Going back to the OP, as someone who's on the autism spectrum (got the official diagnosis for ASD not too long ago actually, for future potential employment purposes), I think it's important to clarify a little what exactly is the problem with some people on the spectrum with regards to taking things very literally.
It's not about reading a passage in some ancient book and not being sure whether it's supposed to be taken literally or not (when a large portion of the world take this literally anyway). It's not about even being sure this passage is to be taken literally just because one is of the thinking that, unless context/evidence suggests otherwise, people should be taken at their word.
It's about hearing a phrase such as "raining cats and dogs" and despite the context of that phrase being clear it was meant to be taken metaphorically, the person with ASD may fail to grasp this and actually think the person saying the phrase is insane (because clearly there aren't cats and dogs falling from the sky).
It's about being told to pick up the rubbish and not worry about emptying the bins for the day, and taking that very literally to the point that even if there happened to be a bin that is full to the top and the rubbish in it is about to fall out, you ignore it because you were told not to worry about it anyway. It's about being told to pick up all the rubbish you see on the ground around you and then ending up not just picking up all the rubbish in the area you're designated to clean but also outside of that. This is from personal experience, lol.
So yes, OP, this is a struggle that some people on the spectrum may have, and some of them will improve on this over time as they intellectually make the effort to avoid instinctively taking things very literally. But not all people on the spectrum may have this kind of struggle. And many people on the spectrum are Christians and all about allegorical interpretations anyway (you can encounter some of them on one famous forum where Aspies meet actually). And many people who aren't on the spectrum take these passages in Genesis and elsewhere literally. So when it comes to the Bible, literal vs. non-literal isn't about autism or neurotypical.
I also want to note that having autism should not be seen as a curse, and in a lot of cases has been quite a strength for many when it comes to intellectual thinking. See Einstein or Newton for prime examples of famous thinkers who many (including experts) strongly suspect were on the spectrum based on their life histories.
It's not about reading a passage in some ancient book and not being sure whether it's supposed to be taken literally or not (when a large portion of the world take this literally anyway). It's not about even being sure this passage is to be taken literally just because one is of the thinking that, unless context/evidence suggests otherwise, people should be taken at their word.
It's about hearing a phrase such as "raining cats and dogs" and despite the context of that phrase being clear it was meant to be taken metaphorically, the person with ASD may fail to grasp this and actually think the person saying the phrase is insane (because clearly there aren't cats and dogs falling from the sky).
It's about being told to pick up the rubbish and not worry about emptying the bins for the day, and taking that very literally to the point that even if there happened to be a bin that is full to the top and the rubbish in it is about to fall out, you ignore it because you were told not to worry about it anyway. It's about being told to pick up all the rubbish you see on the ground around you and then ending up not just picking up all the rubbish in the area you're designated to clean but also outside of that. This is from personal experience, lol.
So yes, OP, this is a struggle that some people on the spectrum may have, and some of them will improve on this over time as they intellectually make the effort to avoid instinctively taking things very literally. But not all people on the spectrum may have this kind of struggle. And many people on the spectrum are Christians and all about allegorical interpretations anyway (you can encounter some of them on one famous forum where Aspies meet actually). And many people who aren't on the spectrum take these passages in Genesis and elsewhere literally. So when it comes to the Bible, literal vs. non-literal isn't about autism or neurotypical.
I also want to note that having autism should not be seen as a curse, and in a lot of cases has been quite a strength for many when it comes to intellectual thinking. See Einstein or Newton for prime examples of famous thinkers who many (including experts) strongly suspect were on the spectrum based on their life histories.
