I'm a Christian Aspie

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I should look that thread up so I can disagree with it too. Prayer was all I had when I was fired last year from something no one would ever expect to have happen to them. I was on my knees everyday for Jesus to help me and what happened was I didn't win the case itself, but I ended up getting the exact job I wanted (only that hospital called me for an interview - that was strange too) with higher pay and covered parking. It's taken me a lot to get used to because I was at my other job for 13 years and would have remained there if what happened hadn't taken place. What happened to me was a true nightmare and I still can't believe it happened. Thank you Jesus for everything you have blessed me with!

Last edited by nurseangela on 18 Jul 2015, 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Me too! I left the Catholic church. I was never taught about the Rapture, but after looking it up and hearing different sources talk about it including patients and my friend Julia, I believe now.

Last edited by nurseangela on 18 Jul 2015, 1:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.

My friend Julia said that the Lutheran rules are stricter that Catholic. Is that true? Have you been Lutheran all of your life?

I have never, ever, thought of Lutheranism as being stricter than Catholicism, especially as Lutheranism stresses salvation by means of unconditional grace rather than grace conditional on acts of contrition, though I suppose that sort of thing would be in the eye of the beholder.
And in answer to your question: yes, I was born and raised a Lutheran.

I began to feel the usual discomfort I have when the ideas I'm supposed to hold clash with one another and I can't justify them to myself. Turns out this is a typical aspie trait.

Anyway, I began to ponder what religion meant to me. As a little boy, I was taught about the Christian God not as a belief many people have, but as fact, so I had no motivation to disbelieve what I was told. Therefore, later, it came as a surprise to me that people referred to those ideas as beliefs, beliefs I was supposed to share. When I examined the matter critically, I realized my only reason to believe was that I'd been told I had to, with no evidence, and possibly that disbelieving was a sin and would send me to Hell, but I didn't remember this last part very clearly. Anyway, why should I believe I had to believe? Because it's part of the beliefs themselves, of course. So, if I don't believe, I don't believe I'm sinning in not believing.

It probably helped that, as an aspie, I couldn't care less about the possible social benefits of carrying the Christian label. I just focused on why I had to believe something which was, at last, admitted to be beliefs based on no evidence, just for the sake of believing, and how I wouldn't have started believing in any supernatural being if I hadn't been deceived in the first place.

...I wonder about my alleged " Christian feelings "-

What I'm finding out about Aspies is that sometimes they can question things so much that its of no benefit because the real truth is not known by anyone. Religion is like that. It's good to question something like a religion and see if it is actually something that goes with your own beliefs, but with God one has to have faith. He is never seen or heard, but you have "faith" that He exists.

I don't know what any benefit there is to having a Christian label - especially over in the Middle East right now.

I find that a lot of people end up leaving the Catholic church if they were brought up Catholic because of all the rules forced on one - that's how the "Catholic guilt" got started. I'm guilty of having that!

...Last night , at the mission I was staying at (Look , you know my backstory here , right ?????) the (complsory) chapel service had someone from there doing a rather Calvinist?? thing of " You may not drink/smoke/do drugs and you may give money to the poor , but if you're not a child of God , you're going to hell " .

The big fancy word for defending your faith is Apologetics and there are some here who can make the arguments quite well.

There was a movie that came out in theaters last year called “God’s Not Dead.” The basic plot being a Christian college student having to defend the existence of God to an angry Philosophy professor. It presents the arguments very well, also there’s some very good music by the Newsboys. It’s probably available on Amazon or Netflix.

One great thing I was able to experience as an Army Chaplain, was that although there are many denominations, and yes things we disagree on, all of these men and women (chaplains) have a solid faith in God and His mercy and grace.

Here on this thread and on Wrong Planet, yes we have some differences in beliefs but as Christians we are more alike than we are different.

What are you asking here?

I have to agree with the preacher, but not because of specific "sins" or "virtues" he mentioned, but this: NONE of us is perfect, not one. So, the question becomes how can we stand before God? Those who believe that they are sinners but that Jesus Christ's death pays the penalty for their sin are trusting in HIS work, not their own goodness to stand before God. Those who don't believe in Jesus basically are saying that they are good enough on their own, and do not need a savior or forgiveness from God. They may say "I'm good because I don't drink or smoke or do drugs" or "I'm good because I give to the poor." But these things, good as they are, do not make up for the "hidden" sins we commit like selfishness, dishonesty, greed, envy - things of the heart.

It is trusting in Jesus' death & resurrection that makes one a child of God, nothing else.

Here, I am only explaining Christian theology, not trying to defend the existence of God or the legitimacy of the Christian religion.

I'm a Christian Aspie...I came into the belief rather late (age 25), but it's nevertheless had a profound beneficial effect on me. In a nutshell, not only do I no longer feel helpless or lost because of my disorders, but I feel a better sense of my own identity in God and its helped me immensely in developing a better sense of compassion and empathy for others and their feelings.

Ehhh...I hate to throw that aforementioned compassion right out of the window, but I wouldn't recommend that movie to anyone. It's theologically dumbed down to the point of flaw, it's needlessly politicized and it's either condescending or outright intolerant of other peoples' belief systems...the only real message it contains is "if you're not a specific type of Protestant Christian than you are an inherently terrible person who will most likely get hit by a car and die". And on top of all that, it's badly made, very badly acted and makes no narrative sense.

I would instead tell anyone to ditch the movies and pick up a C.S. Lewis (or equivalent) book instead. If somebody wants to build the foundation of their apologetics, it's better to have thoroughly comprehensive and academically credited works as the backbone of your arguments than 90-minute films whose primary purpose is to entertain instead of enlighten.

Dare I ask which kind of denomination the movie says you're supposed to belong to?

Sign me up, too!

Nothing specific, but considering it's a movie which touts one of the stars of 'Duck Dynasty' as a exemplary candidate for promoting its theology, you can bet it's not something entirely substantial. And likely endorsed by Fox News.

It's a trope I see in so many modern Christian movies: every character who's either an atheist, non-religious or belonging to another religion is depicted as an absolutely terrible person devoid of morals and decency, in perfect contrast to the borderline flawless white Protestants who always serve as the protagonists.

It bugs me, because you can make a smart, engaging pro-faith movie examining the nature of belief in God, but movies like 'God's Not Dead', in deliberately misrepresenting opposing viewpoints in an intentionally negative light, serve only to "preach to the choir" rather than make any serious ontological discussions or even attempt to appeal to non-Christians. If the filmmakers were serious about their faith, they would have no problem presenting actual atheistic theories and presenting a theistic alternative, rather than setting up inherently flawed or stereotypical viewpoints through totally unrealistic caricatures in a textbook strawman argument.

Still, it's a movie: 'God's Not Dead' and its ilk are less concerned with theology and more about box office, so of course these films aren't going to get particularly cerebral, but the fact that they present themselves as such depresses me because they carry so little weight. I fully believe in God, but even I could successfully counter the pro-God arguments made in 'God's Not Dead' if someone were to use them on me. If you want to learn about faith, go to church, read a Bible, read one of millions of books on the subject...unless it's a documentary, don't try to derive philosophy from a fictional movie.

Yeah, too many Christian movies make me feel like I am watching an old 1970s Movie of the Week episode. The quality is always about 80 percent. Acting: Meh. Production value: Meh. Writing: Meh+, Directing: Meh-. Of course, very occasionally, there is a Passion of the Christ or Ten Commandments which are well done for traditional-movie reasons.

I'm a Christian, and I find most "religious" films cringeworthy.