The mere idea of suggesting that Jesus would be autistic is a dangerous concept, one that would send Christians screaming of heresy and “wokeness.” However, Jesus’s example leads us to challenge such established concepts of cultural norms and traditions. Of course, to make such a claim semi-palatable, I will still issue the standard disclaimer. This is a tool to teach about autism by way of our knowledge of Jesus, and raise acceptance of autistic people by recognizing our connection to the revered Christ. I don’t introduce the concept of an autistic Jesus in the diagnostic term, where such a claim would require far more official analysis, but rather in the sense of autistic community, where we crave representation and see our existence and experiences reflected in Jesus. When such a claim arises that labels Jesus as Black or asexual or homeless or transgender (because how else would Jesus exist as a man through a virgin birth without the Y chromosome?), people will scramble to find any hint of proof that such a claim is entirely historically inaccurate. In a brief moment, historical accuracy is suddenly important to all those who will walk past a white, well-groomed, Ewan McGregor-type depiction of Jesus without a second glance. Yet, the truth remains that Jesus is autistic- and Black, and trans, and homeless, and asexual. How do we know? He says as much himself in Matthew 25.
Jesus doesn’t merely claim solidarity with the least of these in society, those typically rejected and cast out.[1] He directly identifies as them. He takes the concept of the imago Dei, the notion that all humans are made in the image of God, and asserts it as equally applicable to his identity as God. If we are truly made in God’s image, then God is just as autistic as God is allistic (non-autistic), just as Black as white, as transgender as God is cisgender. To prefer only one depiction of God out of tradition or comfort would be to reject God’s image entirely. To worship Jesus only because we see him in a certain image would be to only worship the Jesus we relate to, and thus reject the least of these as was forewarned. I am well aware, as any autistic person would be, that such diagnoses were not available in Jesus’s time. Yet the beauty of this lack of labels means that there is no default. To suggest that autism was invented along with the diagnostic criteria would be ridiculous. For that reason, the suggestion that Jesus is any more allistic than autistic simply because we consider being allistic “normal” today would be equally ridiculous. Jesus never attempted to align with the “popular” or “typical” so it stands to reason that Jesus is as equally autistic as he is allistic. Since we have spent the last two-thousand years dictating the conversation of Jesus from the neurotypical gaze, I find it only fair that we take a brief hiatus to consider the alternative. For this paper, and hopefully beyond, Jesus is autistic. And, by that logic, autistic people are one with Christ.
To consider this possibility, we must first consider what autism is from an autistic perspective. The claims and terms referenced in this article are sourced largely from my experience as an autistic person and as someone within multiple autistic communities. As quick as people may be to assert that autism is simply what Jesus is not, many cannot go much further. Even if they can, the surface level understanding of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) does not truly do autistic people justice either. It is only in the newest version of the DSM that autism has no longer been split into two diagnoses, naming one version after the Nazi scientist who put our people to death (Hans Asperger).[2] For this reason, it is quite possible that these people cannot accurately determine what it is to be autistic beyond the diagnosis. Being autistic is largely about community, finding others with shared experiences that can assist in surviving a world not designed with us in mind. Being autistic is about continuously seeking justice for yourself and others simply to survive and translating every thought into words more comfortable for the neurotypical culture so you can succeed. As awareness and, more importantly, acceptance of autism (especially self-acceptance) grows, autistic people are finding their voice in the world, whether a verbal voice or any other form of self-expression. This comes much to the dismay of organizations like Autism Speaks that have built their brand off of speaking for and over autistic people.[3] While no longer identifying with the notion of autism as a disorder, it is still widely considered a mental disability, as autistic people are less likely to be enabled by the society around them. Even still, autistic pride is growing, with the majority of the community preferring identity-first language over person-first language, being referred to as autistic rather than a “person with autism.” Despite the desire of many to separate autism from the person, autistic people aren’t ashamed of autism as part of our identity. Instead, we seek to grow and branch out, finding others like us and building a community of people who do understand us, recognizing the societal ableism as our main source of pain rather than our autistic identity. It is within these practices of community and relationship with society that we must examine our understanding of Jesus, rather than simply reverting to the diagnostic criteria and autistic stereotypes that are most accessible to us.
[1]Michael David Coogan, Marc Zvi Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha : an Ecumenical Study Bible, edited by Michael David Coogan, Marc Zvi Brettler, Carol A. (Carol Ann) Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, fully revised fifth edition, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), Matthew 25:31-46.
[2]Herwig Czech, “Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and “race hygiene” in Nazi-era Vienna,” Molecular Autism 9, 29 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6. [3]Find Yaser, “I Am Autism Commercial By Autism Speaks,” YouTube, YouTube, 2016, accessed March 4, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgLnWJFGHQ&t=66s.
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