Are most aspies Atheists?

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=people-with-aspergers-less-likely-t-2010-05-29


Mirror Neurons can be a powerful influence in the experience of ones world. I recently saw research presented in Discover Magazine that measured the activity of mirror neurons in determining that over active mirror neurons were behind some peoples ability to actually feel touch when they saw some one else being touched.

I've often thought that people that were less emotional or less intuitive were less likely to experience the religious feelings and thoughts that people talk about.

Here is an article from Scientific American. Some research here related to Teological Thinking, and the relationship to that type of thinking in those with Aspergers compared to Neurotypical Atheists.

Like most research the results aren't conclusive and don't suggest that all people with Aspergers experience the teleological thinking the same way. And this kind of research is new, but many have observed and speculated that there is a link here. But there seem to me that there is a strong correlation of this in the thousands of comments I have read on the Wrong Planet. Interestingly, a few people go strongly in the teological direction, but not a significant number that I have observed.

Can anyone relate to this research on a personal level?

Christian here.

I actually find it kind of surprising that so many Aspies are atheists and buy into evolution wholesale, accepting it as fact. They may think they are being logical and thinking outside the box, but actually these ideas have been promoted in such a way that people are expected to accept them at face value. IMO, if you truly use logic and common sense, it doesn’t make sense not to believe in a Supreme Being.

Every effect has to have a cause, and when we see complexity we assume that an intelligent mind is behind it. If I took you to a well-built house and told you there was no builder or showed you a book and said it had no author, you’d think I was crazy. You may not have ever met the builder or the author or even know who it was, but you would take for granted that one existed. “Every house is constructed by someone, but he that constructed all things is God.” (Hebrews 3:4) Conversely, if a house is abandoned, it falls apart. Scientists call that entropy, the idea that order left unattended gives way to chaos, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Shouldn’t the same hold true for the complex, orderly universe and the complexity of living things, even the simplest life forms? Think about the Big Bang Theory. Before the Hubble telescope, the origin of the universe wasn’t an issue for atheistic scientists, since they could presume that the universe itself was eternal, that it had always existed. But when Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding, Einstein agreed that he saw “the necessity of a beginning.” That the universe had a beginning, i.e. the Big Bang, is now very widely accepted in the scientific community. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Big Bang Theory poses a problem, not for believers, but for atheists. If there was a Big Bang, then that begs the question of what caused the Big Bang. If the physical universe wasn’t always there, then there needs to be something or someone eternal that caused it to begin. And when you examine the complexity and precision in the universe, from the galaxy to the atom, along with the existence of information in DNA, to me that is overwhelming evidence for a being with an intelligent mind who put it all together. How can natural processes be blindly attributed to laws of nature without acknowledging that there had to be a lawgiver? The odds that any of the “accidents” needed to make the universe and life on earth could have happened by chance, much less all of them, are so slim that they can safely be called impossible.

It has been my experience that those who choose not to believe in God usually do so either because they have been taught that belief in God is unscientific and have just accepted that, or because they see inconsistencies in religion, not because belief in intelligent design itself is illogical. For example, I have heard some people that there are many interpretations of the Bible. That is true, but that does not mean that there is not a correct interpretation, only that the majority haven’t found it. In fact, the Bible states that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” (1 Corinthians 3:19) And Jesus prayed, “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25) So the Bible itself claims to be understandable to humble ones sincerely seeking the truth, while many intellectual ones would miss its point.

If you want to find the correct interpretation of Bible passages, the key is to let the Bible interpret itself. For example, consider the monsters of Revelation that some are turned off by. Such symbolism may be hard to understand on the surface, but by examining other parts of the Bible, you can find clues as to its meaning. If you read chapters 7 and 8 of the book of Daniel, you will find similar descriptions of monstrous beasts, but there it is explicitly stated that they represent kingdoms. So by extending that interpretation to similar passages in Revelation, wouldn’t it be reasonable to conclude that those beasts also represent political entities? Once you have that key, you have taken a step toward unlocking the mystery.

Now, I know that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for logical-minded people is what appears to be a logical fallacy: if God is love, and he is all-powerful, why would he permit suffering? Why would a loving god allow bad things to happen when he has the power to stop them? First, let me point out that many of us Aspies have found that neurotypicals find our thinking difficult to comprehend. Does the fact that they don’t understand us mean that they should deny our existence? Of course not, so why do that to God? He states at Ezekiel 18:25, “You people will certainly say: ‘The way of Jehovah is not adjusted right.’ …Is not my own way adjusted right? Are not the ways of you people not adjusted right?”

However, if you let the Bible interpret itself, you can put together a picture of why God has allowed wickedness to exist until now, and how he will bring it to an end. Comparing Genesis chapter 3 with the book of Job will shed light on important issues raised by the Devil that have to be settled. Comparing Ezekiel 28:11-17 with James 1:13-14 can shed light on how a once-righteous angel could become the Devil.

For more detailed information on God’s permission of evil, evidence for intelligent design, the beasts of Revelation, and many other topics, visit [mod. edit: I'll allow the post, despite it breaking the rules by promoting a website, group or product (see WP rules) and instead, remove the link]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptmNd9fp_5Q[/youtube][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88GTUXvp-50[/youtube]Yeah Im pretty sure god doesnt exist!

A fundamental problem that I see in the "intelligent design hypothesis" is that it actually does not explain anything that it claims to explain. If I understand it properly, "intelligent design" claims that the existence of complexity in the universe can only come about through a conscious intelligent designer. But then what explains the complexity of the intelligent designer?

All "intelligent design" does is posit an additional layer of complexity. It does not actually explain how the original, fundamental complexity came about. If we say that the universe we can see and feel and interact with is one layer of complexity and that it was created by an intelligent designer, then we have to accept that there is another deeper layer of complexity that the designer exists within. And if that additional layer of complexity exists, we can then ask "how did that deeper layer of complexity come about?" It's the question of "if god created the universe, who created god?"

If you don't have an answer, you are back where you started from. I have a simpler suggestion. Because we have no evidence of a conscious creator, there is no reason to expect one to exist. Then we can look for the reasons why the universe exists without adding needless layers of complexity.

I wouldn't say that, as I'm pretty sure there are a good number of religious aspies as well as atheistic aspies, though, I think a good number of people here are atheists.