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Some spiritual groups demonize autism. Others sacralize it. This video deals with a third variant: sacralizing autism and other forms of neurodivergence without even knowing what it is! The content-creator Darante´ LaMar is a former charismatic preacher (it shows!) turned atheist. He argues that many "gifts of the Spirit" are really natural psychological abilities, typical of people who are autistic or extremely empathic.
I previously blogged about the autism-religion interface, and here we go again. Very interesting video, although the brother preaches too much at the end!
An extremely interesting "discussion about everything" featuring Emerson Green and Jon from the podcast "Christianity on the spectrum". Jon has tried to get to the bottom of the question "Are autists more likely to be atheists" and the answer seems to be "yes". But why? The idea that autists lack a theory of mind and therefore can´t understand religion and spirituality (i.e. the minds of invisible gods) seems intuitively true, but Jon believes its much more complicated.
After all, not all religious traditions are the same. Indeed, Jon´s research suggests that autists who are Christian gravitate towards liturgical and ritualist forms of religiosity, while shunning more emotionalist and spontaneous versions. Which makes perfect sense. It also turns out that many Christian autists are preoccupied with doctrinal orthodoxy. Perhaps because they can´t stand ambiguity and inconsistency?
So why do many autists de-convert and become atheists? The main reason seems to be precisely that they find themselves unable to uphold orthodoxy due to Bible contradictions or illogical theology. The cognitive dissonance becomes too great. However, there does seem to be another more sinister reason: Christian fundamentalists are often uncomprehending or downright hostile to autists. Children on the spectrum may be subject to exorcisms to cast out their "demons". In general, these groups tend to shun people with real or perceived mental health issues. There are theologians who argue that the "image of God in man" includes having a complex theory of mind - precisely what autists lack. One theologian even referred to the state of non-belief as "spiritual autism"!
Yet another factor could be that many autists are...ahem...a bit weird. And many Christian groups don´t tolerate weirdness (or *this* kind of weirdness). Thus, many autists have gender dysphoria and identify as trans or non-binary. Jon was at one point invited onto a Christian autists´ forum and soon realized that he was the only person there who *wasn´t* a Furry?!
Jon also discusses the phenomenon of "autistic" influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms. They don´t know squat about autism and broaden the definition to include as many people as possible. These groups are usually Woke and exclude people with the wrong opinions. Jon himself is diagnosed with "autism 1" (what used to be called Asperger´s or high-functioning autism), suffered from gender dysphoria as a teenager, and left Christianity for atheism. Later, he re-converted. He has worked for the US military and is presumably more conservative in orientation.
I´ve heard of many of these things before, so it was nice to get them confirmed. One thing I didn´t know about was that some Christian theologians define "the image of God" or "communion with God" in such a way that people with autistic traits are excluded. I mean, that´s...wild.
Recommended. Although Jon, as a typical "aspie", talks too much!
An interesting and entertaining (but also somewhat sad) video featuring Zen Buddhist teacher Brad Warner. He responds to a New Age fanatic who perhaps believes that her child is Indigo, et cetera. The fluff bunny rhetoric is off the charts!
The short form: paranormal powers, while real, are a distraction from enlightenment and the *real* miracle: the existence of the universe itself. They come and go, never appear when we need them, and may even take us to a dark place without Truth.
Brad retells two funny anecdotes about Buddhist masters. One of them is about a man who after 20 years of spiritual preparation could walk on water. The master tells him that he (the master) can simply pay a ferryman to get across the river! LOL.
Could be seen as a tie-in to my recent post about telepathy, et cetera.
The most recent American cult? A new podcast claims that nonverbal autistic children are really, really special and can communicate telepathically. Their immortal souls gather at a place called "The Hill" where they can paranormally learn new skills. Et cetera.
Two of the links below goes to skeptical articles, the third is a (rather unconvincing) response from the Telepathy Tapes podcasters.
I think it´s obvious that this is just the latest iteration of the New Age phenomenon known as Indigo children or Crystal children.
LOL. This is a blast from the recent (apocalyptic) past. I blogged about "Anointed Ashley" or "Prophetess Ashley" myself. I´m about 90% convinced that she was a long-term troll, but on the web you never really know.
Frankly, the "Watchwoman" in the second clip above also sounds like a troll, or an extremely mentally unbalanced cultist. Her main problem with Ashley seems to be that she is the wrong kind of apocalyptic crackpot! The first clip sounds more serious and is posted by a Christian who is opposed to the apocalyptic Rapture-watchers.
I´m not sure what happened to Ashley (did she take to the hills to avoid last summer´s cicada emergence?) but both trollish and un-ironic "Watchmen" and "Watchwomen" are sure to emerge again soon, so I don´t think there will be any dearth of content in this particular corner of cyber-space...
Paranoia meets autism in this bizarre clip, another example of the "Chosen One" phenomenon. Apparently, your friends, family and co-workers (or people staring at you in the supermarket) are possessed by demons known as "monitoring spirits".
Yeah, that´s from "The Matrix", dude, where "the agents" can take over the body of any human inside the interactive simulation.
I didn´t watch/monitor all of it, and perhaps you shouldn´t either.
I linked to this content-creator before, when he discussed ritual magic and related issues. Here, Frater Eleftheria reveals that he recently learned something unexpected about himself, something that impacted all his life. Yes, Frater belatedly realized that he is "on the spectrum".
I find it intriguing that somebody quite old could be in the dark about autism in 2024 AD. But perhaps there are reasons. Frater discussed autism with a number of Christian groups, and these told him that autists are really demon-possessed and/or that autism could be "cured", presumably by faith healing!
Last year, I came across what seems to be a Christian subculture in the United States of people who seem to be in denial of their autism, instead imagining themselves to be "chosen ones" in some near-future apocalyptic scenario. There is also a New Age phenomenon probably connected to autism, the Indigo children. So perhaps these wrong-headed "copes" is one reason why awareness of spectrum disorders is low in some spiritual-religious circles. That, and some kind of quest for Perfection with a capital P.
The video is quite long, but it could be worth listening to.
Nah, you´re probably just on the spectrum. More "Chosen One" and Special Snowflake stuff, this time from a YouTube channel called Astral Atom. The perspective is New Age rather than Christian.
The second clip does contain a few insights into "psychic vampires", but the context is strongly paranoid. Imagine if a cult leader would speak like this! And who is the "family" you´re not supposed to break away from? The cult? We are your true family, babe...
If this is your spirituality, I think you may be doing something wrong!
Our favorite long-term troll Anointed Ashley doesn´t seem particularly worried about the Apocalypse starting about two weeks from now.
Oh, and cicadas have a very long and peculiar life cycle (which is why you don´t see them for a long time). There is nothing strange about the cicada in Ashley´s back yard, and they are not closely related to locusts...
In another clip, she claims that the Nephilim will appear in October, perhaps next year, so something tells me she is already preparing to continue trolling beyond the August Apocalypse!
I sincerely hope this is some kind of long term troll. If not, I feel sorry for this particular person. Her message blends Christian apocalypticism, crazy "alternative" views and anti-social power fantasies.
This woman claims that the Rapture will be in August, that she will be taken to an island as part of 144,000 Chosen Ones, and given training to combat the Nephilim. The latter category evidently includes the Grey Aliens of UFO lore, dinosaurs in your backyard and - wait for it - the Smurfs?!
There are constant pop culture references in her videos, for instance to the X-Men or Marvel Comics. One of the 144,000 becomes a nude superhero with a rhinoceros horn...
And that stereotypical Bible Belt accent...hmmm...is this a new Sarah Rooney?
As a denizen of Ultima Thule, or at the very least Sweden, I want to protest very firmly against the claims in this video (hailing from the American South)!
Ahem, there´s nothing sinister or even remotely apocalyptic about the Northern Lights...
The scenario in this random YouTube clip is that before the "three days of darkness", which I assume are taken from John´s Revelation, the Northern Lights will appear all over the world. That´s the sign that you should run for shelter, bolt your windows, or whatever.
All similarities to "The Day of the Triffids" are probably purely co-incidental.
It will happen in August, according to the personage above. Except of course that it won´t. All kinds of really serious shit might happen in the world the next two months, true, but a literal apocalypse ushered in by Aurora Borealis isn´t one of them, I´m afraid.
I didn´t know Smurfophobia was still a thing among Christian fundamentalists (or whatever this is), but some memes don´t die easily, it seems! According to this girl (who seems un-ironic), the Smurfs are not only real, they are obviously EVIL and part of the Nephilim, although she concedes that clearly the blue midgets aren´t Giants!
The apocalypse is coming and the Smurfs will apparently play a role in it somehow. And yes, Anointed Ashley claims that God himself (no less) revealed all this to her. I assumed the controller of the universe had better things to do than attacking Franco-Belgian comics, but there you go.
The only interesting statement is that the Smurfs actually depict the seven deadly sins, which I suppose *could* be true, although it´s also possible that they simply depict all the usual human foibles. But then, that´s what the seven sins are, I suppose...
"Chosen Ones" seems to be a new US subculture, a kind of Christian version of Indigo children. They claim to be super-special, extremely smart and "anointed" by God himself, while everyone else is essentially useless, negative and (presumably) hell-bound.
If you listen carefully, there is a much more likely reason for the "anointing": high-functioning autism. That would explain the combination of social isolation, precocious intelligence in childhood and unusual views that seem to characterize this group.
I think we´re dealing with another "cope", but a somewhat sinister one, since "the Chosen Ones" apparently think they are going to be raptured, while the rest of us have to face the wrath of the neurotypical Anti-Christ...
I don´t know if "the Chosen Ones" is an organization, a network, or just a meme. It seems to be a form of Christian fundamentalism, but with some peculiar traits, for instance the claim that the dinosaurs will return soon?!
The message is apocalyptic and frankly cultic, like in this case, where a young woman claims that one sign of being "Chosen" is that your family and friends will start to hate you, and that they are actually demons?!
Not sure if 144,000 should be interpreted literally or symbolically...
A look into the strange American subculture (of course it´s American) called "Indigo children". Connected to the New Age scene, Indigo children are said to be highly gifted, spiritual and perhaps even psychic individuals sent by Source (or whoever New Age believers think is out there) to save the world (no less). Everyone else think they have ADHD or ADD... Which is probably the correct explanation. What I found most disturbing about this milieu is how parents in denial are brain-washing their kids into thinking that they really are some kind of supernatural geniuses. Otherwise, there is a lot of cringe in this VICE documentary. There is the "holistic dentist" in New York that uses tuning forks for reasons best known to themselves. We also get to meet a family where the son clearly states (in front of everyone) that his sister isn´t special, much to the shock and dismay of the New Age mother, who regards her as a Messiah-like Indigo. Weirdly, there is also a Black hip hop band within the Indigo community! I think it´s obvious what´s going on here. In America, nobody can afford being a failure, so therefore every disability has to be redefined as a hidden superpower or new "identity". Which in this case is somewhat ironic, since people with these conditions *can* succeed, given the right stimuli (and in some cases, treatment). Perhaps the problem isn´t so much the kids, as the parents, who feel like "failures" just because their children aren´t 100% Made in Amerika Super Duper, according to the stereotypes 20 years ago? Not really my cup of ice tea, I´m afraid, but it does work as a very short introduction to this particular subculture.
