A problem I frequently experience when in conversation with others is that I am often seen as the adversarial character. Part of this is because I use the label “atheist-christian,” which often leads others to immediately focus on only one part of the hyphenated label—when talking to a christian, I am labeled an atheist, whereas when talking to an atheist I am labeled as a Christian. All from a label that is meant to disrupt the ability to define me by any particular label.
This stance typically leads to any conversation becoming one of “attack-and-defend,” which is a rather unfruitful way of conversing. Granted, for quite some time I thought that this was the best way to go about conversations, seeing myself as the character that would draw others toward some middle grounds, but I’m quickly realizing the futility in this position, as well as understanding that the ends attained through this approach are quite different than those I wish to reach. Read More