Recently, I was asked a very interesting question. Christianity, of course, is a universal faith, and God neither discriminates, nor does He show personal favoritism. His law is His law, and there are no asterisks. Yet, there are people in our world, including myself as an autistic man, who are effectively hardwired to be more disobedient towards it than "normies". For example, God commands us to be more other-centric, whereas my autism makes that, at best, very difficult. How, then, does autism work with Christianity?
The first thing to note, as I have done before, is that mental illness is technically also physical. Just as things like drugs or alcohol affect a person's ability to think clearly, so also does mental illness, with the main difference being sufferers from mental illness cannot just avoid certain drinks. We have it regardless of the choices we make. Because mental illness is also physical, we can actually apply identical biblical logic to them both.
But what is the identical logic? First off, famously, there is the example of the blind man in John 9. When asked whose sin caused the blindness, Jesus replied "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (v3). In this fallen world of cruelty, it may seem to some that God has maybe forsaken us, if He even exists. But here, Jesus tells us very clearly that God works with purpose. No matter how a person is born, God knows what He's doing.
It is tempting to apply John 9 more broadly to the human race. If this man was born blind so the works of God can be made manifest in him, maybe this applies to all who are born blind? Or indeed with any disability? This interpretation is entirely possible, and as I will shortly demonstrate, certainly fits with the rest of Scripture. However, based on the immediate context, it would seem this specific man is the central focus. Jesus follows up His proclamation with a healing miracle. It does not seem this is a common practice for God today, as many Christians are still blind, deaf, lame, or even have some kind of debilitating, painful illness, rendering them unfit for normal life. But this blind man was critical for verifying Jesus' authority as Messiah. So, it is also possible Jesus' proclamation applies only to him.
God does not leave us floundering, however, as He does tell us a lot more. In fact, through Paul, He tells us "...My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness...." (2 Corinthians 12:9). This is the passage in which Paul describes his mysterious "thorn in the flesh". As Paul was receiving so many revelations from God, there was a very real danger of him succumbing to pride, and so God allowed a "messenger of Satan" to torment him. There is much debate over exactly what this thorn is. Was it a literal messenger of Satan? Was it a disease? Maybe it was even a sin he struggled with? All we know for sure is that Paul prayed three times that God would take it away, but when God finally answered, Paul began to boast in it instead.
Just as God's grace was sufficient for Paul, His strength is likewise made perfect in our weaknesses. This same Paul actually tells us in his previous epistle "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." Let us remember, this is the very God who used His own death to defeat sin. To the unbeliever, this is foolishness, but to the saved, it is the power of God. God wields the weakest of weapons like flaming swords, cutting through Hell's gates as if they were made of snow. And much like MacGuyver saving the day with random objects he picks up along the way, it is far more impressive when He does so than if He raised an army of Goliaths and used them to pummel the world into submission.
But then we get to the more difficult side of the issue. We see above how God can use us, even with whatever weaknesses He saw fit to give us, but what about when that weakness leads us to dishonor Him? What if our mind almost seems designed as the control centre for a sin machine?
The first thing to note here is that technically, this seems to be the case even for "normies". All humans sin differently, but all humans sin. Scripture tells us "...that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane..." (1 Timothy 1:9), and then, of course, continues to list examples. Murderers, kidnappers, homosexuals, even liars. And this particular list is left open ended: "if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine" (v10). The entire Bible was written because all of mankind is predisposed to sin. If any man is innocent, it is because he is so fresh from the womb that he has yet to speak an intelligible word.
All of the above means that, once again, we can apply identical biblical logic to the mentally ill as to "normies". When a normal person sins, what's the protocol? Well, first of all, there's obviously wrath. When you're talking about the perfect and Holy God, sin = death, no ifs or ands. Buts, on the other hand, is a different matter. But God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. But there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Jesus.
So, first, let's talk about wrath. Let's suppose, first of all, the mentally ill person is unsaved and dies. What is his fate? Sadly, the answer is the same as for a normie. Eternal punishment in Hell. There is, however, some consolation. Scripture does indicate that although God must punish sin, He does have a concept of diminished responsibility. That is, He takes each person as He finds them. He will not punish all sinners alike. Rather, each person is punished according to what they have done (Revelation 20:12), but also, according to the degree of the revelation they have received (e.g. Matthew 10:15), and according to their degree of knowledge.
In Luke 12:47-48, we read "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." From this, we see that ignorance does not excuse sin. It does, however, reduce its penalty. Thus, we can be sure that although God will demand account from all people, He will be entirely fair in how He does so. No one, saved or unsaved, will be mishandled.
As for the saved, the same applies. God still takes each person as He finds them. By far my favorite example is David Wood of Acts17Apologetics. David Wood is a sociopath. He is incapable of guilt or remorse, and before his conversion, he showed this with violent criminal behavior, up to and including attempted patricide.
In spite of his condition, David found Jesus while in prison, swiftly turning his life around. It wasn't long before Christ's light shone through him. He even tells of a story of when his fellow inmates asked him if he was in prison for defending a woman's honor or something, because he was far too nice to be in for any serious crime. Obviously, David Wood is still a sinner to this day. Who isn't? If you think you aren't, read 1 John 1:8 and come back. But through Jesus, he is improving. This process is called "sanctification", a lifelong process of battling sin, and being molded into the likeness of Jesus.
David Wood follows a pattern laid out by Scripture. In 1 Timothy 1:12-16, Paul briefly reminds Timothy of his own testimony: "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."
We see how seamlessly "normies" like Paul mesh with sociopaths like David Wood, or even aspies like myself. Our conditions may well change our perceptions of, and even interactions with the world, but in the eyes of the Lord, we are all "normies". Look where Paul began! A blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious. Had he continued along this path, he would have been condemned to Hell. And he says he did it ignorantly, in unbelief. This could be considered Paul's "mental illness". Yet, he received mercy as a pattern to future recipients of God's grace.
Look back on all that we've said about Paul. We see his testimony, how he committed the worst of sins in ignorance, yet obtained mercy. In spite of this, we see that he still struggled with sin. Chief among his struggles, pride, the ugliest of all sins. God resists the proud (James 4:6), that's how bad pride is. Pride caused Satan to rise against God and be forever condemned. Pride kept the Pharisees from accepting their own Messiah. Pride causes many to reject the Gospel, with some even claiming they will go to Hell knowing they are morally superior to God. And Paul needed a thorn in his flesh to prevent him from falling prey to it.
Mental illness, be it autism, sociopathy, or any of the many that haven't been addressed in this article, is a very difficult topic to navigate. Just like God, we need to take people as we find them, knowing that one of the two greatest commandments is "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:36-40). Therefore, treat the mentally ill just as you would treat a normal person, though of course with maximum effort to understand and make provisions for whatever they're going through.
And if you happen to have a mental illness, do not allow this world to make you feel like you are any less than you are: A precious child of God, for whom Christ Himself shed His blood. Whatever your condition, however it manifests itself in your life, you are precious in the sight of God, and He can use you just as brilliantly as He used the blind man, David Wood, or even Paul the Apostle. Furthermore, even if your condition increases your tendency towards sin, remember, this can be controlled, for God says "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13). Furthermore, Christ is able to help you when you are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). With this in mind, even we are able to go toe to toe with the devil whenever he should poke his long nose into our business, and just as every other Christian, we will gradually become more like Jesus over the course of our lives.