Autistic Irreligious Brother

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scrupulousrvrt

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I have a brother as the title implies who doesn’t believe in God and I wonder (not worry) about his eternal salvation. Childhood Catholic initiation didn’t seem to take hold on him and I’m wondering about what I should do to breach the subjects about god to him. I expect the replies from him are going to be “I don’t believe in anything, I don’t care, etc”.
What doth one do?
 
scrupulousrvrt said:
I have a brother as the title implies who doesn’t believe in God and I wonder (not worry) about his eternal salvation. Childhood Catholic initiation didn’t seem to take hold on him and I’m wondering about what I should do to breach the subjects about god to him. I expect the replies from him are going to be “I don’t believe in anything, I don’t care, etc”.
What doth one do?
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That is a difficult thing. I am familiar with it.

Sometimes all you can do is pray and show that person Jesus by way of deed (show him kindness, compassion, etc)
 
Since he is autistic, you should explain God to him in a very logical way. Autistic people are oriented towards logic.
 
Yes, I highly recommend you get involved in Catholic apologetics, in that you study defense of
-theism, then
-Christianity, then
-Catholicism
You can get info on apologetics from TAN books, and catholic.com (this forums’s main site). Catholic Answers is VERY helpful, as well as their radio shows

You can pray greatly for them, like the daily rosary. St Monica, as you probably know, prayed for the conversion of her son, and it produced, St. Augustine the Church Father.
Venerable Fr Augustine Marie prayed for the conversion of his family and many members converted, and his mom converted at deathbed
 
I work with autistic kids all across the spectrum. The higher functioning kids and young adults that I work with have a problem with abstract concepts such as algebra, invisible germs, and certain social values. God, salvation, and everything that goes along with it is the most abstract of all. Your brother is not alone by a long shot with this struggle.

One metaphor that might be help when discussing abstract concepts is “air” strangely enough. We can’t see it, but it is there. Cant see it? You must not need it. Hold your breath then! Simple things like that can at least open their mind to the abstract.

You can show him conversations on the internet where people who have experienced miracles by God have happened. If you keep this effort up for a while, he might start taking it on faith. If his mind opens, teach him how to pray, and what to ask for.

Outside of this of course is prayer on your part. Remember as well in the CCC it states that God gives special dispensation for those with mental and neurological conditions. Autistic people often have companion conditions, such as ADD and so on.

God knows of your brothers issues. He also is aware of your efforts to help him and can provide you with invaluable support. Bless you for your efforts, and strength.
 
Pray. Prayer is the cornerstone for conversion, other than rational discourse (remember, us Christians have a long line of rational discourse, theology, and philosophy in faith – look at the simple writings of St. Justin Martyr, the longer ones of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc).

God bless! 👍
 
Thanks for the support guys. I actually haven’t talked to him about it yet, but that’s why ask for advice for this. I happen to have Asperger’s Syndrome myself. I’d like to note that my brother is not Atheist, it’s just that he has no interest in it. He might have some trouble with the Mass rites, as he might become overstimulated and he won’t be able to stop stimming.
 
scrupulousrvrt said:
Thanks for the support guys. I actually haven’t talked to him about it yet, but that’s why ask for advice for this. I happen to have Asperger’s Syndrome myself. I’d like to note that my brother is not Atheist, it’s just that he has no interest in it. He might have some trouble with the Mass rites, as he might become overstimulated and he won’t be able to stop stimming.
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I taught kids on the spectrum for 35 years and I sympathize with you concerning your dear brother. The “stimming” can be a problem, especially if he is a heard banger, but if you find a mass that only has organ music or a simple cantor, it might work. I’ve found that 7:30 A.M. mass is the quietest. I’m blessed to attend a huge Jesuit Parish where one of our 5 priests would be happy to teach your brother about the Church. What is he obsessed with at home? Sometimes I would try and pair a concept with an autistic students interests. Once a student was obsessed with TV Guides from different cities. I had him bring in a different guide every few weeks and assigned him lessons on geography and history of that area! God bless you and your brother, I’m praying for you both.🙂
 
Welp, I guess I should of seen this coming. Our mom got annoyed and said “You’re preaching to us!? You worry about you, we’ll worry about us!”.
 
I am on the spectrum, as are many other people here. We are very logical. To me, the evidence of the Early Church’s martyrs was kind of an eye-opener. NO ONE is going to die for something they believe to be a lie.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
I am on the spectrum, as are many other people here. We are very logical. To me, the evidence of the Early Church’s martyrs was kind of an eye-opener. NO ONE is going to die for something they believe to be a lie.
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I know what you mean. When I came back to the Church I told myself “I was born here, I’m gonna die here, and if anyone tries to take me out of it, I’M GONNA START SWINGING!”
But I digress, I am a bit discouraged because I know that he isn’t going to come back to the Church and my parents are going to blow up like nuclear bombs if I tried convince him to return.
 
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