The Achilles’ Heel of Adventism

The Achilles’ Heel of Adventism

Should a Prophet Tell Me What to Think?

Denis FortinMelbourne and Perth, Australia, October 2005

Achilles’ Heel

The concept of authority has become one of the most controversial notions of modern times.

Just as much as authority in society is being challenged, the authority of Scripture is also challenged.

How about the authority of Ellen White and her writings?

What shall we do with Ellen White’s ministry through her writings?

Should we continue to give her writings the authority we have given them in the past?

Or should we limit her authority? In fact, does she have any authority?

Challenge to Ellen White’s authority

Her authority in areas of spiritual discernment and homiletical application of Scripture is not usually challenged.

The challenges to her authority are largely in the area of doctrinal authority.

What is authority?

Bernard Ramm defines authority as "that right or power to command action or compliance, or to determine belief or custom, expecting obedience from those under authority, and in turn giving responsible account for the claim to right or power." (The Pattern of Authority, p. 10)

Kinds of authority

Imperial authority

Delegated authority

Veracious authority (authority of truth)

Functional authority

Authority of custom

Authority in religion

Bernard Ramm comments, "When one turns to the question of authority in religion the basic problem immediately arises: is there anything in religion which demands that a man think a certain way about religion and not another? Is there a man, a society, a principle, or a document which has the right to prescribe religious belief?”

Authority in religion

"Nothing could be more foolish in religion than the rejection of an authority which contained the truth of the living God; and nothing could be more tragic than the substitution of the voice of man for the voice of God." (Pattern of Authority, p. 16)

Authority of God

God is the supreme and absolute authority in the universe.

His authority is intimately related to the revelation of himself.

He revealed himself to prophets. Prophets were his spokespersons in

spoken and written word.

Authority of Scripture

Word of God spoken and written by prophets has both veracious and delegated authority.

Thus, to disbelieve the prophetic utterance of the prophet is to disbelieve God.


2 Peter 1:19-21 : “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”


Ramm concludes, “The Bible is not the authority for the Christian because it was written by religious geniuses. Nor is it the Christian's authority because it has been pragmatically verified through the centuries, nor because it inspires great religious experience. The Bible is binding upon the Christian because it is part of the organism of divine revelation. It is authoritative because it shares in revelation. It is a divine revelation in written form in various literary genres. (Continued)


"The Bible is authoritative because it is the Word of God. . . . Through the Holy Spirit it possesses delegated imperial authority and veracious authority in all matters in which it intends to teach. All other reasons for giving the Bible the supreme role in religious authority are defective. The content of the Bible is given by the double action of special revelation and divine inspiration, and therefore it is for the Christian the revealed word of God." (Pattern of Authority, p. 38)

Authority of Ellen White’s writings

Seventh-day Adventists claim that Ellen White was inspired to the same extent as were Bible writers.

Yet, we view her prophetic ministry as similar to that of non-canonical prophets and that the Bible is our rule of faith and practice.

Ellen White Exalted the Bible

“In the Bible the will of God is revealed to His children. Wherever it is read, in the family circle, the school, or the church, all should give quiet and devout attention as if God were really present and speaking to them.” (5T 84)

A Proper Relationship

“Brother J would confuse the mind by seeking to make it appear that the light God has given through the Testimonies [i.e., Ellen White’s writings] is an addition to the word of God, but in this he presents the matter in a false light. God has seen fit in this manner to bring the minds of His people to His word, to give them a clearer understanding of it.” (4T 246)

Ellen White’s perception of her authority

“During the night season I was specially moved upon by the Spirit of God. My soul had been drawn out in earnest supplication to God. I was distressed on account of the backsliding of His people. While lying in bed, unable to sleep because of the burden resting upon me, I was pleading with the Lord. I fell asleep, and in the night season I was taught of God. (continued)


“My guide said, "I have a work for you to do. You must speak the words given you by the Lord. After these words have been spoken, your duty here is done. You are not required to enter into details before individuals, whatever may be their position or work, if they do not recognize the voice of God in the message He gives you to bear in His name. (continued)


“All your efforts to remove their doubts will be of no avail if they gather the clouds of darkness about their souls. If you enter into particulars, you weaken the message. It is not you speaking, but the Lord speaking through you. Those who want to know the will of God, who do not desire to follow their own will and judgment, will be easily entreated. They will be ready to discern the right way. (continued)


“The whys and wherefores are concealed from you; yet speak the words I give you, however painful it may be to you. The ways in which God leads His people are generally mysterious. You have asked to know God's way. Your supplication has been answered. God knows better than you do what is good and essential for His children. (continued)


“He never leads them otherwise than they would wish to be led, if they were able to see as clearly as He does what they must do to establish characters that will fit them for the heavenly courts. . . . You are to act your part, and then leave the rest to God. (continued)


“You will have startling, surprising messages to bear, but if those who hear cannot see the import of these messages, explanations from you will not lead them to understand any more clearly. They have ears, but they hear not. Satan takes control of their unsanctified reason, and leads them to misunderstand and misapply.” (Ms 29, 1900; in UL 339)

Ellen White’s writings

The Conflict of the Ages series: "Sister White is not the originator of

these books. They contain the instruction that during her lifework God has been giving her. They contain the precious, comforting light that God has graciously given His servant to be given to the world." (CM 125)


The periodical articles: "I do not write one article in the paper

expressing merely my own ideas. They are what God has opened before me in vision--the precious rays of light shining from the throne." (5T 67)


The Testimonies: "Those who carefully read the

testimonies as they have appeared from the early days, need not be perplexed as to their origin. The many books, written by the help of the Spirit of God, bear a living witness to the character of the testimonies." (Letter 225, 1906 in 1SM 49)


The unpublished letters (testimonies): "Weak and trembling, I arose at three o'clock

in the morning to write to you. God was speaking through clay. You may say that this communication was only a letter. Yes, it was a letter, but prompted by the Spirit of God, to bring before your minds things that had been shown me. In these letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me." (5T 67)

So what about her authority?

If we claim that Ellen White was inspired and that her writings bear the imprint of God than we must conclude that her writings are authoritative; that, although secondary to Scripture, they are an authoritative source of guidance, instruction, and correction for the church.

But what kind of guidance and instruction do they provide for the Adventist church?

So what about her authority?

Ellen White’s writings provide authoritative guidance in the following areas: Spiritual life and growth Pastoral life and activities Doctrinal insights Theological focus and context

Spiritual Guidance

Ellen White’s writings have provided our church with spiritual guidance.

She emphasized our need for a close walk with God, of regular Bible study, of witnessing for Christ, of living a genuinely committed Christian

life.

Pastoral Guidance

Ellen White’s ministry has provided pastoral guidance to the whole church.

Her writings have provided Guidance to church leaders and pastors Guidance for the establishment and

activities of church institutions Focus for the mission of the church

Doctrinal Insights

Beyond the spiritual and pastoral guidance and correction provided by the writings of Ellen G. White, her writings also provide doctrinal guidance valid applications of biblical teachings interconnectedness of biblical doctrines steering Adventists away from errors of

interpretation

Doctrinal Guidance

Ellen White showed doctrinal authority when the church was confronted with difficult doctrinal issues Centrality of Christ’s death on Calvary Kellogg’s teachings on pantheism Ballenger’s teachings on the sanctuary Importance of healthful living

Doctrinal Guidance

But in some other areas Ellen White refused to be the arbiter of biblical truth and asked people to study the Bible to find the answers Law in Galatians “Daily” of Daniel 8 Shut door of salvation

Theological Focus

Perhaps more crucial to Adventism is how Ellen White’s writings have provided the church with theological guidance, with interpretative themes and motifs for a proper understanding of God’s revelation.

Theological Focus

Major themes: Great controversy between good and evil Love of God for humanity Salvation in Jesus Primacy of Scripture Second coming of Christ Christian living and character development

Theological Guidance

Ellen White’s theological themes provide Adventism and Christianity with theological presuppositions and assumptions (like a pair of eye glasses) with which to study Scripture and understand its meaning for our lives today as we wait for Christ’s second coming.

But can she think theologically?

Thoughts on inspiration

Ellen White is often accused of plagiarism but in the following comparison one can see that she borrowed wording from another author, she did not borrow his thought.

Calvin E. Stowe: Origins and History of the Books of the Bible (1867), pp. 19-20.

Ellen G. White: Manuscript 24, 1886 (1SM 21)


Stowe -- It is not the words of the Bible that were inspired, it is not the thoughts of the Bible that were inspired; it is the men who wrote the Bible that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words, not on the man’s thoughts, but on the man himself; so that he, by his own spontaneity, under the impulse of the Holy Ghost, conceives certain thoughts and give utterance to them in certain words, both the words and the thoughts receiving the peculiar impress of the mind which conceived and uttered them, and being in fact just as really his own, as they could have been if there had been no inspiration at all in the case. . . . Inspiration generally is a purifying and an elevation, and an intensification of the human intellect subjectively, rather than an objective suggestion and communication; though suggestion and communication are not excluded. The Divine mind is, as it were, so diffused through the human, and the human mind is so interpenetrated with the Divine the utterances of the man are the word of God, that for the time being.

White – It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man's 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 mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.


Discussing the literary dependency of this example is difficult because although the words are the same, the theological thought is not. Had Ellen White simply copied Stowe’s words without thinking carefully through their ramifications, she might have adopted a theology of inspiration similar to that later developed by theologians such as Karl Barth or Emil Brunner.


Stowe advocated a theory of inspiration in which the subjective elements of the prophet are predominant and in which inspiration is an encounter between the divine and the human. There is no actual transmission of objective information between God and the prophet. Although much of Ellen White's wording is taken from Stowe, the two views are very different.


It seems obvious from this example that she knew of Stowe’s thoughts when she wrote her own. Yet she did not mindlessly copy from Stowe but carefully weighed the concepts and understood the differences she wished to emphasize in her own understanding of the process of inspiration. This leads me to believe that she was able to think theologically.

Ellen White and the future of Adventism

For the last 150 years, Ellen White’s ministry and writings have given spiritual, pastoral, doctrinal, and theological guidance to Adventism.

Ellen White and the future of Adventism

Who we are and what we do today is largely the result of her ministry and guidance.

Who we will be in the future depends to a large extent on what level of guidance and authority we will still allow her writings to provide.

The Achilles’ Heel of Adventism

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