Autism is a genetic condition, so those with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have no control over it. Part of the way an autistic mind works is an inability to comprehend things which are outside one's direct experience. This broadly relates to autistic theory of mind. This means that when an autistic person is witnessed to, it is unlikely approaching impossible that 'the word' can be understood. Even if this person is 'pricked by the spirit' it would not be possible to relate this to god, being an external and abstract concept.
Now I'm not saying it's impossible for a person with an ASD to become a christian - certainly for a time I was, and I have Asperger's Syndrome - although perhaps the assertion that I was never a 'true christian' is valid. In my experience of knowing 30 individuals with an ASD, not one of them was a christian. I understand that a sample of 30 is not neccessarily representative.
Given this 'disability' to believe, do people with ASD get a free pass ?
2007-05-23 06:50:58 · 20 answers · asked by Dharma Nature 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind#Autism_and_theory_of_mind
2007-05-23 06:51:32 · update #1
full gospel shirley: Actually I do not think I am capable. I tried for 15 years to be a christian and follow god. I always thought there was something missing, something I just did not 'get'. Eventually I came to the conclusion that there was no god. If I am incapable of understanding and experiencing god, it follows that my 'fall from grace' was inevitable. I am left with this conundrum:
Is it that god does not exist or is it that I am unable of detecting and responding to his reality?
From my perspective they look exactly the same. Can you understand that?
I do, in fact, have a theory of mind. It was hard won and one of my greatest victories. I was 12 years old before I began to understand that other people were not a figment of my imagination. I was 26 years old before I was able to think in 'shades of grey'. It took 14 years to develop theory of mind, so I think it fair to say that I am not an easy quitter. Intelligence, articulation and perseverance were not enough.
2007-05-23 07:15:37 · update #2
spitchus & JP: Lots of people with ASD do indeed consider themselves 'spiritual'. I think it may be a simple human reaching out to something - anything. However making a connection is a different story.
Aahotep: I'd forgotten how little the thief had to do to be accepted. I had done that much myself, so perhaps I was saved. The thing is, without the spirit (or awareness of the spirit) there was no way for me to stay faithful in what appeared to me as a sterile, empty belief.
Through reiki and chakras I do now have a spiritual awareness and an understanding of the mechanism of prayer / meditation / energy. So things are not now as they once were for me. It is possible that I *do* now have the ability to detect and respond to god/spirit (if it exists). At some point in the very near future I will attempt to contact god again and see what happens.
My empiricism is being put to the test.
2007-05-23 07:41:44 · update #3
I have an autistic child and often wonder if he will face the same realizations/questions as you do as he matures. Abstract concepts are tough for him but I do know that he finds beauty and joy in things many of us overlook. Perhaps he is closer to spirituality than most of us because he doesn't need to seek these things, they find him continually. Some say it's god, some say it's demon possession. Either way, they view his autism as black and white when it's truly (one of your recently discovered) shades of grey.
So it's difficult to answer your question. My child may never become part of a church and he may never spread "the word". But that may not be his purpose, either. He may not require this fulfillment as he is already connected to this world in ways I can't imagine. He has brought so much love and perspective to so many people who surround him and made each one question their own spirituality. Perhaps that is his purpose.
If there is a higher power, he has earned his way by impacting so many lives-it was not a free pass. He worked very hard for it, only he may not realize that changing minds is such hard work. It comes so natural for him.
2007-05-25 07:04:22 · answer #1 · answered by chikkenbone 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, they don't get a free pass - aside from the ones who don't have the cognitive abilitiy to differentiate between right and wrong obviously. You are speaking about Christianity, and the essence of Christianity is comprised of Jesus' 2 commandments: love God with your whole heart, mind, strength and soul, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. By doing one, you do the other. To "love your neighbor as you love yourself" does not mean you actually love your neighbor, it means "agape" - wish each other well, do not wish harm on anyone. If you live your life this way, you are on the path to heaven, or nirvana, or whatever you call it/however you see it. It doesn't matter what you believe - most of us believe what we do because we were born into it - not because we tried every religion and found the "right" one. It's the way you live your life, and all legitimate religions have the same core value of respecting others, Christians say love one another, Hindus say live in harmony with each other, Buddhists might say follow the eight fold path, etc. - but the result is the same.
Faith is not logical, it is an experience. I cannot logically prove to you God exists or there is an afterlife, but I firmly believe in them. As an Aspergerian, this would be especially difficult to accept, since part of the condition is that you are so logical and black and white (my son has asd and I have traits myself). And possibly having a theory of mind problem may make it difficult to relate any experiences to God (although I think that most high functioning asd people do have enough theory of mind to experience it). The point is, you have the ability to know how to treat others, even if it takes more effort having an asd, and that what's important.
2007-05-24 16:58:40 · answer #2 · answered by momto1 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Very interesting! What a thoughtful question.
As far as I understand, any person who is actually unable to determine right from wrong, or to understand enough to believe, is considered innocent.
That's why many of us do not practice infant baptism -- small children are ionnocent by definition, and only those mature enough to believe and repent on their own are fit candidates for baptism and conversion.
That said, it actually does not take THAT much awareness for belief to be possible (yes, I realize I'm opening the door here for the people who say that all Christians are stupid...). I was an adult convert from agnosticism, but my best friend was brought up in a Christian home, and she says she understood the basics by the time she was 5 years old. Namely, that she did wrong things knowing they were wrong things, but Jesus paid the penalty for everybody who believes in Him, and he will help us to do better if we trust him. Now, those are very basic basics -- no rocket science or degrees in theology needed -- but really, did the thief on the other cross know any more than that? Probably he knew and understood even less than that. Yet, Jesus accepted his faith and was waiting for him in the kingdom.
By the way, I didn't realize this until last weekend, when I stumbled across a little book by Corrie ten Boom, (the Dutch Christian writer of The Hiding Place whose father and sister perished in the Holocaust) but Miss ten Boom spent a number of years in a mission working with the developmentally disabled, and teaching them about Jesus. It might be interesting to chase down the book that she wrote about her experiences there, but I don't know the title. It wouldn't be that hard to track down, I'd think.
2007-05-23 07:08:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
if this concept of not being able to understand something unless having directly experienced it then just about everyone I have met in life is autistic. Most people do not understand when you do something a different way (even if it is apparantly easier and takes less time) and initially cause trouble because of their misunderstanding.
I understand your thoughts on learning religion or applying man made teaching of higher things not being able to be understood...
God (the one who created everything - if you don't believe that you have to know that something created all this, it didnt just appear) doesn't work in thought or learning, he works in the heart. I truly believe anyone can experience God, if not throughout their life as the plan he has for us, sometimes he does demonstrate in a more elaborate way.
The thing is there are many gods, there are many things that can happen that get blamed on God or God gets thanked for he didn't do.
The general population of Earth is not worshipping the God we read about in the bible, they do not even understand a thing about him. Most people use God as some thing to pray to to get what they want and never speak to Him otherwise.
Now there are 2 ways to look at this, 1 is that other deities or gods are capable of hearing and fulfilling your requests for the price they figure out and present to you as a situation which, most people seal the deal and never even look back (if they even realized it).
2. Is that God gives you the chance to find your way through your problem and keeps you protected until you do, until you turn away from Him.
I say these things because sometimes a person can understand and begin to relate to instances, these are instances that happen daily. I find it so odd that in this day and age where so many cool special effects can be seen on tv and in movies people do not believe in miracles but they did when there was no such visual interpretations, I guess that is the desensitizing of everyone.
anyway, I guess the whole thing is that if you have the capability to seek you shall find.
besides didn't Jesus die for all man's sins?
if he died for all man's sins none is exempt, none
anyway, when all is said and done, God ceated everything, everything good and bad came from Him and everything good and bad goes back to Him.
what does that tell you about people's faith?
2007-05-27 08:37:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A few months back, I asked people here, if they had Aspergers, to describe their spiritual and religious leanings.
That didn't go over so well. So I asked on some AS chats and forums.
What I found kinda surprised me, kinda didn't. A large majority expressed that while they would consider themselves atheists or agnostic atheists, they did consider themselves ritualized and spiritual, that is, they felt that ritual of a symbolic nature had a place in their life. Also, a large majority reported that they intentionally sought out the 'metaphysical experience' even though they accepted that it was a purely neurological condition.
I may formalize this research and am considering publishing a paper on it if I do formalize it.
2007-05-23 07:00:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they get a free pass. If they are truely incapable of understanding. Also, Children under thirteen get a free pass. There are some end time theoristic who postulate that during the rapture only children' under 13 will be taken.
Also, there are some theories that people with condition were created with it as some special "grace" like a free pass - or even that they were souls of such purity, God didn't need to test them on earth.
2007-05-23 07:05:43 · answer #6 · answered by Cindy H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on how bad it is.
If they have absolutely no control over anything, they do get a "free pass" to heaven; it says specifically in the bible that the "innocent ones" like children, or even people with ASD are admitted to heaven.
Anyone who does not understand (like I said, children etc.) will be saved.
If however, they have the ability to choose, then its up to them. They will either float... Or burn.
2007-05-23 07:03:02 · answer #7 · answered by CanadianFundamentalist 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If someone is incabable of making a decision for Jesus, they will be in Heaven, if they want to be. Its still a choice on some level. BUt , for example, the profoundly retarded that cant mae any choices, God makes it for them, and they will be in hEaven. Our God is a loving God and is not quick to refuse someone entrance into Heaven. BUt, those of us that can choose must chose tonot only love Jesus, but obey Him to be there We are not covered by grace to keep sinning. Grace is to help us be free of sin, not to keep sinning.
If one really loves God, you will want to be like Jesus and get rid of every sin in your life, and we can only do that by being obedience to God and allowing Him to bless us and give us a neart heart and mind. Choose Jesus today if you can.God bless you for your question. From your letter. you are obviously very articulate, and can make the choice. Yes many with autism can make that choice, but some cant. You have too much ability to reason to not be held accountible. God bless you.
2007-05-23 06:59:03 · answer #8 · answered by full gospel shirley 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it may depend on what the autism does to the person's mind. If they have the capability to become a Christian, I think God would hold them accountable. Autism doesn't just keep some people from being spiritual, it makes them spiritual. http://www.amazon.com/Autism-God-Connection-William-Stillman/dp/1402206496
2007-05-23 07:00:48 · answer #9 · answered by Me Encanta Espanol 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I believe so. The bible clearly states that any true innocent will be taken into heaven. This refers to children, but I think would also apply to the majority of autistics who cannot comprehend sin.
2007-05-23 06:55:47 · answer #10 · answered by Me 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋