In verses 14 and 15 of Matthew chapter 17, a man kneels before Jesus and asks him to heal his son who has a bad case of epilepsy. He “often falls into a fire or into water”, the man also adds.
Speaking of people claiming that someone has been possessed by a demon and particularly addressing the plight of autistic people of color; there has been an ongoing and disturbing craze in Kitui regions of Kenya about residents claiming that ASD is an aftermath of someone being associated with witchcraft.
My Google search about the occurrence of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in the Bible led me to this chapter. There is a boy mentioned in this scripture who seems to have symptoms that we could, on a lower scale, attribute to autism. In verses 14 and 15, a man kneels before Jesus and asks him to heal his son who has a bad case of epilepsy. He “often falls into a fire or into water” (Contemporary English Version), the man also adds.
Today, some experts list the case of epilepsy as a co-occurrence of autism. I may not thoroughly explain what autism (ASD) is, now, but just know that it’s a neurodivergent issue that commonly makes guys appear strange in the contemporary world. For instance some guys on the spectrum appear to want to live alone, extremely lost to anger and day-dream especially in childhood.
An important thing to note here is that not all guys who have epilepsy are autistic and the vice versa is true. Having read the verses (14 to 21) of this scripture, I guess you have perhaps identified that the boy was also said to have been possessed by a demon. This does not imply that guys who have epilepsy, ASD or both are possessed by an evil force. It goes without doubt that the behaviors of that boy appeared like those of a person dominated by a demon. We also tend to say lightly that someone has been cast a spell over if they are behaving strangely although we know that’s not the case. I think what the Bible teaches here is that these conditions individually tend to have mysterious origins and no human-led cure.
Speaking of people claiming that someone has been possessed by a demon and particularly addressing the plight of autistic people of color; there has been an ongoing and disturbing craze in Kitui regions of Kenya about residents claiming that ASD is an aftermath of someone being associated with witchcraft. There is really a demand for more people to be educated about this anomalous thing of the brain.
Having done with that story of the Bible, may I now share some of my experiences of autism related to attending Christian meetings? Here I go …
As a guy with autism and as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I find it challenging sometimes to attend Kingdom Halls on Sundays. As a new member, the thought that I’m going there to make new friends is somehow discouraging. Honestly I usually leave meetings a few minutes after shaking hands with fellow brothers and sisters.
Before the meetings commence, I tend to sit at the corners of the hall as a deliberate move to minimize the chances of being touched. This is tactile defensiveness 1 (an ASD hyperactivity to touch).
However, sometimes, while sitting waiting for the meetings to start, the brothers and sisters approach me with smiling faces to introduce themselves. This positive attitude somehow alleviates the ‘pain’ of being touched. Showing love towards each other is a custom in Jehovah’s organization and I’m glad for it. You can feel the love; it’s real!
This brotherhood custom acts as an inspiration that pushes me towards attending subsequent meetings, learning, and making new friends. What I have come to learn is that: We should not let the sensory input overload of ASD keep us away from social activities that allistic people engage in!
And there you have it! I already detailed my take about the condition of the boy mentioned in that intriguing story of the holy writ. I also have briefly described my experience as an autistic individual living in the modern time. It would be my pleasure now to show you how our loving creator cared for the interests of autistic people in ancient times and how he continues to care for us on the spectrum — we who live in the current time.
To start with, I have this strong conviction that many people on the autism spectrum also like learning about the person who created the universe. The Bible is metaphysical, if I could simply describe it, and autism has been closely correlated to intense love for topics related to mysteries. It follows without doubt then that autistic people who lived in ancient times and read Apostle Paul’s letters, just to mention him as an example, enjoyed them! Perhaps those people made some notes on papyrus using feathers as pens. This must have been an exciting exercise of scribe-work since they learned more by writing down notes. Every person today who learns not only by reading but also writing down notes will attest that doing this is fun! Hence, God cared for the joy of autistic people in the past by giving them something to learn from and the creativity to write it down.
I need not say how many learning channels people on the spectrum have today. We have access not only to the holy writ and thousands of other topics that have mystery in them but also to resources that teach us specifically about autism. ‘The Art of Autism’ website is one of the creative resources in our modern time that effectively teaches us about autism since we get to learn directly from bloggers like me who have had lived-experiences of this neurodivergence. This is tangible evidence that our creator continues to care for our knowledge needs and our joy.
Footnote:
- According to ‘Above & Beyond Therapy’: Children with autism who have tactile defensiveness may exhibit adverse reactions such as clinging (to loved ones), complaining, lashing out (hitting out someone), or running away when confronted with touch stimuli. These emotional responses can interfere with their daily activities and social interactions, affecting their overall well-being. ↩︎
JoE ADiX 