Aspergers and Religion

[Nihil]

My mother is Jewish, my father is agnostic. Religion wasn't a big part of life, though. We'd celebrate Hanukkah, but didn't go to Synagogue. Religion currently has no important role in my life and I'm an atheist, but I am interested in it as a subject. Also, I consider myself Jewish, but only culturally. I'm fine with religion as long as it's not imposed on others.

 

[Crossbreed]

@Nihil , are you ethnically Jewish on both sides? (The reason that I ask is because I am curious if ethnic Jews have as much autism as the rest of the world.)

The Amish don't have ASD2s & 3s, but I bet that they have unrecognized ASD1s.

 

[Nihil]

@Nihil , are you ethnically Jewish on both sides? (The reason that I ask is because I am curious if ethnic Jews have as much autism as the rest of the world.)

The Amish don't have ASD2s & 3s, but I bet that they have unrecognized ASD1s.

Nope, but my father does have depression/is an alcoholic, which causes him to not be very social, for other reasons. I'm the only person with autism in my family.

 

[GrownupGirl]

Religious household: When I was growing up, religion was not a big deal in our household, although we did celebrate Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, but mainly the more secular traditions such as putting up a tree or eating chocolate eggs. No midnight mass, we went visiting our friends relatives on Christmas Eve instead. Who cared what we did, as long as it was fun? My brother and I were baptized, but that may been more of an opportunity for lots of people to get to see us when we were still babies. Only a few years ago my mother told me that she and my dad are both different religions. My mom's Catholic and I don't really know what my dad's religion is but it's Christian anyway. Mom told me before they were married a priest wanted my father to convert to my mom's religion, but they thought that was stupid and married anyway and have been together ever since. My mom only had my brother and me, so she clearly isn't a devoted Catholic.

Religious role in life: When I was child, the elementary school I went to taught religion, which is where I learned most things about it. My mother said when she went to the same school as a kid it was a Catholic school run by nuns. When I went there some of the teacher may have still been nuns but I didn't know since they didn't wear the clothes nuns always wear on TV, they were dressed like regular teachers. I believed in God and Jesus and we said the Lord's Prayer every morning before class but religion still wasn't a big deal to me. Sometimes I asked my mom why we didn't to church and other things, and she said we didn't need to.

Participating in a religious life: Nope. Since my young adult years any beliefs and generally positive thoughts and beliefs in Christianity began to head south, although I still had a spiritual side. And then sometime around the end of the 20th century, with all the predictions of Y2K and our ultimate doom, I soon became very disgusted, skeptical and cynical. And I still am to this very day, and when people are gushing out all this religious nonsense (mostly in the States where it's usually a much bigger deal than in Canada), it almost makes me want to throw up. But I still celebrate Christmas and Easter with my parents.

Acceptance: I think in my country people are generally more acceptable towards people of faith or lack of it... unless they have negatively influenced by what's going on in the states.

NT VS ASD: I'm kind of surprised by how many people on the spectrum are actually religious. I think we are more likely to be agnostic or atheist because we are likely to question such things, even little things like why was Noah's Ark measured in cubits when pictures of the ark always show it being round and quite boat-shaped? I think another reason is because a lot of us have been treated kind of crappy we are more likely to decide there either isn't a god or he's not a very good one. Although I don't like stereotype that all Atheist just hate God and religion in general. I think most NTs statistically believe there is a god and heaven, whether they are very religious or not.

Is Jesus and aspie? : I don't really believe he exists, let alone being an aspie. I act more like Santa Claus exists more than I do Jesus or religious beings in general. People have told me I go on about Santa as if he were real. I usually tell them he's a symbol or the personification of festive happiness, playfulness, and generosity. And he might also be an aspie. Living in one of most isolated places on Earth, only leaving once a year, only visiting while people are asleep at night. Being around those elves must get kind of annoying, though.

 

[Bronzelincolns]

my folks are non believers but I went to church with friends.

I was one of the phony "ear-dragged Christians" who went because I grew up in a culture where that's what people did. I got saved 6 years ago. I was a fraud for most of my life.

I was still an oddball due to ASD even though I didn't know about it until recently. i'm currently not a member of a congregation due to the pastor being a racist. I would still like to be a member of a local congregation but finding a place where I have doctrinal agreement is tough as there aren't a lot of reformed churches in my area.

 

[EricD]

I really enjoy this thread! I'm Aspie, as well as having FASD. I wasn't raised in a religious home, but came to Christ at a Christian group home. My walk with God has been very difficult and unsteady. I've been in Pentecostal, Methodist and Baptist churches. After study of the Scriptures, God has led me to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Some churches accepted me and allowed me to serve in the church, others have been indifferent towards me & Elizabethtown SDA Church has loved me like no other church really has.

 

[zurb]

why was Noah's Ark measured in cubits when pictures of the ark always show it being round and quite boat-shaped?

Excuse my confusion but how would the unit of measure affect the shape? If the size was given in feet or metres would this affect the shape differently?
[Edit - sorry, replying to a really old post]

 

[EricD]

It's general design was actually quite similar to medium-sized cargo vessels of today. It was the same size and shape & was designed to automatically turn into wind and waves to prevent capsizing.although it was basically a massive barge, it could be easily controlled.
As for measurements, a cubic equals roughly 18 inches. 300 cubits
is around 510 feet. That's a big ship, even today. Don't forget that Noah did not design the Ark, but built it over the course of 120 years. People then were larger, stronger & MUCH longer-lived than today. God designed it & told him what the best material to build it out of would be. Gopher wood was essentially a type of cypress. Strong and water resistant, it was the perfect material to build the ship with. There is the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky which I plan to visit. Read Genesis chapters 6-8 for the full narrative of the events leading up to the Flood and the Flood and it's aftermath. See the parallels with modern society and you will want Jesus to come back ASAP!

 

[Trophonius]

Did you grow up in a religious household?
Sort of. I was involved in some religious practices when in an early age. This stopped when I was about 11 or so. My father is an atheist, the rest are catholic.

What role does religion play in your life?
None. But after my emphatic rejection of all forms of organized religion in my teen years, I've come to appreciate some elements of it, though more from a philosophical perspective. While religion doesn't play a role in my life, some medieval philosophers, St. Augustine especially, and some christian writers like Dostoyevski or Tolstoi, have had a major influence in my behavior.

Do you regularly participate in religious life, and do you do so in community with other people or in a more solitary fashion?
No. I used to go to mass when I was 10, but that was it.

Have you been accepted by people of your faith, or largely rejected, or do they just find you "querky"?
I have no faith, can't comment here.

What do you think of NTs and religion versus ASDs and religion?
I doubt that there is any causal relation between the ASD and religion, though it may happen than some people on spectrum who grew in a religious household are less likely to stop religious practices because how much of a habit it has become — I believe this also plays a large role in people who has devoted their life to a religion when it was the norm.

Do you have any unconventional views--like maybe Jesus was an Aspie?!
I don't this religious ethical principles should be except from critique, as some religious people often insist and feel offended when any objection is raised.
We all should attempt to dive into religious texts (bible, quoran, vedas) in search for teaching without falling into the dogma, otherwise the readings are useless I'd say.

 

[EricD]

The Bible is the sole authority for the faith and practice of the believer & cannot truly be understood or applied correctly without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. See Psalm 119:11, 105 & 2 Timothy 3:16.

 

[Trophonius]

There are many religions out there, please do not start an argument of "MY religion is better than everyone's and the real faith" that so many wars and conflicts have caused and keeps causing nowadays. There may be people here who have other religion, and their religion and holy books are just as valid as the bible.

Also, believing the word of the bible because the bible says so is a rather circular thinking.

 

[Tesseract]

Did you grow up in a religious household?

No.

What role does religion play in your life?

It's hard to explain. Although I do not consider myself to be very "religious", I've noticed that the beliefs I do have could be categorised as such, because I'm a dualist who accepts there simply has to be more to reality than just what we ourselves can observe via the methods we employ. I also find myself agreeing with many of the passages in the Bible when I do read it (which is, on average, every second day), but I don't think I could call myself a Christian if only because I cannot accept "the whole package", so to speak.

Do you regularly participate in religious life, and do you do so in community with other people or in a more solitary fashion?

I've never mixed well with others, I prefer to keep to myself, which is why this whole "lockdown" business was really easy to adapt to. I'm almost sorry it's now coming to an end.

Have you been accepted by people of your faith, or largely rejected, or do they just find you "querky"?

I wouldn't want to be a part of any organisation that saw me as being "quirky". I've noticed that such labelling is one of the methods that many use to exclude and marginalise those they do not like, or trust, or are suspicious of. True difference and diversity isn't tolerated in our society, in spite of what many virtue-signallers like to believe.

What do you think of NTs and religion versus ASDs and religion?

I think en-tees view religious services and practices as being just another excuse to get together with others like them to socialise and spread gossip, than as a genuine attempt to connect to anything that could be described as being transcendent or sublime. I really do believe that many, if not most, of them are just "going through the motions", just doing what they believe is expected of them.
I believe 'Aspies', on the other hand, take these matters far more seriously, and don't really care whether or not others see us as being virtuous simply because we decided to go to church on Sunday.

Do you have any unconventional views--like maybe Jesus was an Aspie?!

Well, I do not believe there is an afterlife. I've been interested in the stories of people who have come close to being dead, were revived, and then recounted stories about what they experienced whilst they were unconscious (i.e. near-death experiences, or just N.D.E.'s, first popularised by Raymond Moody Jr. with the release of his book, 'Life After Life'), but their accounts of what they went through sound to me suspiciously 'disneyesque', as I like to put it - fields of flowers, and sunshine, eternal happiness, acceptance and sublime peace. A place where nothing ever goes wrong, no one is ever mistreated, and where we get to spend eternity with God (allegedly). Nope, I'm not buying it. It's like the old saying; if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. If this is real, then these people are being deceived, and that is what really worries me when it comes to the subject of death. Oblivion I wouldn't mind. Reincarnation? Sure, no problem (in fact, I would welcome the chance to live all over again, but this time without Asperger's Syndrome). However, I'm not interested in existing eternally. It just does not appeal to me, at all. There has to be a catch, somewhere.