I had a little fun with this question recently by polling several Aspies and their parents. I left the question closed—as a yes-no question. That didn't stop anyone from answering with gusto and applying the answer to their own experience.
Not surprisingly, the trend was that parents experienced Aspergers as a condition/disability that will go away, while Aspies themselves see Aspergers as something that is part of their identity.
Background:
I am a Christian believer in the historical, biblical tradition. I am part of a congregation in the Evangelical Covenant Church which means I affirm basic tenets of Christianity including:
I believe:
•There is an eternal, relational God existing in three co-equal persons—Father, Son, & Spirit.
•God is the standard for morality.
•All humans fall short of God's standard—we call this deficit sin.
•The gap between God's standard and human sinful behavior separates us from God.
•We can't bridge the gap through our own effort or righteousness.
•God offered a bridge in the person of his own son Jesus.
•Jesus is both a real historical person and a divine person of the triune god.
•Jesus willingly accepted responsibility for my sin and yours, dying a substitutionary, sacrificial death by execution on a cross.
•God the Father raised His Son from true physical death—adding "Savior" to his eternal title as Lord of the Universe.
•As Lord and Savior, Jesus' death and resurrection broke the power of sin and death.
•In his sacrifice, Jesus offers each of us individual salvation that can restore us to a right relationship with God.
•Because God loves us and grants us true free will, salvation is not mandatory—we can accept it or reject it.
•Following his resurrection and ascension, Jesus sent a third person of the trinity—the Holy Spirit—to give us power to live in relationship with God.
•Accepting Jesus' offer of salvation is the way to experience eternity in God's presence—what Jesus called "paradise" in his words to the thief who was crucified with Him.
•What Jesus called paradise we commonly call heaven. It is the time/place/condition of eternal fellowship with a personal God and fellow saved believers.
•The doors to heaven are open to all, but God sets the conditions for admittance. His condition is acceptance and commitment to Jesus the Christ.
As I understand them, these beliefs are an important part of the good news that Christians call the gospel. I am probably leaving some things out, but in order to understand what I say about heaven you need to know what I mean.
Implications:
The list above is more doctrinal. Here are several implied or practical believes.
Truth is truth. Even if you disagree with every doctrinal point I made above, you may find some insightful truth about Asperger's Syndrome on this blog. I trust my expression of personal faith will not disqualify me in your eyes, but I take that risk willingly.
Asperger's is no respecter of faith. Being a Christian, Muslim, _________________, doesn't exempt or subject you to Asperger's any more than faith protects you from an earthquake. "The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous alike."
So, "Will I have Asperger's in Heaven?" demands a very granular response. I would expect a wide range of answers from my Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim, Atheist, and other friends—just as I hear a wide range of answers within my congregation and family. My answer is only my answer. My wife and son don't agree with me on all points. We are—none of us—monolithic.
Conclusion:
My answer is yes. I will have Asperger's in heaven.
There are aspects of Asperger's that help me relate to others and to God. My personal theology is that those elements will persist into eternity. The aspects of Asperger’s that draw me toward temptation and sin may still be present, but in some way I can’t yet understand, I will have the ability to live in complete harmony with my God and his holiness.
God doesn’t make mistakes. I have a more complex and undeveloped theology of disability than I can articulate here, but the essence is that we are living in a tiny slice of eternity. What happens now may not seem to have any purpose, but everything we experience has eternal value. We just can’t see it yet.
In my own brittle, impatient, Asperger’s way, I can’t wait to understand it all.
