Thank you for a thoughtful, interesting and fact-filled post. While I don't think I quite qualify as having Aspergers, it is relevant to my life. I do have related loved ones who are and others who are nerdish like myself and come close. My religious heritage is the Churches of Christ, a Sourthern denomination on the rationalistic end of the Fundagelical spectrum, at least when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Have wondered if we had a higher mix of Autistic and Asperger's thought leaders in our historical development.
We have the Restoration Movement in common, then. I grew up in the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in the Cincinnati, OH area--sort of the middle group between the Acapella Churches of Christ and the liberal Disciples of Christ. They did use pianos and organs, but avoided liberal theology. I graduated from the old Cincinnati Bible College in 1972 with a degree in Christian Education. They later changed their name to Cincinnati Christian University, but closed down at the end of 2019.
I hadn't thought about Alexander Campbell being autistic, but I would not be that surprised if he had been. But he was also an Ulster Scot (often called "Scots-Irish" in this country). That's part of my heritage, too. My father was from Clermont County, Ohio. It's just east of Cincinnati; now it is turning into suburbs of Cincy, but historically it is considered the western edge of Appalachia in Ohio. I've done family research on Ancestry.com, and while "Hawkins" is an English name, the Hawkins men in Clermont County did marry Scots-Irish women. And my mother, whose maiden name was Burns, was born in 1920 at a coal mining camp near Hazard, KY; so I have Scots-Irish blood on both sides.
We have much in common. Likewise I graduated college in 1972. From Harding University, a Church of Christ school. The Church of Christ back in those days was almost a separtist sect. "We" had "The Truth" and everyone else was wrong. Fortunately that has for the most part changed. I considered following in my Dad's footsteps and becoming a minister. But, because of some of my undergraduate evangelism experiences, I learned it was not for me. So I went into science and technology. Sorry to learn that CCU has closed. I know that I've met online or heard of other graduates from there but at the moment I cannot remember their names. According to both 23 and Me and Ancestry, my ancestors originated mostly from the UK and am a hopeless mixture of everything from those places. Am looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Frank, I don't charge for subscriptions. (Some do) As far as I know, anyone can access my Substack. So you can forward the email for a post to someone, or you can give them this link--https://autisticredneckphilhawkins.substack.com/
Thank you for a thoughtful, interesting and fact-filled post. While I don't think I quite qualify as having Aspergers, it is relevant to my life. I do have related loved ones who are and others who are nerdish like myself and come close. My religious heritage is the Churches of Christ, a Sourthern denomination on the rationalistic end of the Fundagelical spectrum, at least when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Have wondered if we had a higher mix of Autistic and Asperger's thought leaders in our historical development.
We have the Restoration Movement in common, then. I grew up in the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in the Cincinnati, OH area--sort of the middle group between the Acapella Churches of Christ and the liberal Disciples of Christ. They did use pianos and organs, but avoided liberal theology. I graduated from the old Cincinnati Bible College in 1972 with a degree in Christian Education. They later changed their name to Cincinnati Christian University, but closed down at the end of 2019.
I hadn't thought about Alexander Campbell being autistic, but I would not be that surprised if he had been. But he was also an Ulster Scot (often called "Scots-Irish" in this country). That's part of my heritage, too. My father was from Clermont County, Ohio. It's just east of Cincinnati; now it is turning into suburbs of Cincy, but historically it is considered the western edge of Appalachia in Ohio. I've done family research on Ancestry.com, and while "Hawkins" is an English name, the Hawkins men in Clermont County did marry Scots-Irish women. And my mother, whose maiden name was Burns, was born in 1920 at a coal mining camp near Hazard, KY; so I have Scots-Irish blood on both sides.
We have much in common. Likewise I graduated college in 1972. From Harding University, a Church of Christ school. The Church of Christ back in those days was almost a separtist sect. "We" had "The Truth" and everyone else was wrong. Fortunately that has for the most part changed. I considered following in my Dad's footsteps and becoming a minister. But, because of some of my undergraduate evangelism experiences, I learned it was not for me. So I went into science and technology. Sorry to learn that CCU has closed. I know that I've met online or heard of other graduates from there but at the moment I cannot remember their names. According to both 23 and Me and Ancestry, my ancestors originated mostly from the UK and am a hopeless mixture of everything from those places. Am looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Phil, I really appreciate your writing. Is there anything I can do to help by sharing it with others?
Frank, I don't charge for subscriptions. (Some do) As far as I know, anyone can access my Substack. So you can forward the email for a post to someone, or you can give them this link--https://autisticredneckphilhawkins.substack.com/
I have two great nephews, same parents, who are autistic. I want to understand more and you are helpful.
I like that you point to the difference between correlation and causality.