definition. As you can imagine I was frustrated.

Now looking back at the beginning of my new life I can see that I never had the means within myself or amongst other people to meet God, aside from simply removing detritus that was in the way and becoming open to the experience. The reason I can't tell you precisely how conversion happens is that it is solely God's domain.

But don't be discouraged! Please trust me in that when you are ready, God is efficacious to make good on His promises and He will visit you. In fact He really wants to, and surely He anticipates communion with His beloved.

I understand that you are lonely. It is our natural state. Even people with "exceptional" cognitive empathy are only able to form more reasonable guesses of the mental states of others, and similarly those with pronounced emotional empathy may be having a response of their own but it isn't really representative. Because we are all distinct, no one person can truly relate to another, however well they'd like to think they're doing at it.

That's okay because there is One who understands you. You were indeed made for companionship. The Creator Himself, who is the very source of all that is good, all that is conducive of wonder in this universe and beyond, specifically formed you as a sounding board for His stupendous thoughts. He gave us the shiniest, most splendid toy that a Father ever gave His children: profound thought. We broke the toy but He sincerely wants to fix the one He gave you. Will you allow Him?

This is the primary joy of heaven, the great pleasure of being a Christian here on earth as heaven is already here inasmuch as we can experience Him here, and the inexpressible anticipation of our lives: some day we will be utterly restored and spend forever with God. We will learn more and more and grow to love Him more and more in perpetuity because you and I are a line that starts at a fixed point and has one arrow, and He is the line which has two arrows.
 
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Beloved_Dust_Heap

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This is my first post here, the title caught my eye.

You're probably long gone. But I'll answer anyway.

I was bullied my entire childhood from maybe 1st grade to the end of school. I was pretty much thrown to the wolves. I never really had any friends.

The salvation he offered wasn't the only thing that pulled me to him. It was the fact that he wanted to be my friend that really pulled me in.

When you go you're whole life wanting friends until the God of everything knocks on the door, it's impossible not to open it.

I had major issues with forgiving them, I craved it at times. I'd imagine them in hell and enjoy it. But then one day God connected the dots in my mind that that was how he drew me to him so that I would say yes to him. When I realized that, forgiving them was easy. Like all the painful memories suddenly were placed in a box labeled "Forgiven" .
 
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Brennenstuhl

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Taking the initiative to look is the first step, and the ability to look outside one's preconceived notions and think for one's self is a hallmark of wisdom on both sides. All too often, you can see this on internet forums, people merely spitting out pre-canned arguments for the 1000th time. And there's even a book written by someone who set out to disprove the existence of Christ, and came around.

I can't give an entirely logical account, sadly, but what I can tell you is that it can be a slow process. Much of my evidence was on the intuitive level. It makes perfect sense to be, but I've never quite been able to put words to it. All I'd say is that you need to do an honest search for him. If we, individual Christians, are to be salt and light, then how much more radiant must God himself be to those who sincerely search for him? That being said, there's two pieces of advice that might make it easier.

1. Challenge God and Theologians
Being a Christian does not mean not asking God questions. Yes, we have only one book, but theologians have around, maybe a little less than 2000 years to study the heck out of it... to say nothing of the traditions and studies the faith's Judaic did before Christ walked the Earth. If something about the Bible troubles you, you can often find answers by consulting theologians. You'd be surprised how many bitter pills have been made easier to swallow over the centuries.

And when you become a Christian, don't stop asking. It's always a great way to learn, and I've found myself spending time just researching my questions. And for that, might I say the internet is a great resource to find out what pastors and theologians think, without having to leave home.

2. One True Bible, Multiple Interpretations
This isn't the 'all paths lead to Heaven' route, but all but a very select group of Christians will tell you that the other denominations will go to Heaven... and if those Christians say otherwise, it'd probably be best to find someone else to talk to about Jesus. For example, one difference is 'liberal' vs 'conservative' interpretations of the Bible (please note this has little to do with the political terms). Conservative interpretations tend to take the Bible as the Holy, Inspired word of God, meant for all time, and unchanging. Liberal interpretations tend to stress the context it was written in.

There's also alternative interpretations of issues on a bunch of contentious issues, the ones often associated with the 'Religious Right' political bloc as well. If you're a political liberal, I'd recommend you listen to Methodist ministers of the Gospel; I think you might find it less a tough pill to swallow on at least some issues. Note this is coming from a member of a Free Will Baptist church. Last, remember that you ARE free to think for yourself. Feel free to disagree with a potential congregation.

People may disagree with this, and that's fine. Quite frankly though, I expect the Baptists, the Catholics, the Methodists, the Calvinists, and everyone else to have gotten more than a few things about God wrong. None of these petty issues, however, will be paramount.

3. Be Prepared to Accept Other Types of Evidence
On some level, accepting Christ is a matter of faith. At the same time, it might serve you well to be willing to accept intuitive evidence in lieu of empirical evidence. This is what worked for me, and while my chief evidence has always felt strong, it's something I've struggled in vein to put words to. That being said, empirical evidence isn't all there is. How much of the value of empirical evidence has been science's impact on culture? Can intuition not help people to valid conclusions, especially when mulled over using logic.

This would, after all, would explain why some people come to Christ while others don't: if there were some central, empirical fact, an equation that proved beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of God, evangelism would consist of keep people awake long enough to go through a math lesson... which if you're like me, admittedly, might not be much easier to do than what we do in reality. But a Christ where some conclusions must be made intuitively is harder to prove. Logic certainly has its place, of course; you'll find many theologians who've spent their lives thinking and interpreting. A sort of corollary to Hanlon's Razor might be 'don't attribute to stupidity what can be adequately explained by a different set of logic'.

I hope this little door stopper has helped.
 
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FireDragon76

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I've spent a good deal of time working on compensating for my Asperger's and i'm fairly high functioning so maybe I am not the best example ,but for me it isn't too hard. I looked at the Christian faith initially in terms of reasons to believe in God and Church history and it just made sense, and seemed to fill a gap in parts of my life, the need for spirituality.
 
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