unknown influence

On Saturday my dad said something to me, which might not seem like a compliment to an outsider, but I think it was one of the most weirdly affirming things my dad has ever said to me.  He said something to the effect of:

I turned our sweet little care group [what their church calls small groups] into an angry mob- which I think is thanks to your influence- as I questioned their biblical basis for commonly held Christian political positions.

The issue he raised is the fallacy in choosing select passages of Scripture to affirm "undeniable views that God has clearly stated."  Why?  Because while we hold certain literal understandings of Scripture, we quickly dismiss others as being irrelevant or not transferrable to our current context.  This has been a "soapbox" I have stood on for years.  I won't go into it examples of problems with this now, because I probably would end up just going on and on.  But I think this is a HUGE issue in what has become a cultural American Christianity for a long time, and especially in light of the elections coming up (I can't believe I just referenced politics), we need to honestly probe into the integrity of and assumed Scriptural backing of traditional Christian political stances.

But back to the statement my dad made, and why it was so powerful to me.  I told my mom yesterday that he had said it, and she said 3 things that summed up the power of my dad's comment.  1) She said she didn't know whether to be genuinely scared/concerned that people were so angry, or to be really excited that my dad was saying this, because in the past, he would have been in the "angry mob," not the one stirring the pot (is that how the saying goes/did I use it right?!).  2) She said that she could just picture the many nearly identical conversations my dad and I have had, and how my dad was essentially quoting things I have said to him in the past that had made him really upset.  3) She pointed out that me dad probably agreed with most of the positions everyone else had, but he was questioning the reasoning behind them.  (This is why I am passionate about arguments/debates/'passionate disagreement conversations'- I love to play the "devil's advocate" role in order that we all might move towards Truth.  I don't think I'm usually trying to convince people of a certain perspective, I just want to challenge and be challenged in what we believe and speak and live out.)

I guess if you don't know me, this post seems really stupid.  And I have no idea what the point is.  I just thought it was really cool that my dad did this- and that he credited me- because it shows that he has listened to me more than I ever thought he did.  And now maybe we can start having some more arguments/debates/'passionate disagreement conversations' again!