Why so many Christians in an AS forum?

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Perhaps I was being naive, but I kind of figured the AS crowd would tend towards atheism or agnosticism. I know a lot of us make some pretty silly choices, but at the heart of it, I felt like we had a better "feel" for the way things actually work. We're so wrapped up in our own heads that we aren't as impressionable through rote demonstration and reinforcement.

So, I'm not really interested in hearing why you may or may not be Christian (or any other religion for that matter). I'd like to hear what you think regarding whether AS is more likely to make a person religious or not, and why.

One thing I have noticed is that the Christians on here do not seem to be moderate. Perhaps to them religion and faith is like poker and video games for me (AS-driven super hobbies).

I am a christian but I think that people with AS are less likely to be christian than the rest of the population. I suspect that spiritual matters are a bit abstract and are not as easily understood as the tangible world. Those with AS who are christians have found a set of written guidelines to live by as well as finding something deeper that influences their life.

To fulfill the Great commission (Matthew 28:16-20), specifically the part where Jesus says:



In other words, to convert us all to their particular brand of Christianity, whether we like it or not.

Last edited by Fnord on 27 Mar 2009, 10:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.

There's been an upsurge in Christians recently. Usually there are many many more non-theists than theists.

In any case, I would say that for aspies, the advantage of having a religion is the following:
1) Upholds the conventions taught and identity given
2) Provides a worldview full of certitude
3) Is open to be analyzed

I would say that the push away from religion for aspies is the following:
1) Religion is presented to them in a manner that seems an aberration to their worldview
2) A non-religious hypothesis seems plausible and to uphold Ockham's razor
3) Non-religion is popular amongst rationalist intellectuals, a group that aspies often take interest in.

I'd say that a major issue with the PPR forum is that extreme views will often take the center stage, as moderates will both avoid the area as few moderates care to debate a view and it is easier to notice an extremist as opposed to a moderate. For some aspies, I would imagine that religion is their super-hobby.

*State secret*
We actually have Christian pheramone potpourri at the doorway to lure them in. Much like a pitcher plant lures in flies, only we have sharp, pointy, teeth.

I can definitely see how that could help many people.



I think I've got a bit of this.



And a bit of that.

There is an old story about a violinist who was quite skilled until one day he started playing the same note over and over and over to the point that his wife finally exploded and cried out in frustration, "What the hell are you doing? You're driving me nuts!" The violinist replied, "You must have noticed that most violinists move their hands about playing different notes. It's as if they were seeking something. Well, I have found it." That's religion.

if this forum had a "rep system", i'd "rep" you for this one.
even if im lolling mostly to the guy just repeatedly playing the same note

I was a Christian long before I was diagnosed, and when I left and came back, Christianity still made sense. I'd lost the innocent worldview I had, though. Life's a b***h sometimes.

I think it's generally harder for people with a more scientific data-based existence to accept the possibility of something they can't prove. Not just AS, but a great many scientists. I supposed it's more likely that people who have a rough life would accept some kind of deity for guidance and moral support. I'd say it's more likely to be the areas of interest than the raw intelligence that affects a prevalence for religion.

I'm not the insults-and-yelling kind of Christian, it's never worked in my experience, so that may make me moderate. There are some of the extreme kind, of course, but I'm going to work on them. Then again, I've noticed there are a lot of insults-and-yelling atheists here, so it evens out.

They can try and most likely they will fail. As long as they don't use force, like the Muslims do, we can tolerate it.

Fundamental Christianity is so absurd. Let the crazies do as they please as long as they don't bomb abortion clinics or disrupt the daily workings of society. Fortunately abortion clinic bombings are very rare, not a daily occurence like Muslim suicide-homicide bombings.

Islama delenda est.

ruveyn

I thought the same as OP when I first came here. I still kind of secretly suspect the Christians here to be non-genuine aspies...

oops, did I say that out loud?

*hides behind the OP*

I can see why you might think that, but Jacob12 is a Christian and I'm sure he's a real aspie.

nah, I'm just fooling around. they are way too devoted to be normals I tend to see religion as an extremely social construct. hence my suspicion, at times :p

plus, I think that religion is essentially Theory of Mind gone too far. ToM helps humans perceive others as sentient beings, but also to see their intentions (how they do it, I don't know- my own ToM is rather poor). so if a person looks around and sees someone's intention in everyhting, I think that such thinking is a by-product of the ToM.

aspies are deficient in ToM, so I'm surprised that they fall for that kind of thinking. when I look at a fruit fly, I don't think "wow, this is such a complex organism, it must have been designed by someone!". I see such thought process as a total error of judgement. seeing organisms as evidence for someone's intentional doing is some weird perversion of an NT mind for me.

Technically, Occam's Razor, at this point in human understanding, would favor religion. For example: The Big Bang is generally accepted as being the start point of the Universe. But what caused it? Humans have nothing beyond theories and assumptions. The prevailing theory right now is M-theory, which has to do with branes and what not. (I'm not going to go into detail about M-theory because I'd probably get it wrong...)

Anyway, following M-theory, there are a few assumptions about the creation of the universe because nothing has been proven about it:

1) The universe in its entirety lies on a brane, a multidimensional construct.
2) Universes are created when branes collide with each other.

That's a bit convoluted for my tastes. It's far simpler to say "God did it"... and since that is a simpler answer, Occam's razor would technically say that the latter is the more probable explanation. I emphasize "more probable" because it isn't necessarily the truth. If M-theory is proven, I would readily accept that. I guess, in the end, the point I'm trying to make isn't that Occam's Razor would favor relgiion over science, but rather that Occam's Razor is complete BS...

What you are leaving out is that some people cannot stand that some questions cannot be answered at a particular state of knowledge so they shove in anything to fill the emptiness. Its like some guy forgot his key so he must put something in the keyhole and shoves in a piece of chewing gum. It doesn't open the door but it settles his unhappiness at having an empty keyhole. And forever after the damned door remains closed because the keyhole is so gummed up.

and where did God come from? what is he made of? why did he create the Universe?

the "God" explanation is not simpler, it only appears to be because of the limitations of the human brain in the imagination part.