It seemed such a simple question. Sometimes, you would be asked to justify your motives as a polite way of turning the spotlight on you. After all, if you were trying to get your victims to re-assess their purpose in life by asking them awkward questions, it was only fair that you too should receive the same treatment. An evangelist under scrutiny is far easier to reject than one who provokes dangerous self-examination.

It wasn't the difficulty of the answer that made me pause, to reflct; it was the complexity of the sheer range of possible answers I could give. To declare that this was the case would not really help th discussion though. You don't ask a question like that if you're not already aware that there could be a multitude of possible answers. What you're more interested in is the specific best answer. What is it that matters most to this individual, that motivates them to come round asking questions about faith?

It is easy to dismiss an obviously deluded crank or someone who has unquestioningly swallowed a line they have been given. It is also easy to play on the emotions of someone has been manipulated through guilt. My response didn't fit into any of those nice, neat boxes that can easily be dealt with.

"Because I want to." Short, sweet and to the point. But it struck at the heart of a hedonism that boldly asserted the freedom for all people to pursue whatever they found pleasure in. If I enjoy, and find fulfilment in challenging the spiritual status quo of my community, then that is my inalienable right.