Christian Aspies

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Hi! Is there any christian aspies by any chance?

There are. I am.

Cool! Do you know a lot of christian aspies? By christian, I mean born-again christian.

Hi, Greenmouse! I am a Christian and an aspie.

Hi! Do you feel sometimes alone as a Christian aspie?

Then I'm not a Christian Aspie. I'm an Eastern Orthodox Aspie.

Hmm. Well, I'm not sure if I feel alone specifically as a Christian aspie, because I became a Christian when I was very young, and I grew up surrounded by other believers. I only learned about Asperger's a few years ago when I was about 26 (I'm 30 now), and being diagnosed with AS helped to explain why I had always felt somewhat disconnected from my peers (which certainly does cause me to be lonely sometimes).

I don't know any other people with Asperger's very well; my main contact with them is on sites like this, and they seem to vary in religious beliefs just as much as any population in the world.

One topic I can think of that specifically relates to both Asperger's and Christianity is that learning I have AS has changed the way I look at myself and my relationship with God. I used to think that all of my struggles had to be because I was sinning-- I got so tired out just handling day-to-day concerns at times, and I thought the explanation had to be laziness; no one else seemed to struggle as much as I did keeping a schedule. Now I know it's part of how God made me; he gave me both my strengths and my weaknesses. (There's a Bible verse that says that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.)

I also dealed with the fact that I was ashamed of being so socially misunderstood. I though I was not loved from God and others. Now I know people just don't understand me and God loves me so much. It changes my relationship with God. I know He made me the way I am for a reason. Not discovered yet, but I will.

Feeling ashamed can really destroy your self-estime. Now I know he died on the cross to take away my bad emotions. That's good news!

That's Christian as far as I'm concerned. How anyone can tell you you're not Christian I don't get. You believe you are saved by Christ...that's good enough for me.

(I am a Methodist with Orthodox leanings...I have heard that Methodism has particular sympathies towards Orthodoxy compared to any other Protestant denominaton, and I believe it, from what I've observed. ADHD, though, not Aspie.)

Just want to say that Born-Again Christian means that you believe in Jesus and only in Jesus. It has nothing to do with being Protestant, Orthodox or Catholic.

I believe in the Bible and everything what it says, but I don't think that my understanding of it follows mainstream Christianity.

Here in the United States, "Born-Again Christian" means a particular type of evangelical Protestant.

I believe in Jesus and I only *worship* the Trinity of God, Christ, and he Holy Spirit. But I believe in more than only Jesus. I believe in the Holy Scriptures, the healing power of icons, the love of Christ's mother that led her to obey God and offer her flesh to her Son so that he could be fully human as well as fully God. I believe in the testimony of the sacrifice of the martyrs throughout the centuries and I believe that I am called to be a martyr as well, carrying my own crosses in life and accepting these burdens in order to become a more pure and faithful Christian and a better person. I believe in the power of the name of Christ to banish demons. I believe in the baptism by water and by the Holy Spirit. I believe in the traditions of the Church that were handed down from the beginning (as Saint Paul describes in 2 Thess 2:15, 1 Cor 11:2, 2 Thess 3:6) Jesus is, of course, my Savior and the focus of my faith -- everything points to Christ and without Christ there is nothing. In Him we live and move and have our being. But to remove Christ from the fullness of my faith and consider only Him without all the joyful and beautiful elements of my faith that praise Him and remind us of Him and teach us how to be more like Him is like taking a beautiful jewel out of the lovely setting that holds and displays it.

So, no, I believe in Jesus but I don't believe ONLY in Jesus. So I am not a Born-Again Christian.

The original poster defined what kind of Christian they wanted to know about so I thought I'd chime in to say that I consider myself Christian but am not what the original poster was looking for when they asked. Just so they would know that there *are* a lot of Christians with aspergers, even if we're a different kind of Christian.



Yes, John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) shared a LOT of theological perspective with the Orthodox Church. There is a big overlap between Arminianism (Methodism's views on Grace, free will, etc.) and Orthodox theology. Much more overlap than between Orthodoxy and most other Protestant denominations.

I do fancy myself a Christian, as I am a Lutheran. Though I'm a mainline protestant, rather than an evangelical. I believe all salvation depends on Christ's freely given grace alone, and without any human participation. I was baptized as an infant, rather than as adult, and no, I don't believe in born again experiences.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I apologize--I am over-sensitive to Christians seeming as though they are telling other Christians that they aren't the right kind. If I inferred that where it wasn't there...my bad.



Probably explains why I take to Russian literature to the degree that I do. It just...makes SENSE.

One thing I was curious about, though. I am writing a character (I write a LOT of characters ) who is of a very analytical/rational bent--he is not an Aspie, but if I had to give him an MBTI type I would type him as INTJ. One thing I have heard anecdotally about Orthodoxy is that the sort of highly systemized thought that you find in Catholicism (an almost scientific/legal approach to faith) is not so encouraged in Orthodoxy. I am not so sure I believe this, as I tend to find extremely clear theology, very well thought out and researched, on Orthodox websites, as well as Orthodox-influenced literature. How have you found it, assuming you are also of a very analytical bent (lead with the head as opposed to heart)? I would like to make my portrayal as realistic as possible, so a perspective from someone who actually is Orthodox rather than a Methodist would help.

Yes, I am.