Being autistic and Christian

• I may be wrong but reading your post I wondered if you have considered a retreat in a monastery. They have guest rooms and are often in quiet places. 

My experiences are good, mostly. I don't force it in everyone's face but I am Christian and do believe. I've been in a lot of sticky situations and dark places and feel that God stood by my side and is the reason I am still here now.

Firstly, thank you for being so open. I was diagnosed at around 44 and I am now 50, so I can sympathise with you. I know of Teen Challenge in North East of Scotland and very much admire the work they do with addicts. I personally though don't feel the need for such things for autistics as we don't need curing or healing, no matter how well intentioned it is. God created us this way and people need to understand that, churches in general would not try to cure someone with down syndromme so why should they try it with us. What I have found though is that non-liturgical churches tend to be more welcoming, particularly those of under 50 members as they tend to be more like a family and so more welcoming. The church I go to is very much a family of dysfunctional people, in fact I am not sure that there is such a thing as a normal person in our church and so everyone is accepting of everyone else.

When I changed to this church though, the holy spirit placed on my heart that if I wanted be accepted I need to make the effort to be part of the church. Hence as uncomfortable as it was, and as much as I had to lean on the Lord, I joined the bible study, the prayer group and attended as many Sunday services as possible even if that meant using zoom at times. Then having read the love languages of God book, the person who used to meet and greet left to help another church, and the holy spirit placed on my heart to taker over despite having to step out of the proverbial boat to do it. It was a blessing in disguise though as it allowed me to learn everyone's name and to come out of my shell and speak to everyone that comes to church. Nowadays I love doing it and it forms part of my personal ministry, as you can make or break someone's time at church by saying the wrong thing, more so than any sermon or out of key worship track. By leaning on the Lord I have also learnt to pray out loud, but using a simple format of starting with an appropriate piece of scripture and letting the spirit take it from there.

Hence, I don't feel the need for any sort of rehab program, what I believe is most important is consistently reading the bible each day, praying each day, and regular worship and other christian interactions such that one's life is grounded in Christ and for Christ. We are called to take his word to others, and we should do that through our everyday interactions. We are told that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move a mountain, well the words we say to others or the actions we do to help them are mustard seeds of faith placed into their heart, that overtime and with watering will grow into the largest of all garden plant, which is a metaphor for faith int he garden of eden, which itself is a metaphor for heaven.

If any of this has helped you Bob and you want to chat more in depth then feel free to drop me a direct message,

I've had some special moments in some churches, but I can never really connect very deeply for very long.

It's partly me, but is also due to a combination of a) conspiracy loonies telling me it's not even a condition, or b) it's a disease to be cured of! Not to mention lots of toxic devisive covert political mind melt.

However, I believe in the God of Christ, Abraham, Moses, and Noah with all my heart.

But life, meantime, as a man in his fifties is a disastrous string of self sabotaging catastrophes due to, I guess, mostly having not been brought up by informed parents or guardians who knew which things were key to managing ASD, and instilling routine around the things that inspire us, and with the things we just need to do.

It would be timely to look at Christian residential rehabs, which are generally in the countryside away from everything, and use aspects of their work for adults who've been diagnosed n later, who are in a mess, yet don't quite fit the "addict" tag, or whatever usual addiction oriented approaches.

It'd, if done properly, and appropriately, be an ideal place to gain that inner discipline and routine, with opportunity to study secular or biblical things, creative, meditate, be counselled, mentored spiritually and vocationally, and take your spiritual studies as deeply as you feel called to.

An organisation, Teen Challenge, who've branched into adults, and have some family residential places too, but who deal with addictions, may contain an existing template to evolve residential rehab for later-in-life diagnosed people who though not handling life, are capable of getting on and making a go with the right help.

It's vital this begins, I feel.

I've had some special moments in some churches, but I can never really connect very deeply for very long.

It's partly me, but is also due to a combination of a) conspiracy loonies telling me it's not even a condition, or b) it's a disease to be cured of! Not to mention lots of toxic devisive covert political mind melt.

However, I believe in the God of Christ, Abraham, Moses, and Noah with all my heart.

But life, meantime, as a man in his fifties is a disastrous string of self sabotaging catastrophes due to, I guess, mostly having not been brought up by informed parents or guardians who knew which things were key to managing ASD (and surprisingly, I wasn't diagnosed ADHD till my 40s, and currently awaiting formal diagnosis of ASD now n my fifties), and instilling routine around the things that inspire us, and with the things we just need to do.

It would be timely to look at Christian residential rehabs, which are generally in the countryside away from everything, and use aspects of their work for adults who've been diagnosed in later life, who are in a mess, yet don't quite fit the "addict" tag, or whatever usual addiction oriented approaches.

But, like a residential rehab with tasks and roles and study and counseling etc, for recovering later in life diagnosed people. Perhaps?

It'd, if done properly, and appropriately, be an ideal place to gain that inner discipline and routine, with opportunity to study secular or biblical things, creative, meditate, be counselled, mentored spiritually and vocationally, and take your spiritual studies as deeply as you feel called to. With appropriate experts, grounded in Christianity,. Though for us lot, they may need to be used to thinking outside the boxl

An organisation, Teen Challenge, who've branched into adults, and have some family residential places too, but who deal with addictions, may contain an existing template to evolve residential rehab for later-in-life diagnosed people who though not handling life, are capable of, with support,  getting on and learning how to have a life. Structure. And surrounded with appropriate Christian support.

It's vital this begins, I feel. It's time has come?

Discuss?

I was in my mid-forties when I was diagnosed and I am a long way along the RAAD-R scale to say the least. I was bought up in the church, but have had difficulties settling in church until my most recent one where it is more like a big family. I think the key was letting the holy spirit take charge. I also read the five love languages of God book and that lead me to serving as the main meeter and greeter for the church, which is not exactly a typical roll for an autistic but it has allowed me to get to know people and their names. Thus helping me to fit in and so making the tea, coffee and chit chat time afterwards a little easier. The other thing I did was to join the prayer group and bible study, as I realised that in order to become part of and be accepted by a church one has to put the effort in. So nowadays I am one of the stalwarts of the prayer group and if I don't attend I very touchingly get several messages checking I am ok, and I know there are people I can turn to confidentially for prayer when like any of us I am struggling mentally, spiritually or physically.

The only thing god seems to really want from us is participation in his creation and recognition of him as the creator. And we have the free will to not do it.

My experience of wrongdoing or wrong thinking, is that it doesn't work for me for very long. Obtaining the so called benefits of sin is a bit like taking heroin to solve a pain problem. It seems to work well initially...

On a different note entirely, I started this post way before Billys superb post below, and am just about to hit send, but got sidetracked by a compact lion (or large ginger cat) requiring my prescence, Will my post now appear below Billys as it should chronologically speaking, or did I "reserve a spot"?

NAS73180 said:

Christianity was represented best by one person.  It has been misrepresented since.

Very true

I really needed to hear that. Thats such a lovely saying. Made me feel very comforted

Christianity was represented best by one person.  It has been misrepresented since.

I’m Catholic by training but spiritually open in recovery. 

I try to see where religious people are right and be open to learn from the best. 

Nothing is all or nothing including this sentence.  There’s a bit of good in all, a bit of bad in all.  I think my ASD’s literalism makes me forget that panic is not necessary if I see things the way they really are and not as I catastrophiize them. 

I notice too many people in Church so I sit as far to the front as possible.  This also allows me to be involved. 

I also don’t go to mass every week because I have the literalism of it being required and I took that as a child to mean I would be condemned to hell if I missed mass.

I challenge that literalism in my actions. 

Seven also features in Revelation; The Seven Seals, and the Seven Blasphemies. 

From a Jewish perspective:

Critical thinking is encouraged. Especially during the holidays. 

Matters of never demanding respect, being cautious about and pausing to explore where one's feeling of 'offence' is arresting them are quite important in the old texts.

The element of space - this other and the grey matter (or G-d) between us all, rendering another wholly worthwhile.

There was a Christian Rabbi I had met who, like many others will talk about how the use of Letters and Numbers as an aid to make inter-connexions or hyper-connexions throughout both texts. This was particularly interesting - like combining maths and art. I'll have to have more of a think, but it would be a way of speaking with/to those who are guided by their heart and connect to symbols, meanings and also those who are guided by their head and connect better to the science and reasoning. 

These principles are excellent building blocks for engaging with others and allowing room for these magnificent differences. Grant Macaskill explores these differences in the New Testament as the matter of a whole collexion being a "body". All 3 will discuss the caution with the ego, with humility, with a G-d who will reason with us and not discard us - a standard for being.

When Autistic individuals express distress and are dismissed, it is a loss of respect we additionally suffer. And when the gap in communication is severed because the NT is offended or stuck in their dance with dominance, it is the ego in the way.

But the Jewish texts have so much to offer: those who are discarded, marginalised have unexpected endings.The book of Genesis is not what one expects if we actually read it.

I really think the stories in the Jewish texts have a depth to them. There's not really an expression of heaven or hell as an endgame. There are these 'miraculous' moments which are unexpected and somewhat unexplainable, but the impact is important. And then, the number and it's reference are important. For instance if 7 refers to an infinite "set", but is reflected in the week, it's easy to recognise that it may be an analogy to any length of time, but take 1/7th of that set period of time to regenerate. Referring to a human week rather than an exact number of days of creation. So, maybe there is a time for evolution. No one was there and does it really matter. Dr. Boyd has a recreation theory that's quite interesting regarding this. But everyone does agree on is that out of Chaos, Order was formed and I think this is the most relevant. 

There is something anti-chaotic that is uniquely Autistic. If we are more in-tune with our senses, or even perhaps other logical orderings, I think there is something of a spiritual connexion perhaps we are much more capable of in this innate raw-ness of being.

Amen

Oh I'll be following that with interest later

Wherever you sit, God will come and sit with you.

Id be interested to know more about what you were saying about Jewish teaching

No theres still a few more of us

Homebird said:

Sometimes it is easier being Christian without the socializing.

I can really relate to that, that's a really good way of putting it

I too didn't realize I was autistic until later in life. The thing I find hard is going into church on my own and deciding where to sit. Church is a social place. I am ok talking to individuals I know but find speaking to those I don't know difficult. I enjoy singing with others but have found it hard to move from watching online to going physically, so just go occasionally when I don't feel too overstimulated or exhausted by the previous week. Sometimes it is easier being Christian without the socializing.

Love to know of any positive experiences of churches making adjustments for autistic people.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one left yet.