Autism and Spirituality

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I was born and raised Russian Orthodox. I lived for a few years in a monastery in my early twenties. Once I realized I pretty much believed nothing like the church or the people around me, I left. Though the silence and simple life style was enjoyable. These days I consider myself an Apatheist.

I wrote about this in my book, in a chapter titled "An Uncommon Perspective on Religion." In my case, I was raised Roman Catholic, converted in a Pentecostal church and got my BA in Bible & Theology from a Pentecostal Christian liberal arts college. I eventually got disillusioned with what I saw as hype and fakery, and made my way into mainstream, "megachurch" evangelicalism for well over a decade. Over time, I gradually found myself drawn to classical Reformed (aka "Calvinistic") theology. Today I belong to a Presbyterian (PCA) church, although I'd be equally at home in a Reformed Baptist environment.

My pursuit of religion has always been primarily a pursuit of doctrinal truth, although in my Pentecostal days there was a strong experiential element, too. Today I place little stock in experience. I remember The Onion writing a satirical piece about a minister who was "religious, not spiritual." That might, at least on some level, be true for me. I can say that I am most definitely not a fan of mysticism, which - as far as I can tell - ultimately obviates all theological distinctions.