One of the concepts that has been hammered into our brains lately is to be careful with our assumptions. This is very important in learning the language and culture of a people group, since you could just assume you know what is going on, while the real reasons behind it remain elusive because you didn't bother asking more questions. In the same way, it is dangerous to assume too much about the level of understanding a person has, even when they claim Christianity. The first thing that struck me weird was when he mentioned something about agreeing with the 7th Day Adventists on some stuff. As I investigated further, he said he didn't understand why they changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. I proceeded to ask him if he ate pork. He sounded confused. "Yeah, I eat pork." I was attempting to raise some issues to cause him to question his beliefs a little. It is sad to me that so many people, even some well-meaning Christians, bring people into bondage under law. Usually they either don't read the whole law or they apply it without consistency, trying to make a distinction between the 10 commandments and the rest of the law. Granted, the law has its use if we "use it lawfully". Parts of the law have a moral aspect and serve to reveal sin, but do nothing to remedy it.
Another assumption I made was that someone like him probably believes in certain basic doctrines of the Bible. Later on in our conversation, something else surfaced. He didn't believe that Hell is a place of eternal torment. After I brought up the passage about it being cast into the Lake of Fire, he seemed a little less sure of his position. He showed some eagerness to learn more about God and the Bible, so I promised him a book to help him understand it better.
It is impossible to live as humans without any assumptions, but I am learning that it is important in relationships to find out from the source if my assumptions are correct.