Interesting conversation with my Dad yesterday

[Rene]

First off, I know I haven't posted much, but I try to read some here every day. I have a toddler, and that limits my computer time to the times I can distract him for a few minutes elsewhere because he's fascinated with the computer.

Secondly, a little background - I grew up in the Church of Christ (big C, little c, doesn't matter), which as some of you know is fundy-ville. My entire family is CoC, although interestingly religion wasn't really a topic of conversation in our house growing up. I was brought up with the inerrantist view of the Bible.

My dad and I are so much alike that sometimes it's on the creepy side (in a good way, though - I love my dad). We think the same about so many things, but religion still rarely comes up. He and my mom still go 3 times a week to the same little country church I grew up in. Since I deconverted and now consider myself agnostic, I've often wondered how my dad views his own religion and if he ever entertained the questions and thoughts that ultimately drove me to reject my religious upbringing.

So yesterday we were chatting on IM, and the subject of Noah came up (my MIL (who isn't religious) had bought my son Baby Noah in the Baby Einstein series, which I wasn't thrilled about and had asked my parents to not buy previously). I went out on a limb and said that the story of Noah was more frightening to me as a child than anything. My dad asked "Why, because everybody drowned?" I said yes - that I don't see the story of Noah as a "awwww look at the cute widdle animals on the boat" story; I see it as meaning something much darker. My dad then said "The meaning of many OT stories isn't lost on me; however, I think too many people see them as literal history."

My jaw dropped. This is SOOOOOOO not in line with what is taught in the CoC.

I asked him "So you don't see the story as literal?" He said "No. I'm much more liberal in thinking than the others at church - actually, if it weren't for the fact that many of our best friends are there, I'd be somewhere else."

I jokingly called him a heretic and warned him not to say anything like that to my missionary younger sister, and then the conversation went elsewhere. But OMG I was so excited to have that short conversation with him. It makes me wonder what else he believes/doesn't believe.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I wanted to share this with you guys. It floored me to hear (see?) my dad say those things. Wow.

[Dingfod]

Wow! I would say I'm amazed that you didn't know that about your dad, but my dad was so secretive, it was hard to get anything out of him at all about his beliefs... or how he voted (By secret ballot, he would tell you) and still is. To this day, I still don't know what my 71 year old dad believes for sure. My mother, on the other hand, is an open book like me.

I never realized the CoC was fundamentalist until just recently. My Boy Scout troop met in the basement of a CoC, the minister was the Assistant Scoutmaster. He never made any kind of big deal out of religion with the exception of that once a year event, Boy Scout Sunday. We had all the raucous fun that every Boy Scout Troop does, telling dirty jokes, smoking grapevines, etc. Of course, my family was Southern Baptist at the time, so maybe the differences were so slight *mumble-mumble* years ago that it really made no difference. Maybe both have gotten more fundamentalist in the intervening time, because I don't think our church, with the exception of a few nosey old biddies, was all that conservative back then. But now... different story. My best friend from that era is now an :eek: Assembly of God conservative. Yoiks!

[livius drusus]

That's really fantastic, Rene. :) I know just what you mean when you say that you and your dad are so alike it's creepy but in a good way. My dad is politically conservative (although libertarian on social issues) so political issues between us are kind of like religious issues between you and your dad.

Congratulations on your new discovery and thank you for distracting your boy long enough to regale us with the story. :D

[viscousmemories]

Good story, Rene. When I was back home for Thanksgiving last week I found out two of my siblings and my Mom (all of whom I thought were fundamentalist YEC'er literalists) aren't. It seems I've been assuming for many years that everyone in my family still adheres to the beliefs touted by the religious organization I grew up in, when that isn't the case. I'm looking forward to finding out more about who believes what, now.