aspies and religion

[catkinq]

Any suggestions how to explain to explain religion to very rational children with a very rigid sense of right and wrong? They go to a c of e school and I am bombbarded with questions about how the idea of God and Science mix coupled with the idea that if the head is not telling them stuff that is definately true in Service then he must be a liar and lie about everything. Examples are long discussions on what Jesus wore when he rose from the dead - the robes it seems were left in the tomb so was Jesus naked? if so then why can't I be naked everywhere? The head says that God is everywhere so where is he etc. How do you explain it all to them? Any ideas much appriciated.
Catkinq

[BethNoire]

OK, a bit of an interest of mine (topping an RE degree with an MA in asd LOL) so I have a few thoughts- however so much varies n your childs age, language skills, etc.

DS1 has AS / HFA and also attends a Church school. I've tried to explain that in any life a lot of events happen, both good and bad, that we cannot rpedecit and some people feel they need to explain that and the way that works for them is religion. However, religions are usually very old and so the exact details of what happened have been lost- looking at Christianity, we know there was definitely a man called Jesus. What we don't know is much about the details; we only have the stories passed down by several people and they don't compare exactly. Plus there is a chance that a game of chinese whispers has happened, or that possibly some peoplefelt a realcompetitive need to make their preacher /faith the best one in a time when wandering Preachers were actually rather common and embellished.

If you believe in a faith, you have to reach your own beleifs about the details of things 9through prayer etc) but it is the message that matters most and most of the major faiths have similar ones- the value of kindness and love,duty towards your family and community, that sort of thing. 'God' an be lost in the details sometimes.

if you don't believe, it is perhaps easiest to understand as a way of explaining thinsg that peoplearescared of.

But either way the things like outfits, meals, exact words- all the things that mean so much to those of us (I have many traits) with a spectrum brain are not absolutes. The religion is in the faith and teching; the rest is the amalgamation of stories acquired from people who lived after Jesus, and we must allow them tehir flaws becuiase they are only human.

Sorry am not sure how much sense that makes- ds1 is fascinated by eligion (as clearly am I LOL) and he has a tendency to focus on the artefacts, rituals etc- I think a spectrumperson can often find a lot of meaning in those. Me, I find it fascinating in the way someone would watch the activities of a bunch of ants- I do have parsonal faith but am interested in the mutiplicites IYSWIM.

At some point I ahve to get ds1 to understand the notion of eprsonal truth, and that is a key in this. A hard one to explain, but useful if you can manage it.

[BethNoire]

Sorry- i think that was an awfullot of crap and waffle

Apologies

[BethNoire]

One fianl thing though- I ahd a Prof who was clearly AS or close. Anyway, he spent years trying to understand the Trinity until he said he had a breakthrough and realised that the wholepoint was that in ts fullmeaning it is inconceivable. if we can truly understand God, then He isn't moving at any higher level than us which would be ridiculous in a omnipotent being. If you beleive, you just have to accept you will never quite understand.

[RaggedRobin]

a deaf pupil i worked with became very interested in religion and had a million questions to ask, so we set up an interview with his local priest, as we felt he might be the best person to ask. could something like this be possible?