Spiritual Autism 3

In Part 1 and 2 we looked at several things concerning Spiritual Autism. We look at the cause of autism, we looked at the comparison of autism, how the physical compares to the spiritual. We looked at the conditions of autism, how it affects our Dialog, or Diet, and our Development. But what is the cure for autism, how do we get out of this condition of being spiritually autistic?

Concerning physical autism, it’s not a simple answer. The first thing that we have to do is identify the problem areas. It’s been over two years now since Jennifer and I have know that Tyler is autistic, but we still don’t know exactly what is wrong with him. It may be a yeast build up; it may be Mercury or other heavy metals that are built up in his body. He may have food allergies that we are currently unaware of. He is on a waiting list to see a D.A.N. doctor, (Defeat Autism Now). The wait can be very long, and the visits very expensive.

Tyler’s method of treatment will vary based on his particular needs. Spiritual autism, however, is a little easier to treat. Identifying the problem area is still the first step. What area of our lives have we let slip. Have we just grown cold on the Lord, have we stopped praying, stopped reading our bibles? Have we let some of the sins of the past life slip back into our lives, maybe it’s the wrong kind of music, or watching ungodliness on T.V. We have to identify the area that has caused our lives to become autistic spiritually.
Then, we have to get those things out of our lives that are hindering our walk with God. And pray for others that they don’t fall into this condition of being spiritually autistic.

In part 1 I told you about Tyler’s pediatrician, and how she just could not understand our concerns about autism, she insisted that everything was fine. This lost world that has never come to Christ, that has never experienced salvation, that has never experienced a work of grace in their hearts. They can’t understand our concerns over our brother’s and sister’s in Christ that have fallen into sin. They think that our concerns for them are unwarranted, that they are perfectly normal. There is nothing “normal” about a Child of God living a life of sin. God help us to keep the sin out of our lives, to keep an open line of communication with our heavenly father, and to not develop this condition of being Spiritually Autistic.

Spiritual Autism Part 2

In part 1 I told you about Tyler and his condition of autism. We made the comparison between physical autism and spiritual autism, and how when we have allowed sin in our lives we become spiritually autistic. But what are the characteristics of autism? How does autism affect an individual? Autism affects every child differently, each autistic child has their own unique problems, but there are certain areas where they share common difficulties.

First of all, autism hinders a person’s Dialog. Tyler is four and a half years old, his speech is limited and until about six months ago he basically did not talk at all. We thank the Lord for the progress that we are seeing with him, his speech seems to be improving weekly, but he still has a long way to go. It is heart breaking to have a child that, because of their condition, you cannot communicate with.
It is also heart breaking to our heavenly Father when, because of sin in our lives, our line of communication is broken. Psalms 66:18 says that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. How many times have we let sin come into our lives and break that fellowship with God? When we do we are showing signs of spiritual autism.

Not only does autism hinder our Dialog, but it hinders our Diet. For half of Tyler’s life he has been on a wheat free diet. He can have nothing with gluten or casein. His body cannot process those foods. What did the apostle Paul say to the saints in Corinth? Because of their carnality he had to give them the milk of the word and not the meat (I Corinthians 3:1-3). As long as we harbor sin in our lives, we will not get the proper nourishment that we need from the word of God. We simply will not be able to handle the “meat of the word”.

Lastly, when we become spiritually autistic, when we give in to the flesh and let sin in our lives, it hinders our Development. Because of Tyler’s condition of autism, he cannot develop properly. Jennifer and I cannot train him like we can train Wesley and Riley because of our inability to communicate with him. We are commanded in the scriptures to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18), to study to shew ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), and to press toward the mark (Philippians 3:14). But we cannot follow these commands from scripture, we cannot develop in our spiritual lives while harboring sin in our lives.

Spiritual Autism

For those of you that don’t know him, this is Tyler. A few months before Tyler’s second birthday Jennifer and I became concerned about him. He was not talking yet, and he would not make eye contact with anyone. Jennifer and I were concerned that it may be autism. We took him to his pediatrician and voiced our concerns. She assured us that everything was normal, that some children just start talking later than others. So we left the doctor’s office with a spring in our step assured that Tyler was ok and everything was fine.

After just a few weeks however, our concerns were back because we were still not seeing any improvement. So we took another trip to the doctor’s office for another dose of reassurance, of which she was more than willing to prescribe. So we left the office the second time not quite as content with the answer but comforted, somewhat, that Tyler was going to be fine.

Again, it was not long until we knew that there was something very wrong. Around the time that Tyler turned two years old we knew that he was autistic. But why did the doctor’s refuse to see this? Just the mention of the word autism was like showing a crucifix to a vampire! She did not want to hear it. All she could do was reassure us that Tyler was completely normal; he was just like anybody else.

We stopped taking Tyler to that pediatrician and began treating him, through the help of other doctors and friends, for autism. It took two years for the doctors to confirm what Jennifer and I had already known. Tyler was diagnosed with PDD, Pervasive Developmental Delay, a form of autism.

What is the cause of autism? We could fill hundreds of blogs, and no doubt they have, discussing the causes of autism. Some say that it is purely genetic, that autistic children were simply born with it, nothing more. Some say that vaccines are 100% at fault, and a person’s genetic makeup plays no role in it at all. Our oldest son got all the vaccines that Tyler did, but he is perfectly healthy. So vaccines cannot be 100% at fault. Genetics cannot be 100% at fault either. I heard one doctor that said it best, “it is not possible to have a genetic epidemic”, and certainly we have an epidemic of autism in our country today.

I believe that the problem is a combination of both genetics and vaccines. Time will not let us go into a discussion of why vaccines are bad, I’m sure there are plenty of other blogs to read on this subject, but I know from my own research that they are. How could Wesley be healthy and Tyler be autistic when they had the same shots? Wesley’s body was obviously stronger and more able to deal with the toxins, and other dangers, that Tyler’s body could not handle.

The title of this blog is Spiritual Autism. So what is the comparison how does the physical compare with the spiritual? A few months ago I began thinking about Tyler’s condition, how it affects him, and my relationship with him as his father. I began to compare that to our spiritual lives, when as children of God we have sin in our lives, how it affects us and our relationship with our heavenly Father. As children of God we know that we have a constant pull to sin from within (Romans 7) that is in our “genes”. We know that when we sin, when we “inject” sin into our lives, that we lose fellowship with our heavenly Father, we become spiritually autistic. Over the next update or two we will look at similarities between Tyler’s condition, and the condition of the child of God that has allowed sin into their lives, and see the dangers of becoming Spiritually Autistic.

A Parental View

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matthew 7:11
Ever since my first son was born, I’ve had a new appreciation for this verse. No, not that I know or comprehend everything about God’s love, his love for us is beyond comprehension. But the verse seems to have taken on a deeper meaning for me since my children were born.

I remember being in the hospital with my wife when our first (Wesley) was born. I remember how absolutely overwhelming it was the first time that I got to hold him in my arms, this was MY son. I know how great my love was, and still is, for my children. But to think that as great as my love is form my children, God’s love for me is greater. As much as I want to do for my children, God wants to do more for me.
That doesn’t mean that he will give me everything that I want. Many times it is because of that great love that my heavenly father tells me no. There are a lot of things that my children want but they cannot have, it may be something that they don’t need, something that could hurt them, something that would be contrary to the truths that I as a father am trying to instill into them. A lot of times my children do not understand why I tell them no, but it is my responsibility to tell them no, and to teach them why.
By the same token, my heavenly father will not give me those things that will be harmful to me, those things that will turn my heart from Him. Many times, like a little child, I don’t see the dangers; I don’t understand why He said no. But it is my responsibility to be obedient, whether I ever understand or not.

How can I know when my children begin to appreciate and understand my love for them? When they begin to say, “thank you daddy, for not letting me do this, not letting me have that”, when they begin to recognize that the things I have done for them have been for their good.
How will I know when I am maturing in Christ, when I can say thank you Lord for the trials, thank you Lord for the valleys, thank you Lord for the times when you said no.

I remember laying that little new born baby boy in his bed and realizing how helpless he was. He could not feed himself, he could not dress himself, all he could do is lay there and depend on mama and daddy. As I stood there and looked at that little boy, I realized that I was as helpless as my son, I can’t do anything without my heavenly father.
As my children are growing their dependence on me as their father is getting less and less. But my dependence on my heavenly father will never diminish. I’m striving to be a more mature Christian, to grow in grace and knowledge, but I need Him as much today as I did when I was an infant Christian.

Why "Old Paths"?

I am proud of my Baptist heritage. I'm happy about the fact that as a baptist I am not a protestant, we did not come out of the Catholic church. I'm proud that our history can be traced from the ten primitive persecutions of the second and third centuries. From the times of Constantine in the fourth century, and all thru the dark ages. During the times of the great awakening when men like Wycliffe, Huss, and Knox, were coming out in opposition to the Catholic church. The true churches were singing and preaching the praises of God, often times giving their lives for their beliefs. Though these churches were known by many different names, Montanists, Waldenses, anabaptist, they were baptistic in their policies and doctrine.

I'm proud of the roll that baptist played in the establishment of America. From Shubal Stearns and the Sandy Creek Baptist Church establishing the bible belt throughout the south, to John Leland and the Baptist of Virgina playing a vital roll in the establishment of our Constitution. I'm proud of my Baptist heritage.

But I'm sad at what many Baptist have become. In these days of contemporary music, and the ecumenical movement, we have lost the meaning of what it truly means to be a baptist.

I chose the name "old paths Baptist" because I want to be identified with the old time way. What it really means to be an old time, Independent, Fundamental Baptist.
To take the bible (KJV) literal. That the bible teaches salvation by grace thru faith for all, not just a few, that come to God thru faith and repentance. That separation from this world is something that we do to please our heavenly father as it is taught in the bible, not according to our personal preference, and not just when it is convenient.

I am, by the grace of God, going to walk in the old paths.