Cinema Paradiso is my favorite movie. “Six-year-old Salvatore, whose nickname is Toto, discovers his love for films early and spends every free moment at the local moviehouse — Cinema Paradiso, where he develops a friendship with the fatherly projectionist, Alfredo, who takes a shine to the young boy and often lets him watch movies in the projection booth.”
Adventism is my Cinema Paradiso. When I visit, I step back into my youth and feel like I have an opportunity to make peace with my past messes.
When I was an Adventist, I never wanted to grow up to be an Adventist. I always knew I was leaving for the wider world, but there were a lot of people in Adventism who loved me intensely. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’m a sponge for attention. I’m a big sucker.
Two types of Adventists used to show me love. Those who loved my dad and those who hated him. Those who loved my dad loved me. That’s obvious. Those who hated my dad treated me great because they wanted to demonstrate to themselves how good they were.
Either way, I got love and attention, and there’s nothing I love better.
Well, maybe it is pretty girls, but there were a ton of them in Adventism. Little and cute and pure. They hadn’t been out and about pulling trains in urban areas.
When I visited Loma Linda September 5 to see my dad speak, I was introduced to Sigve K. Tonstad by his fellow Loma Linda University Religion faculty member Julius Nam.
Today I got in the mail the new book by Dr. Tonstad, The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day.
