First some background: I came to faith when I was a child but became more dedicated when I was older. I read scholarly books and try to learn as much as I can. This is very serious business for me. One blessing (out of many) that I have is that my immediate family are all Christians.
And yet, explaining anything is a struggle (whether Christian or non-Christian). This is what seems (perhaps) to happen with the other party:
1) complete misunderstanding
2) focusing on one, usually irrelevant, word to the exclusion of all other words
3) nitpicking terminology
4) completely bypassing the conversation for something else
5) thinking they know the topic already
6) not understanding the relevance
7) getting defensive/upset/angry
8) derailing the conservation
I think the problem is that I'm the youngest person in my family and I take a scholarly approach. So it sounds to them, I guess, like I am belittling or demeaning their faith. Like a child trying to correct their parent. The fact of the matter is that it does seem like I am more mature in my understanding of Christianity then they are. So I have a responsibility to accurately convey my information to them but I just keep messing up. Is it my understanding? My social skills? My conversational skills? Something else I haven't thought of?
So what do you do when you're the mature Christian among the Christians in your circle but you seem to lack social/conversational skills?
And yet, explaining anything is a struggle (whether Christian or non-Christian). This is what seems (perhaps) to happen with the other party:
1) complete misunderstanding
2) focusing on one, usually irrelevant, word to the exclusion of all other words
3) nitpicking terminology
4) completely bypassing the conversation for something else
5) thinking they know the topic already
6) not understanding the relevance
7) getting defensive/upset/angry
8) derailing the conservation
I think the problem is that I'm the youngest person in my family and I take a scholarly approach. So it sounds to them, I guess, like I am belittling or demeaning their faith. Like a child trying to correct their parent. The fact of the matter is that it does seem like I am more mature in my understanding of Christianity then they are. So I have a responsibility to accurately convey my information to them but I just keep messing up. Is it my understanding? My social skills? My conversational skills? Something else I haven't thought of?
So what do you do when you're the mature Christian among the Christians in your circle but you seem to lack social/conversational skills?
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