Critics of Ellen White contrast certain of her statements which appear to contradict
either herself or the Bible. Some of these "contradictions" are merely distortions
of her words by the critics; others may be accounted for by the fact that the
statement in question is only part of an idea more fully developed elsewhere
in her writings. For a helpful review of such misrepresentations, see "A Closer Look at: 'Ellen White Contradicts
the Bible Over 50 Times.'" But to attempt to prove that all the alleged
"errors" in Ellen White's writings are not actually errors, is unprofitable
for at least two reasons.
First, a person who looks for contradictions and errors in inspired
writings will always be ready to supply new difficulties to replace those that
have been removed. This has been demonstrated for centuries by those who take
delight in looking for "mistakes" in the Bible.
Speaking of such, Ellen White wrote, "All the difficulties will not
cause trouble to one soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not
manufacture difficulties from the plainest revealed truth" (Selected
Messages, book 1, p. 16).
Second, Seventh-day Adventists (including Ellen White herself) do not
claim that either she or other inspired persons were infallible, either in
their writing or living. Alleged discrepancies and factual errors are only
fatal to views of inspiration that demand perfection in human language and in
the human instrument presenting the divine message. Such views run counter to
what is observed in Scripture--the standard by which we are to judge our
conceptions of how God speaks.
In evaluating so-called errors, one needs to consider whether the
perceived "error" is central to the divine message, or inconsequential. Even
when it is central, we need to allow for the possibility that the Holy Spirit
may "correct" the prophet in a future communication. See 2 Samuel 7:1-17 for an
example. If, in their prophetic teachings--those messages presented as
revelation from the Lord--Ellen White or any other claimant were to be found
contradicting the teaching of the Word of God, then such claims would fail the
Biblical test "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
For further study, see
"Realize That
Prophets Are Not Verbally Inspired, Nor Are They Infallible or Inerrant."
See also "Infallibility:
Does the True Prophet Ever Err?"