Do Aspies tend to be less religious than the average person?

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Campin_Cat
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26 Jul 2017, 9:13 pm

will@rd wrote:
If we're assuming the factual existence of their God, then it was HE who malformed my brain in the womb and punished me with this lifelong affliction before I had ever done anything to deserve it. Explain THAT to me, Billy Graham.

Well, I'm certainly not Billy Graham----but, I'd like to take a stab at answering this.....

I don't feel God has anything to do with, when bad / difficult / whatever things happen to people----like, for instance, when people are stricken with Autism (I feel it's MORE likely that something we humans are doing, is causing it)----and, I feel that it's quite possible that one of the reasons some Aspies don't believe in God, is because He's the easiest "thing", to blame, and it gives them an answer, and they feel SOMEBODY needs to pay, for how badly they've struggled, and so-forth. Do you feel, however, that you're the ONLY one who has struggled / struggled as badly as you, with Autism? If not, why can some of us believe in God (myself, included), and some of us, NOT?

I'm thinking one of the reasons why some of us don't believe, is because "the answers" the believers of us feel we have, and have accepted, just aren't enough for the NON-believers, of us----and, I can't help but wonder why some things are more easily accepted, than others (for instance, things we can't see - like radio waves or atoms, etc.), just because someone TOLD us, they exist. Well, as far as I and others are concerned, someone told us God exists (the authors of the Bible).

Also, I feel the reason these people you know seem to be "charmed", is because they believe with their whole heart and soul, that things will work-out / that God is looking-after them----and, IMO, it's quite possible that the reason you could pray yourself, simple, and still not get any results, is because you're not really, genuinely believing with your whole heart and soul, that you WILL.

I've been-through ALOT of things in my life, that I feel most would think are pretty bad (NON-Aspie things), and the more bad stuff happens in my life, the more I believe in God. Why would I believe that, when that seems so illogical? Because I don't take it that things are happening TO me (I just feel that they're things I'm witnessing)----and, because I dig deeper, and am not one of those people whom I feel are taking the easy way out, by blaming God. I look to "Was it something *I* did, that made this happen?"----"Was it something hormonal / neurological / psychological / whatever?"----"Was it something environmental?"----"Was it merely because that person is an idiot, that that happened?".....

Not only can absolutely EVERYTHING NOT be answered (even believers in God, will, most likely, IMO, tell you that), but I believe that it's quite possible that we, the human race, haven't even BEGUN to know what to ASK!! What about things for which scientists haven't, yet, assigned a name / equation----do you believe things like that, exist? For us, believers in God, pretty much everything has been answered----we just need to figure-out, sometimes, what it means; but, we can accept that we might not ever be able to that, and be okay with that.

***********************************

In response to the OP: What "makes sense" is subjective, is it not? A great shortcoming, IMO, of some Aspies----a GREAT shortcoming----is that some of us always want life all wrapped-up in a pretty little package, tied-up with a bow, and life just isn't, often, like that; and, the sooner we see the logic in THAT, the better-off we'll be, IMO.





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CuriousButDepressed
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27 Jul 2017, 8:13 am

Campin_Cat wrote:
will@rd wrote:
If we're assuming the factual existence of their God, then it was HE who malformed my brain in the womb and punished me with this lifelong affliction before I had ever done anything to deserve it. Explain THAT to me, Billy Graham.

Well, I'm certainly not Billy Graham----but, I'd like to take a stab at answering this.....

I don't feel God has anything to do with, when bad / difficult / whatever things happen to people----like, for instance, when people are stricken with Autism (I feel it's MORE likely that something we humans are doing, is causing it)----and, I feel that it's quite possible that one of the reasons some Aspies don't believe in God, is because He's the easiest "thing", to blame, and it gives them an answer, and they feel SOMEBODY needs to pay, for how badly they've struggled, and so-forth. Do you feel, however, that you're the ONLY one who has struggled / struggled as badly as you, with Autism? If not, why can some of us believe in God (myself, included), and some of us, NOT?

I'm thinking one of the reasons why some of us don't believe, is because "the answers" the believers of us feel we have, and have accepted, just aren't enough for the NON-believers, of us----and, I can't help but wonder why some things are more easily accepted, than others (for instance, things we can't see - like radio waves or atoms, etc.), just because someone TOLD us, they exist. Well, as far as I and others are concerned, someone told us God exists (the authors of the Bible).

Also, I feel the reason these people you know seem to be "charmed", is because they believe with their whole heart and soul, that things will work-out / that God is looking-after them----and, IMO, it's quite possible that the reason you could pray yourself, simple, and still not get any results, is because you're not really, genuinely believing with your whole heart and soul, that you WILL.

I've been-through ALOT of things in my life, that I feel most would think are pretty bad (NON-Aspie things), and the more bad stuff happens in my life, the more I believe in God. Why would I believe that, when that seems so illogical? Because I don't take it that things are happening TO me (I just feel that they're things I'm witnessing)----and, because I dig deeper, and am not one of those people whom I feel are taking the easy way out, by blaming God. I look to "Was it something *I* did, that made this happen?"----"Was it something hormonal / neurological / psychological / whatever?"----"Was it something environmental?"----"Was it merely because that person is an idiot, that that happened?".....

Not only can absolutely EVERYTHING NOT be answered (even believers in God, will, most likely, IMO, tell you that), but I believe that it's quite possible that we, the human race, haven't even BEGUN to know what to ASK!! What about things for which scientists haven't, yet, assigned a name / equation----do you believe things like that, exist? For us, believers in God, pretty much everything has been answered----we just need to figure-out, sometimes, what it means; but, we can accept that we might not ever be able to that, and be okay with that.

***********************************

In response to the OP: What "makes sense" is subjective, is it not? A great shortcoming, IMO, of some Aspies----a GREAT shortcoming----is that some of us always want life all wrapped-up in a pretty little package, tied-up with a bow, and life just isn't, often, like that; and, the sooner we see the logic in THAT, the better-off we'll be, IMO.


So, would you say that the original question I asked is indicative of this mentality? I just hate the idea of faith because there is no evidence for it and you risk harm by not knowing what's going to happen next.



drwho222
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27 Jul 2017, 4:27 pm

---and, I can't help but wonder why some things are more easily accepted, than others (for instance, things we can't see - like radio waves or atoms, etc.), just because someone TOLD us, they exist.
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There is overwhelming evidence, both direct and indirect, that atoms and electromagnetic waves exist. It is NOT the same as belief in a magical man who lives in the sky.



anti_gone
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27 Jul 2017, 4:56 pm

Quote:
I'm thinking one of the reasons why some of us don't believe, is because "the answers" the believers of us feel we have, and have accepted, just aren't enough for the NON-believers, of us----and, I can't help but wonder why some things are more easily accepted, than others (for instance, things we can't see - like radio waves or atoms, etc.), just because someone TOLD us, they exist. Well, as far as I and others are concerned, someone told us God exists (the authors of the Bible).


Physics is ultimately evidence-based and backed up by mathematics. Science is so great because it cannot only explain things that happened in the past but also predict things. Also we use radio waves daily, so we have direct proof of them even though we don't see them. Also, we have nuclear fission, i.e. our model of atoms must be somewhat correct as far as I understand (I'm no physicist).



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27 Jul 2017, 5:26 pm

Science is discovered truth by proven by repeatable experiment.

Religion is revealed truth by some people who wrote down what they believe which is not testable and not repeatable.

If I heat some water it will sooner or later turn to gas (steam).
If I heat some water it will never turn to solid (ice).

Radio waves exist. You can build a basic transmitter and receiver from easily available components and test it for yourself. Every scientific experiment can be, and is, tested repeatedly. That is what science means.

You can spend your whole life praying. No god will speak to you and you will never be able to prove its existence.

I am less religious than the average person. :?

I am probably more pedantic than the average person. :wink:

I also have more legs than the average person :roll:



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27 Jul 2017, 5:39 pm

Huh?

You have three (or more) legs?



kraftiekortie
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27 Jul 2017, 5:46 pm

Well...I guess she's not a mermaid :wink:



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27 Jul 2017, 5:51 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
Huh?

You have three (or more) legs?


Some people due to accident or birth defect have one or no legs.

If one person in a group of ten has no legs then ten people have eighteen legs between them.

So the average is (9x2)/10=1.8 Or, 18 legs divided by 10 people equals 1.8 legs.

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.

I have two legs which is more than the average.

See! I told you I am probably more pedantic than the average person! :lol:



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27 Jul 2017, 5:54 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
Well...I guess she's not a mermaid :wink:


8O :roll: :lol: 8)



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27 Jul 2017, 5:55 pm

Voyagergirl wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
Huh?

You have three (or more) legs?


Some people due to accident or birth defect have one or no legs.

If one person in a group of ten has no legs then ten people have eighteen legs between them.

So the average is (9x2)/10=1.8 Or, 18 legs divided by 10 people equals 1.8 legs.

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.

I have two legs which is more than the average.

See! I told you I am probably more pedantic than the average person! :lol:


You have got to be f*****g kidding me. People with less than two legs are so few and far between its statistically meaningless.



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27 Jul 2017, 6:03 pm

Voyagergirl wrote:

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.



That doesn't make sense to me


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27 Jul 2017, 6:16 pm

SaveFerris wrote:
Voyagergirl wrote:

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.



That doesn't make sense to me


Always depends on how many decimal places you want to use ;)



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27 Jul 2017, 6:21 pm

anti_gone wrote:
SaveFerris wrote:
Voyagergirl wrote:

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.



That doesn't make sense to me


Always depends on how many decimal places you want to use ;)


Exactly , even though the average would be less than two the answer would be something like 1.9999999999 ( maybe some more 9's ).

If someone has 1.99999999999999 legs - this would equate to missing a toenail or even a scab on one leg.

Maybe I'm being pedantic now :wink:


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27 Jul 2017, 6:37 pm

SaveFerris wrote:
anti_gone wrote:
SaveFerris wrote:
Voyagergirl wrote:

Even if only one person in the whole world was missing one leg the average would be less than two.



That doesn't make sense to me


Always depends on how many decimal places you want to use ;)


Exactly , even though the average would be less than two the answer would be something like 1.9999999999 ( maybe some more 9's ).

If someone has 1.99999999999999 legs - this would equate to missing a toenail or even a scab on one leg.

Maybe I'm being pedantic now :wink:


Haha, hadn't thought of the toenail thing...makes matters even more complex :lol:



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27 Jul 2017, 7:52 pm

CuriousButDepressed wrote:
So, would you say that the original question I asked is indicative of this mentality? I just hate the idea of faith because there is no evidence for it and you risk harm by not knowing what's going to happen next.

I'm not real sure what you're asking, here..... If you're asking me whether I think the question in this, your thread's title, was asked because of what I said about some Aspies seeming to want to put all of life in a neat little package, then "Yes", I DO believe that is indicative of the mentality, I've described.

We have faith, however consciously, in things, IMO, in practically every single day of our lives..... We have faith in that we will wake-up, tomorrow. We have faith that we won't get into a traffic accident, while on our way to work / school / wherever. We have faith, that we've studied enough to pass our test. We have faith that we'll manage to not get into a fight with our boss, on any given day..... There is NO evidence, for ANY of these things, until "the end"----until the day / time, comes. Do you feel that's a good reason to stop believing in those things?

As for "evidence" that God exists, people who believe-in / follow God (as I do), believe we have evidence of his existence. I can totally see how The Big Bang Theory (the actual theory, not the TV show), is possible----but, then, how did everything else come to be? Did animals and birds, and trees, and daffodils, and humans, etc., just "appear", out of nowhere? How is that possible? There are those that believe the sun is the center of our solar system----what if that was intentional that it was "placed", that way; that it's location has a meaning, of which we're still unaware? How is it that a person's brain, and not our BUTTS, is the CPU of our bodies, so-to-speak, without some being "making" it, that way? How many unanswered questions can you fathom, that there might be? For people-of-faith, the answer is simple: "God did it!!"----but, like I said, there are many who feel (myself, included) that the question of "Why?" hasn't been answered; but, again, like I said, we who have faith are okay with that, because we know ALOT of things, in life, haven't been answered (and may never be, in our lifetime).

I feel that it's quite possible that people who absolutely NEED "evidence", are a bit of a "control freak", maybe----and, I can totally understand this, as I was one, myself, when I was a "kid" (like, all the way up, through my 20s). My theory is, we want to control what's on the OUTside, cuz we can't control anything, on the INside----and, there's just GOTTA be some semblance of "organized", SOMEWHERE; ALSO, there's just GOTTA be some ANSWERS, somewhere, and goodness knows there's no "answer" (there's a NAME, but no answer, IMO) for why we Aspies, for instance, are so friggin' weird (I mean, the dichotomies ABOUND - what's with being "stupid" and "smart", at-the-SAME-time?).

As for one "risking harm, by not knowing what's going to happen, next": How could ANYBODY know, ONE HUNDRED percent, what's gonna happen next? I mean, we could speculate 'til the cows come-home, that it won't be anything bad----but, all we can REALLY do, is have faith, that it won't be; and, IMO, the "harm" would come, in worrying about it.





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CuriousButDepressed
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27 Jul 2017, 8:21 pm

Campin_Cat wrote:
CuriousButDepressed wrote:
So, would you say that the original question I asked is indicative of this mentality? I just hate the idea of faith because there is no evidence for it and you risk harm by not knowing what's going to happen next.

I'm not real sure what you're asking, here..... If you're asking me whether I think the question in this, your thread's title, was asked because of what I said about some Aspies seeming to want to put all of life in a neat little package, then "Yes", I DO believe that is indicative of the mentality, I've described.

We have faith, however consciously, in things, IMO, in practically every single day of our lives..... We have faith in that we will wake-up, tomorrow. We have faith that we won't get into a traffic accident, while on our way to work / school / wherever. We have faith, that we've studied enough to pass our test. We have faith that we'll manage to not get into a fight with our boss, on any given day..... There is NO evidence, for ANY of these things, until "the end"----until the day / time, comes. Do you feel that's a good reason to stop believing in those things?

As for "evidence" that God exists, people who believe-in / follow God (as I do), believe we have evidence of his existence. I can totally see how The Big Bang Theory (the actual theory, not the TV show), is possible----but, then, how did everything else come to be? Did animals and birds, and trees, and daffodils, and humans, etc., just "appear", out of nowhere? How is that possible? There are those that believe the sun is the center of our solar system----what if that was intentional that it was "placed", that way; that it's location has a meaning, of which we're still unaware? How is it that a person's brain, and not our BUTTS, is the CPU of our bodies, so-to-speak, without some being "making" it, that way? How many unanswered questions can you fathom, that there might be? For people-of-faith, the answer is simple: "God did it!!"----but, like I said, there are many who feel (myself, included) that the question of "Why?" hasn't been answered; but, again, like I said, we who have faith are okay with that, because we know ALOT of things, in life, haven't been answered (and may never be, in our lifetime).

I feel that it's quite possible that people who absolutely NEED "evidence", are a bit of a "control freak", maybe----and, I can totally understand this, as I was one, myself, when I was a "kid" (like, all the way up, through my 20s). My theory is, we want to control what's on the OUTside, cuz we can't control anything, on the INside----and, there's just GOTTA be some semblance of "organized", SOMEWHERE; ALSO, there's just GOTTA be some ANSWERS, somewhere, and goodness knows there's no "answer" (there's a NAME, but no answer, IMO) for why we Aspies, for instance, are so friggin' weird (I mean, the dichotomies ABOUND - what's with being "stupid" and "smart", at-the-SAME-time?).

As for one "risking harm, by not knowing what's going to happen, next": How could ANYBODY know, ONE HUNDRED percent, what's gonna happen next? I mean, we could speculate 'til the cows come-home, that it won't be anything bad----but, all we can REALLY do, is have faith, that it won't be; and, IMO, the "harm" would come, in worrying about it.


You are correct that people who are uncomfortable without answers probably have a tendency to be control freaks. I certainly tend to be one with certain issues, ones that I feel could impact my well being if I do not get answers.

As for having faith that terrible things won't happen to you, many people have hope instead of faith. I have hope I won't get into an accident or get terminally ill, but I don't have faith that these things won't happen because there is no evidence these things won't happen with only faith.

I admit I do not have all the answers on how exactly modern humans formed, though I certainly do not believe in the intelligent design theory. Evolution likely is the answer, but being the type of person I am, I will not commit to any theory without 100% certainty. I am a man who admits he does not know the answer when he does not know the answer. My whole life revolves around searching for truth. If you want to live by faith, that is your choice.