My Autism and My Faith

I have heard from some people with autism that faith can be difficult. I have also heard from parents concerned about how to explain Christian faith to their child with autism. I have blogged previously about autism and faith. What I would like to do now is just talk about my own experience.

How can I as a person with autism hold on to such an abstract thing as faith in an invisible God?

What I need to make clear is that I do not have a blind faith. Some people can be just told the Jesus story and feel such an emotional connection that they instantly believe. That is not be.

I believe because I see that there is evidence for Christianity. Between the historical evidence for Jesus and my experience of answered prayers, I am forced to go where the evidence leads. It is not the emotional faith that many of my friends have but it is just as real.

Even as a church-goer, I was always annoying to my friends. While they would automatically accept what was said from the pulpit (even if it contradicted the guest speaker from the previous week), I would notice the biblical and logical mistakes. To some it looked like I lacked faith, whereas I felt it was the faith God wanted me to have.

I continue to be a skeptic in many ways. While I am a Christian and a pastor, I do not automatically believe everything I hear. I want to see the evidence and I am okay with that.

My autism does not prevent me from having faith, rather it pushes me to have a more reliable faith.

If you are interested in my reflections on Christian evidence, you find my other blog here.