ENDTIME
ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 172
ÒEllen
White and the Future of the Adventist ChurchÓ
Samuele
Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Retired
Professor of Theology and Church History,
Andrews
University
INDEX
OF TOPICS OF THIS NEWSLETTER
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How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe
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Good News on My Liver Cancer Recovery
*
How to Contact the Center for Cancer Care
¥
New DVD recording of Prof. Jon PaulienÕs lectures
on Revelation scheduled to be released by May 30, 2007.
¥ ÒEllen White and the Future of the Adventist
ChurchÓ
(The Essay of this
Newsletter)
¥ Announcements of
Services and Products
* Special offer on the book Immortality or Resurrection?
together with a special CD album.
* Special offer on all the 6
DVD/CD albums
with
Dr. BacchiochiÕs lectures and publications
* A New Townhome Community near the campus of
Andrews University
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Incredible New Offers on Hitachi Projectors
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GOOD NEWS
ON MY LIVER CANCER RECOVERY
In my previous newsletter I gave an extensive
report of the providential recovery from my colon cancer surgery and liver
cancer treatments. You may have seen the image of the PET/CAT scan taken on
April 24, 2007, showing how shows that the presence of cancer in my liver
has been reduced by almost 80% after three treatments. To see the impressive
color image of the PET/CAT scan, click on this link: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/colon/
Since
then I have had two more treatments to deal with the remaining 20% of cancer
cells in my liver. Next week, on
May 29, I will take another PET/CAT scan to see if the remaining 20% of cancer
cells have been eliminated.
One
thing is sure. I feel like a new man, with an unprecedented surge of energy and
a burning desire to praise God for restoring my health and for giving a new
lease on life. I see this as an
indication that God still has a
work for me to do. To this end I want to with to dedicate the rest of my life.
How to
Contact the Center for Cancer Care in Goshen, Indiana
To express my gratitude to God for
leading me to this unique Center for Cancer Care, in Goshen, Indiana, I decided
to forward the name, address, and phone number of any cancer patient contacting
me, directly to Vladimir Radivojevic, a Seventh-day Adventist who serves as
Assistant to the President. Vladimir has reassured me that he will go the
second mile to help any cancer patient I will forward him.
During
the past two weeks I received many appeals for help from cancer patients in
different parts of the world. I
have forwarded each message directly to Vladimir who is constantly confirming
to me that he is personally contacting each patient.
If
you or someone you know has cancer, feel free to forward to me their name,
address, and phone number. The
phone number is important, because it makes it possible for Vladimir to contact
the patient immeditely by phone.
What
is unique about this Center for Cancer Care, is that they have a dozen of
clinical studies on different forms of cancer. This means that they use
different procedures not available in most hospitals. I contacted various
Cancer Centers in Chicago, Dallas, Loma Linda, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids,
Detroit, but none of them conduct clinical trial on cancer. All what they have to offer is chemo
treatments. Chemo alone would hardly have eliminated most of my liver cancer
cells.
Feel free to contact me by email at sbacchiocchi@biblicalperspectives.com
or by phone at 269-471-2915. I
will forward immediately your message to Vladimir who will do his best to
put you in contact with one of the oncologists, able to help you.
UPCOMING
SEMINARS FOR THE MONTHS OF MAY AND JUNE
Gradually
I am rescheduling some of the invitations I had to cancel because of the colon
cancer surgery and liver treatments. Here is a list of the upcoming weekend
seminars for the months of May and June:
MAY
11-12: UPLAND INDONESIAN SDA CHURCH
Location:
The church is located close to Loma Linda, at 11100 Cedar Avenue, Bloomington,
CA 92316.
For
directions and information call Pastor Gary Strunk at 909-790-6042
MAY
25-26: MURRIETTA SPRINGS SDA CHURCH
Location:
The church is located half way between Los Angeles and San Diego at 32477
Starbuck Circle, Murrietta, CA 92562
For
directions and information call Pastor Lyndon Parsons at 951-313-1668.
JUNE 8-9:
TYLER (TEXAS) SDA CHURCH
Location:
2935 S. Southeast Loop 323, Tyler, Texas 75701.
For
directions and information call Pastor Elton DeMoraes at 903-258-5757
JUNE
15-16: LOS ANGELES: PASADENA SDA CHURCH
Location:
1280 E. Washington Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104.
For
directions and information call Pastor David Recalde at 323 258 2827.
JUNE
29-30: ENGLAND - CHELMSFORD SDA CHURCH
Location: 43
Roman Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2
OHA.
For
directions and information call Elder Cliff Hilton at 01376 334 848
JULY
6-7:ENGLAND - TOTTENHAM W GREEN SDA CHURCH
Location:
253-255 West Green Road, Tottenham, London N15 SED
For
directions and information call Elder Orville Baxter at 01992 621 599
NEW
RELEASE OF PROF. JON PAULIENÕS LIVE VIDEO RECORDING OF SIMPLY REVELATION
Prof.
Jon Paulien is one of the most respected Adventist scholars. Besides serving as
the chairman of the New Testament at Andrews University Theological Seminary,
he writes and lectures extensively in many parts of the world. He is rightly
regarded as a leading Adventist authority on the book of Revelation which he
has taught at the Seminary for the past 20 years.
The
constant demand for Prof. PaulienÕs CD albums with his publications and
articles, led me to discuss with
him the possibility of producing a live video recording of a mini Revelation
Seminar, which he chose to call Simply Revelation.
The
preparation of this video recording has taken several months. The Simply
Revelation seminar
consists of four one-hour live video lectures, which have just been recorded in
the studio of Andrews University. An impressive virtual studio provides the
background of the lectures. Each lecture is delivered with about 50 powerpoint
slides. I have spent long hours
looking for suitable pictures to illustrate the text of each slide in order to
enhance the visual effect of each lecture.
In
the first video lecture Prof. Paulien discusses the proper method to interpret Revelation. In the following three lectures he
focuses on the essential messages of Revelation and their relevance for today. This mini Revelation
seminar will offer you and your congregation fresh insights into the Book of
Revelation.
Listening
to the four one-hour lectures during the taping was an enlightening experience
for me. I was spellbound by his profound insights into the meaning of the
imagery of Revelation. He speaks freely without notes, out of the abundant
knowledge derived from 20 years of painstaking research. For me it is
refreshing to listen to a scholar like Prof. Paulien who knows what he is
talking about.
The
video editing of Simply Revelation is almost completed. This means that by the end of this month, May 2007, we expect to ship the new DVD album of Simply
Revelation. The album has two DVD disks, each
containing two live, video lectures illustrated with powerpoint slides.
You
will be pleased to know that we are placing on a separate file all the
powerpoint slides used for the live video presentation. Each slide has the
script of the live lecture. This
means that if you are a pastor or a lay members who want to use PaulienÕs
Seminar Simply Revelation, you can pick and choose the powerpoint slides that you like.
The
file with the powerpoint slides is placed on PaulienÕs CD album containing all
his publications. The reason is
that there was no memory left on the DVD disks. In spite of my pleas, Paulien used the full 60 minutes for
each lecture, leaving no space for the slidesÕ file.
This
has been an expensive project, both in time and money. The regular price of the DVD album is
$100.00, but you can order it now until May 31, at the pre-release price for
only $50.00. The price includes
the airmailing expenses to any overseas destination.
If
you have not ordered before the CD Album with Prof. PaulienÕs publications, we
will be glad to add it to your DVD order for only $20.00, instead of the
regular price of $60.00. This means that you can order both the DVD album with
Prof. PailienÕs four live video lectures on Revelation and the CD album with
all his publications and powerpoint slides of Simply Revelation, for only $70.00, instead of the regular
price of $160.00.
PRE-RELEASE
OFFER OF PROF. PAULIEN DVD ALBUM
¥
ONE DVD Album of Prof.
PaulienÕs four video lectures on Simply Revelation at the pre-release price of
$50.00, instead of $100.00. The price includes the airmailing expenses to any overseas destination.
¥
TWO DVD Albums of Prof.
PaulienÕs four video lectures on Simply Revelation at the pre-release price of
$70.00, instead of $200.00. The price includes the airmailing expenses to any overseas destination.
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ONE DVD Album of Simply Revelation and ONE CD Album with Prof. PaulienÕs publications for only $70.00, instead
of the regular price of $160.00. The price includes the airmailing expenses to any overseas destination.
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ÒEllen
White and the Future of the Adventist ChurchÓ
Samuele
Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Retired
Professor of Theology and Church History,
Andrews
University
The inspiration for this essay comes from
the newly released edition of Prof. Graeme BradfordÕs book More than a
Prophet (May 17,
2007). The first printing of this
timely book came off the press on July 6, 2006, and sold out in a few months.
About twenty Conferences donated the book
to their workers. Several colleges have adopted the book for their classes.
Many churches ordered the book for their members by the case of 30 copies for
only $5.00 per copy, instead of the regular price of $25.00. The same offer is
being extended on the new edition. See the details at the end of this essay.
In
planning for the reprint of More than a Prophet, we decided to improve this timely book
in two ways. First, by correcting the spelling mistakes and improving the
sentence construction. For this
task I wish to express my gratitude to three persons who helped me greatly in
the editing process. Kenneth H. Wood, former editor of Adventist Review and chairman of the Board of the White
Estate. He marked in his copy the misspelled words and underlined those
statements that needed some attention.
Prof.
Jarrod Williamson, Ph. D., spent countless hours not only correcting misspelled
words, but also offering valuable suggestions for improving the sentence
construction. Karl Wagner offered me the corrected PDF version of More than
a Prophet that has been
posted online at the website sdanet.org/atissues. To enter all the proposed
corrections has been for me a time consuming project. I wish to express my wholehearted gratitude to the three
gracious brethren for their editorial help.
The
second improvement is the three Appendixes that have been added. You will find
very enlightening to read, for example,
the Appendix A written by Robert W. Olson, Former Director of the White
Estate. The title of the Appendix
is ÒThe Question of Inerrancy in Inspired Writings.Ó In a clear and concise way Olson lists some of the
inaccuracies found both in the Bible and in Ellen WhiteÕs writings. Then he
proposes how to deal with these problems in a constructive way.
Why
Have I Invested My Time and Money in Publishing More than a Prophet?
The answer is simple. This study has
helped me greatly to gain a balanced understanding of the prophetic ministry of
Ellen White. I first read the manuscript More than a Prophet about 7 years ago. It was recommended to
me by respected Seminary Professors. The study cleared my mind of numerous
misconceptions.
Favorable
evaluations by church leaders and scholars gave me reasons to believe that the
manuscript would be published speedily, especially given the urgent need to
restore confidence in the validity of the gift of prophecy manifested in the
writings, preaching, and teachings of Ellen White.
Unfortunately,
the manuscript was never published. Apparently the perception of some church
leaders is that the manuscript may unsettle those Adventists who still believe
that Ellen White received her messages like faxes from heaven (verbal
inspiration). Eventually the
manuscript was repackaged in an abbreviated and simpler version that was
published in two booklets Prophets Are Human and People Are Human: Look at What
they Did to Ellen White! These
two booklets were published by Signs Publishing Company in 2004 and 2006 respectively. They are
written in a fiction-style, with a couple asking questions about Ellen White,
and a pastor giving answers which are biblical and faith affirming.
Surprisingly
the White Estate attempted without success to stop the circulation of these two
booklets, because of their perception that they may weaken the confidence of
those Adventists who still believe in the verbal inspiration of Ellen White.
Such a view runs contrary to the very teachings of Ellen White who explains in Selected
Messages vol 1, pages
15-21, that ÒThe Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not GodÕs mode of
thought and expression. It is that
of humanity. God as a writer is
not represented. . . . .
ÒIt
is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were
inspired. Inspiration acts not on the manÕs words or his expressions but on the
man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with
thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mindÓ (MP 171). It is unfortunate that these clear statements from
Ellen White did not become generally available until Selected Messages was printed in 1958.
The
two booklets are now available in ABCs in Australia, New Zealand and North
America. Pacific Press distributes them in North America. While two booklets
have a popular appeal and will serve a useful purpose, my experience has been
that an increasing number of Adventists prefer to put their teeth into a
substantive study that examines questions in an objective and deeper way. This conviction motivated me to ask
Prof. Bradford permission to publish the unabridged manuscript, as part of the Biblical
Perspectives series. He
enthusiastically accepted my proposal.
Words
fail to express my appreciation to Prof. Bradford for allowing Biblical
Perspectives (my
publishing venture) to publish More than a Prophet. This book has been long overdue and is
helping greatly in restoring confidence in the prophetic gift of Ellen
White. Some former Adventist
members and pastors who left the church because they found mistakes in Ellen
WhiteÕs writings, told me that they would still be in the church if this book
had been available to them. Others are considering returning to our Adventist
Church.
Who
Is Prof. Graeme Bradford?
Dr. Graeme Bradford has served the
Seventh-day Adventist church with distinction as a pastor, evangelist and
professor in the theology department of Avondale College. He has conducted
seminars in many parts of the world, helping thousands to better understand and
experience biblical truths. At the time of the writing of this newsletter, he
is in the USA to lecture in several churches, in addition to meeting with the Religion
Faculty of Loma Linda University and the workers of the Southern California
Conference.
To
respond to the many attacks against Ellen White, Prof. Graeme Bradford spent
twenty years of his life examining and digesting the writing of Ellen White in
the light of the manifestation of the gift of prophecy in biblical prophets. By
examining the human side of Bible prophets as revealed in scripture, Bradford
shows that the problems they encountered, were not much different from the
criticism brought against Ellen White.
More
than a Prophet has been
long overdue and will do much to restore confidence in the validity of the gift
of prophecy manifested in the writings, preaching, and teachings of Ellen
White—a woman who has left such a rich legacy not only for the
Seventh-day Adventist Church but for the world at large. This book will help
you greatly to gain a balanced picture of Ellen White—a woman who
received divine revelations that shaped the message and mission of the
Adventist Church, but also a woman who had human limitations.
To
make it possible for many Adventists to benefit from this timely book, I am
offering by the case of 30 copies for only $5.00 per copy, instead of the
regular price of $25.00. The
details to order the book are given at the end of this newsletter or you may
wish to click at this link:
The
Objective of this Essay
This essay looks at the pivotal role of
Ellen White in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For the sake of
clarity and brevity, this survey is divided in three parts, according to the
significant characteristic of the
influence of Ellen White during three major periods of Adventist
history.
1)
1844 to 1915: Ellen WhiteÕs Role in the Consolidation of the Adventist Message and Mission
2)
1915 to 1970: The Glorification of Ellen White
3)
1970 to our Times: Reversion, Rejection, and Re-evaluation
The ultimate goal of this essay is to
show how Ellen White can continue to shape the future of the Adventist church through an
honest use of her writings and respect for her prophetic authority.
This
essay is largely extracted from Prof. BradfordÕs book More than a Prophet. In fact the page references are from the
new edition of his book. The references are abbreviated as MP, which stands for More than A Prophet.
My initial intent was to
post a chapter from the book, as I have already done for newsletters no. 151,
152, and 155. The problem that I encountered is that none of the 27 chapters
offer a survey of the past, present, and future role of Ellen White in the
Adventist church. Each chapter deals with specific issues related to Ellen
White. The information is very enlightening, but I thought our readers would
benefit from an overview of the role of Ellen White in the past, present, and
future history of our Adventist church.
What
I am offering in this essay is not my original research, but mainly the
highlights of Prof. BradfordÕs painstaking investigation published in More
than a Prophet. I have
also benefited from other studies, especially the books and articles by Arthur
Patrick, Ph. D., a historian who has served for many years as Director of the
White Estate Research Center at Avondale College. He has also lectured at Andrews University, La Sierra University,
and Avondale College.
1844
to 1915: THE ROLE OF ELLEN WHITE IN THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE ADVENTIST MESSAGE AND MISSION
Ellen Gould Harmon White was born in a
Maine farmhouse on November 26, 1827 and died in her California home
(Elmshaven) on July 16, 1915. She lived longer than other co-founders and did
influence most the shaping of the Adventist movement. During the 70 years of her prophetic ministry from 1844 to
the time of her death in 1915, she guided the Adventist church in the development
of its message and mission.
Between
1844 and 1863 she helped Adventist Sabbathkeepers to keep their Advent Hope
alive and hold together as a movement. Between 1863 to 1888 she expanded the
message and mission of the church, by including health, education, publishing
work, and a global mission. Between 1888 and her death in 1915, she turned the
attention of the Adventist church toward Christ, protecting the church from the
dangers of legalism and pantheism.
Ellen
WhiteÕs counsel on publishing, church organization, health, education, global
mission, and theological issues such as salvation and the Trinity, helped to
shape the message and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church. She
envisioned educational, medical, and publishing institutions that would express
the Adventist values and help communicate our message to the world. Without her
stabilizing prophetic influence, the Adventist church could hardly have become
a world-wide movement of over 15 million members.
Why
Adventists Accepted Her Prophetic Ministry?
Considering
the fact that Ellen White was a diminutive woman, a mere five-feet-two inches
tall with third grade formal education, one wonders how thousand of people, especially those
who were closest to her, accepted
her prophetic ministry. Prof. Bradford suggests 10 reasons:
Ò1. They
saw that she was a true Christian.
2. They felt the power of
her ministry in uplifting Jesus Christ, and in her calls for obedience to God
and His Word.
3. When they were
discouraged after the ÒGreat DisappointmentÓ of 1844 she was the one who kept
their advent hopes alive.
4. In 1 Corinthians 14:
22-25, Paul declares that the presence of prophecy among GodÕs people is a sign
to believers. It confirms the presence of God is with them. She was indeed able
to reveal the secrets of the human heart. There could be no doubt that she had
revelations in order to come by this knowledge. Over many years she sent out
personal testimonies to individuals. Only a handful ever claimed they were
irrelevant.
5. She gave them a sense of
purpose and direction, a belief that God was still with them.
6. She expanded their
concepts of mission to the world.
7. She gave them a sense of
breadth and depth of mission to include health, education and welfare.
8. They witnessed her save
the church from theological disaster at the hands of Kellogg, Waggoner and the
Holy Flesh Movement.
9. When her counsel was
followed, individuals usually prospered. When they failed to follow her
counsel, things did not always prosper. Her messages and predictions were
timely and practical.115
10. She saved the Church from Arianism by highlighting the true
divinity of ChristÓ (MP 89).
Ellen White had her own weaknesses, which were known especially to
those who were close to her. Prof. Bradford lists a sampling of six of them:
Ò1. She had some problems in her marriage. There were times when she and
her husband worked apart.
2. She had problems
with her children. She tended to favour Willie as the Ôgood boy.Õ James Edson,
the only other of her four sons who survived to adulthood, turned away from the
faith, but she won him back and he became a missionary to former slaves in the
south of the United States.
3. She often became
despondent over the criticism she faced. She could even doubt her own
experience in Christ.
4. She could be
forgetful.
5. She may not have
always been as open about her use of other sources as she could have been.
6. She struggled to
give up eating flesh foods and live up to the health counsel she had given to
othersÓ (MP 90).
These weaknesses did
not undermine the confidence in her prophetic ministry, because she met the
biblical test of a prophet, by uplifting Jesus and calling for obedience to the
major doctrines of the Bible such as Creation, salvation, the deity of Christ,
and His commandments. More important still, people could sense the spiritual
impact of her preaching and writings.
The Experience of H. M. S. Richards
A
fitting example is the experience of H. M. S. Richards. He had tremendous confidence in the
prophetic gift of Ellen White because as a young man he heard her preach to
about 5000 people just three years before she died. This is how he describes
this experience: ÒWillie White led
her out to the table where she was to speak. Just a little old lady in a black
silk dress, with a little cap on her head. But, oh, when she started to preach
there came one Bible text after another—at least 100 of them quoted right
off just like that. She had no notes. She had her Bible but she never had to
look at it but she would just keep turning the pages and quoting the texts. Her
voice was like a silver bell as it carried out over that great audience. It
started to rain; but above its din on the iron roof, you could hear that silver
voice ringing out clearly through it all.
ÒWhen she had spoken about 45 minutes her
son came out and said, ÔI think you are getting tired mother. You have talked
long enough. I think you had better sit down.Õ ÔNo not yet I havenÕt prayed
yet.Õ Then she began to pray and when she did something happened. Before that
she was just a dear old lady, talking. But when she knelt down a great change
came over the whole congregation. She was GodÕs prophet then and God honored
her. Within 30 seconds we were all in the presence of God. I was afraid to look
up lest I should see God standing there by her side. Within minutes you could
hear sobs around the congregationÓ(MP 91).
Prof.
Bradford notes that this Òexperience stayed with Richards the rest of his life.
Later, when troubles over her writings erupted he never lost his confidence in
her ministry. He always had a true biblical perspective of what to expect from
a person manifesting the gift of prophecyÓ (MP 91).
During
her lifetime, Ellen White was the most powerful single influence in the Adventist
church. She blazed the trail that enabled Adventist pioneers to journey
successfully through very difficult terrain. She led Adventism from a Great
Disappointment to a Great Certainty.
1915
to 1970: THE GLORIFICATION OF ELLEN WHITE
The
death of an influential church leader is usually of great significance. When
Pope John Paul II died, many shouted at his funeral ÒSanto Subito,Ó that is,
making him a saint rightaway. In
the case of Ellen White the ÒglorificationÓ process began soon after her death,
partly as a reaction to a meeting known as ÒThe Bible and History Teachers
Council,Ó which took place immediately after the 1919
Bible Conference.
The
Council was attended by 22 prominent church leaders such as A. G. Daniells,
president of the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference; G. B. Thompson,
field secretary of the General Conference; F. M. Wilcox, editor of the Review and Herald, later Adventist Review; W. W. Prescott, former editor of Review
and Herald and then a
field secretary of the General Conference; H. C. Lacey, religion teacher at the
Foreign Mission Seminary. Several other prominent church leaders were also
present.
Ellen
White Sought the Help of Respected Church Leaders
The
verbatim report of the Council help us to see how Ellen WhiteÕs life and
writings were perceived through the eyes of people who worked closely with her.
An important question that was discussed at the Council was the need to explain
to the church at large the help that Ellen White received in preparing her publications,
the nature of her inspiration, and the legitimate use of her writings. Unknown
to most Adventists even today, is the fact that Ellen White did seek the help
of respected church leaders such as E. G. Daniells, W. W. Prescott, Uriah Smith, and J. N. Andrews, when writing
on chronology and history
An example is a letter written to W.
W. Prescott from Ellen WhiteÕs Secretary, Clarence C. Crisler. ÒIn this letter
he appeals to Prescott to come to give some help to Ellen White in the work of
Ezra (which must have been for writing the book Prophets and Kings). In this letter he makes a list of
the problem areas they need help and then says at the end, ÔI am sure that
Sister White would be specially pleased and cheered, if she could know that you
were coming soon to help us over hard places.ÕÓ (MP 103).
Even
in Ellen WhiteÕs day, not everyone knew about the assistence she received in
writing her books. The result was that many Adventists believed her writings
were verbally inspired and should be used as the final authority on any subject
she wrote about. Some of the brethren who helped Ellen White in gathering
information for her books, protested against this prevailing misconception and
illegitimate use of her writings.
In
a letter written on the year Ellen White died, W. W. Prescott, the leading
Adventist educator of the time, who helped Ellen White in gathering information
for some of her books, wrote to Willie White these startling words: ÒIt seems to me that a large
responsibility rests upon those of us who
know that there are serious errors in our authorized books [Ellen WhiteÕs
books] and yet make no special effort to correct them. The people and our
average ministers trust us to furnish them with reliable statements, and they
use them as sufficient authority in their sermons, but we let them go on year
after year asserting things we know to be untrue. . . .
ÒThe way your motherÕs writings have
been handled and the false impression concerning them, which is still fostered
among the people have brought great perplexity and trial to me. It seems to me
that what amounts to deception, though probably not intentional, has been
practiced in making some of her books, and that no serious effort has been made
to disabuse the minds of the people of what was known to be their wrong view
concerning her writings. But it is no use to go into these matters. I have
talked to you for years about them, but it brings no change. I think however
that we are drifting toward a crisis which will come sooner or later and
perhaps sooner. A very strong reaction has already set in.Ó (MP 104; emphasis supplied). The warning
of the last statement found fulfillment especially in the post-1970 period,
when many Adventists left the church, claiming to have been deceived about Ellen
White.
The 1919 Bible Conference
After-Meeting
PrescottÕs
concern was discussed at The Bible and History Teachers Council, that convened immediately after the
1919 Bible Conference. It is surprising to read some of the statements of
respected church leaders and scholars. A transcription of their conversations
has survived and was discovered on December 6, 1974, Òwhen Donald Yost, the
senior archivist at the General Conference headquarters in Washington, D.C. was
setting up the newly formed archives. He accidently discovered two packets of
papers containing some 2400 pages of typewritten stenographic notes taken at
the July 19, 1919 Bible Conference held in Takoma Park, MarylandÓ (MP 152). The impact of this discovery will be discussed shortly.
Reading
the records of the discussions on the Spirit of Prophecy that took place on
July 30 and August 1, 1919, I am impressed by the open and frank discussion of
three major sensitive issues we still face today: (1) How to deal with the
historical inaccuracies found in EGWÕs writings; (2) Should theological or
exegetical differences be resolved by appealing to EGWÕs writings? (3) Should
the laity be informed about the production and inaccuracies found in EGWÕs
writings?
The
discussions suggest that most Adventists believed in the verbal inspiration of
Ellen WhiteÕs writings. Church
leaders feared that anything less than an inerrant view of Ellen WhiteÕs
writings, would bring protests. Thus, they chose to withold from church members
the truth about Ellen WhiteÕs writings. For example, J. N. Anderson asks the
question, ÒIs it well to let our people in general to go on holding to the
verbal inspiration of the Testimonies? When we do that, arenÕt we preparing for a crisis that
will be very serious some day?Ó (MP 104-105).
Similar
views were expressed by other church leaders attending the Council. For
example, A. G. Daniells, who had worked closely with Ellen White for over 30
years, first in Australia and then in America and who was serving at that time
as President of the General Conference, said: ÒWell, now, as I understand it,
Sister White never claimed to be an authority on history, and never claimed to
be a dogmatic teacher on theology, like Mrs EddyÕs book on teaching. She never
claimed to be an authority on history... she was ready to correct in revision
such statements as she thought should be corrected. I have never gone to her
writings, and taken the history that I found in her writings, as the positive
statement of history regarding the fulfillment of prophecy.Ó (MP 153; Emphasis supplied).
Spiritual Value of Ellen WhiteÕs
Writings
H.
C. Lacey, a Religion Teacher at the Foreign Mission Seminary that later became
Columbia Union College, expanded on A. G. DaniellsÕ comments, saying: ÒIn our
estimate of the spirit of prophecy, isnÕt its value to us more in the spiritual
light it throws into our own hearts and lives than in the intellectual accuracy
in historical and theological matters? Ought we not take those writings as the
voice of the Spirit to our hearts, instead of the voice of the teacher to our
heads? And isnÕt the final proof of the spirit of prophecy its spiritual value
rather that its historical accuracy?Ó (MP 153).
W.
C. Wirth, a Religion Teacher at Pacific Union College, proposed publishing a
statement designed to refute the misconception of the verbal inspiration of
Ellen White. He said: ÒI shall
certainly be discredited if I go back and give this view. I would like to see
some published statement given out by those who lead this work, so that if that
thing should come up, there would be some authority back of it, because I am in
for a lot of trouble on that thing. I would like to see something done, because
that education is going right on, and our students are being sent out with the
idea that the Testimonies are verbally inspired, and woe be to the man out where I am
that does not line up to that. . . .Ó (MP
153).
G.
B. Thompson, Field Secretary of the General Conference, admitted that ÒÒIf we had always taught the truth on
this question, we would not have any trouble or shock in the denomination now.
But the shock is because we have not taught the truth, and have put the Testimonies
on a plane where
she says they do not stand. We have claimed more for them than she didÓ (MP 154).
Statements such as these reveal that the process of glorification of Ellen White had set in. Most Adentists believed that Ellen White was verbally inspired and consequently inerrant in all what she wrote. To counteract this prevailling misconception, our church leaders and Bible teachers present at the Council, strongly felt that it was imperative to inform church members regarding the production and inspiration of Ellen WhiteÕs writings. With almost