A few years ago along the course as I was writing my own lifetime
Christian testimony I read when I was looking at some research that some
people with autism say they cannot believe in a God without seeing
evidence of God because of a need for logical explanations in life and
when it comes to faith. Some autistics have a need to see evidence/feel
the presence of God in order to believe in a faith as they have logical
thinking because of their autism and they say that they need to see God
or evidence of a creator before they will believe in a God. They may
have literal thinking and may struggle with this with autism because
they may have a difficulty with abstract thinking and may struggle to
conceive a reality of there being a God in their minds.
I read
these debates and thought about it and knew that in my life through the
Holy Spirit that God had allowed me to see that he was there clearly
through the Holy Spirit's presence in my life. Of course I had my faith
first for some time before he showed me this, but he did after some
time and it has helped to support me in life in many ways and I have
written about this on this blog. It helped to also to strengthen my
faith by seeing the Holy Spirit works. I am diagnosed with autism and
have level 2 sensory needs which is moderate and sometimes it seems like
level 3 which God has helped me manage through the Holy Spirit which I
have shared on this blog.
This will help further clarify this issue-
"Theory of mind (ToM) and abstract thinking are intertwined cognitive abilities allowing humans to understand intangible concepts, emotions, and others' mental states, going beyond concrete, immediate reality."
I have highlighted the area that people can struggle with religion as they have a problem going beyond concrete immediate reality and imagine this as well due to a lack of abstract thinking and lack of imagination.
People today can see/feel evidence of God, through healing and miracles still. They can have messages from the Holy Spirit which is God's energy and I have to in my life had such messages sent to my spirit from the Holy Spirit. They may not see the real ones, but images of them like my spirit has sent me one showing Christ sharing a meal with his followers. They may also feel or see some of God's invisible world at times if they are sensory particularly may be. God's sprit is energy at heart and is invisible and at times I have felt it. Some people will be able to experience God's invisible world in the supernatural realm and may be caught up to the supernatural realm.
(Numbers 11)
I want to share with you two scriptures about God's spirit-
"And the Lord (God the Father) said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people,....And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone"
(Psalm 104)
"Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain"
(2 Corinthians 12:2-4)- Being caught up to God's supernatural realm.
(2 Corinthians 4:18 ) Refers to God's invisible world is unseen by most unbelievers.
If you do not wish to have a faith or may have a
different one, that is your choice, but factual information needs to be
out there to, that it is very possible for some autistics to be
supported by the Holy Spirit to which could them see the faith in action
more and this can help to support them with the faith.
There is
research out there today by lecturers that state that autistics can
have a different way of spirituality, that some may be more sensory and
have deep spiritual rich experiences through this.
Not everybody
may be sensory, but I think God makes everybody equipped to cope in
life and if somebody may not be sensory, there are others gifts to like
wisdom that may not rely on this but may help some people to cope. There
are 8 gifts of the Holy Spirit which are given to support the church
and members of the church in their faith journey as a believer and this
can be from childhood to adulthood, these are found in (1 Corinthians
12) in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit has many different
roles like a protector, comforter and advocate. I wrote on this blog
about being baptised with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can also help
you harness your natural talents and generally in your life as well.
I
just wanted to share what motivated me to also focus on this topic
online. I also a main blog with more posts on my faith. This is my main
blog on my faith. https://www.racheltestimony.com/
Here is some research on the subject-
Research
by Ingela Visuri in 2018 found that autistics have increased
somasensory perceptions which lead to increased supernatural
experiences.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2153599X.2018.1548374
“non-autistic
group participants, and current research suggests that unusual
somatosensory experiences are prevalent in the autistic population.
Attribution of invisible agency is understood as a sense-making coping
strategy, and it is argued that esoteric content in fantasy literature,
movies and computer games explain why these young adults prefer to
attribute agency to ghosts, spirits and demons, rather than god(s). The
study thereby extends and challenges the study of autism and religiosity
by exploring the intersection between autistic embodiment and
encultured cognition.”
More research later in Autism and Religion in 2023 found the below-
“We
dispute the assumption that individuals with ASD are inherently less
religious and spiritual than the neurotypical population. Religiosity is
possibly expressed differently in ASD with unique spiritual experiences
and beliefs (“gifted, visionary, and truth-seeker”).
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10453845/
I read one story before of a young man who was autistic who says that
he cannot see God, perhaps he was not very sensory-but however still
believes in God. https://www.premierchristianity.com/home/autism-doesnt-stop-me-believing-in-a-god-i-cant-see/429.article
