Interpreting
Ellen G. White’s Earth History Comments
Faith
and Science Conference II, Glacier View, Colorado
August
13-21, 2003
Presented
By Cindy Tutsch, Associate Director Ellen G. White Estate
THE
BIBLICAL VIEW OF A PROPHET’S ROLE
[Return
to the Homepage] | [Return
to the Issues and Answers page] | [Top of Page] | [Menu]
The
Seventh-day Adventist church authenticates its claim that Ellen White has
received the prophetic office on the basis of several biblical “tests,” from
which we will draw three. 1. Isaiah 8:20 Ellen White does not contradict
the testimony of the prophets who went before her, that is, the biblical prophets.
She speaks “according to the law and to the testimony”. Through speech, writings,
and example she held up Scripture, never swerving in her submission to the
Word of God. 2. I John 4:1-3. Ellen White bears unequivocal witness to
the Divine-human nature of Jesus Christ. 3. Matthew 7:15-20. Ellen White
devoted her life to pointing persons to Jesus, simultaneously engaging in
efforts to combat systemic injustice and continually ministering to the poor
and marginalized.
Ellen
White was instrumental in the establishment of many educational and publishing
enterprises. She oversaw the expansion of the church's healing ministry through
the development of Western sanitariums, known today as primary acute-care
hospitals. Ellen White also initiated the establishment of the Loma Linda
Sanitarium, now Loma Linda University. Her prolific pen (over 100,000 manuscript
pages) included counsel, admonition and wisdom on topics as wide ranging as
salvation, health, leadership, careers, relationships, parenting, social justice,
and education. Though she described historical events, particularly those
events impacting the great controversy, she is not considered to be either
a historian or a scientist.
Paul's
doctrine of “spiritual gifts” provides compelling evidence in favor of prophetic
activity after New Testament times. Prophecy, including the divine gift of
supernatural revelations and visions[1]
is included in all of Paul's lists of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians
4; I Corinthians 12; Romans 12). There is no inference that one gift would
cease, while all the rest would continue.
From
its inception, the Seventh-day Adventist church has always maintained that
Ellen White was inspired in the same manner and to the same degree as Biblical
prophets. Though her writings are not “another Bible,” the difference is
in function and scope, not in authority.[2]
Although Ellen White herself considered the Bible to be the test of faith
and practice,[3]
she believed her messages were from God “for the comfort of His people and
to correct those who err from Bible truth.”[4]
She rejected the “smorgasbord” approach to her writings, stating “There is
no half-way work in the matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God
or of the Devil.”[5]
Nor did she make a distinction between the inspired and the less inspired
testimonies, the authoritative commentary and the non- authoritative.[6]
Prophets
are an agency through which God chooses to reveal Himself to humanity. His
communications to prophetic messengers often occur through visions.[7]
Like biblical prophets, Ellen White experienced physical phenomena while
in vision. Eyewitnesses, including several physicians, reported that she
did not breathe while in vision, even while speaking.[8]
Though this phenomena is not as crucial as other tests of her authenticity,
it does preclude restricting her ministry to that of mere pastoral or devotional
benefit. A “good person” would not receive manifestations from evil spirits.
Therefore, either the resurrected Lord Jesus did actually give messages to
His people through Ellen White, as she claimed,[9]
or she is a false prophet, a liar, and not worthy of even devotional credibility.
“The
Biblical writers were absolutely certain that the infinite God can and does
communicate with finite human beings. They never argued that human language
was any kind of barrier to direct communication from or with God. In fact,
with great frequency God is referred to as the actual Person speaking through
the prophet.
“For
example, Elijah’s words in 1 Kings 21:19 are referred to in 2 Kings 9:25-26
as the oracle that ‘the Lord uttered. . . against him’ (RSV). Elijah is not
even mentioned in the 2 Kings passage. The message of a prophet was always
considered equivalent to direct speech from God. In fact, this identification
of a prophet’s words with God’s words is so strong in the Old Testament that
often we read of God’s speaking “through” a prophet, and disobeying a prophet’s
word was tantamount to disobeying God.”[10]
Virtually
every book of the New Testament (with the exception of Philemon) mentions
doctrinal error while advocating for purity of the faith, unity of the church,
and the exclusion of false doctrine.[11]
It appears, then, that an important function of a messenger of the Lord is
to assist the church, engaged in Bible study and debate, in identifying and
expunging error from its corporate teachings.[12]
In
1855, a study committee at Battle Creek reported “To say that [the testimonies
of Ellen White] are of God, and yet we will not be tested by them, is to say
that God’s will is not a test or rule for Christians.”[13]
Though Ellen White’s voice was a unifying factor through Adventism’s gigantic
crises of pantheism, righteousness by faith, and church organization, perhaps
there has never been a time in the history of our church when the need for
a message from the Creator has been more urgent than today. Amid syncretists
and multi-faceted pressures to pledge allegiance to theological/scientific
pluralism, Ellen White's voice can still be heard, calling this movement to
a unity based on the enduring principles of the Word of God.[14]
WHITE’S
IMAGO DEI AND EARTH HISTORY
[Return
to the Homepage] | [Return
to the Issues and Answers page] | [Top of Page] | [Menu]
The
theme of Ellen White’s educational model is imago Dei, restoration in humanity
of the holistic image of God.[15]
The challenge to the accomplishment of that anthropological center of purpose
is found in her larger framework: the conflict between Christ and Satan.
Central to this framework is the authority of Scripture, which declares (1)
Christ as Creator of all, (2) the Sabbath as the culminating commemoration
of the six literal day Creation event, (3) the complete restoration of Eden
in the second dominion, including unveiled God/humanity communication, absence
of death and predation, and (4) the continuance of 7th day Sabbath
memorials to God’s creation initiative. In White’s great controversy framework,
Satan continues with increasing intensity his diabolical efforts to thwart
those purposes.
Because
this model is central to all of Ellen G. White’s writings, it is impossible
to remove one segment of the structure without seriously compromising the
integrity of all her writings. Ellen G. White’s theological authority hinges
on maintaining the framework of her primary purpose. Even as Skinner’s philosophy
crumbles with the removal of behaviorism and Descartes’ theories capsize without
the paradigm of doubt, Ellen White cannot be correct in her salvific doctrines
if she does not correctly define the nature of the Creator and the Creation
account. As Christ is either the incarnate God, as He claimed, or He is a
liar, Ellen White cannot be merely a pious writer of platitudes on education
and devotional life. Her entire ministry hangs or falls on the acceptance
or rejection of her central model.
Ellen
White’s biblically predicated great controversy model, then, is authoritative
in determining the continuing veracity of such pivotal doctrines as salvation,
the Sabbath, the mystery of death, the parousia, and the sanctuary. Thus,
questions of the origins and primary purpose of the Sabbath (whether, for
instance, a memorial of a six-day literal creation or a memorial of deliverance
from Egypt) become more significant in terms of Ellen G. White’s authority
than do discussions of areas of less significance, such as two earth creations,
precise earth age, or the source of volcanoes. However, with paradigms in
geology and radio-metric dating in continual flux and change, time and discovery
may even bring vindication to some of these controverted concepts.
ELLEN
WHITE ON ORTHODOXY, PLURALISM, AND LIBERATION FROM SOCIETAL MANDATES AND SCIENTIFIC
TRENDS IMPACTING BIBLICAL TEACHINGS ON EARTH HISTORY
[Return
to the Homepage] | [Return
to the Issues and Answers page] | [Top of Page] | [Menu]
Although
Ellen White uses the phrase “unity in diversity,”[16]
and stated “Instructors in our schools should never be bound about by being
told that they are to teach only what has been taught hitherto,”[17]
she maintained that the landmarks and pillars of Adventist truth were to
remain. Concepts that impact the science of geology which she “was shown”
to be identified as permanent include six literal, empirical, historical
24-hour days of creation, culminating with a literal 24-hour Sabbath day of
rest, and human life on earth non-existent before the literal creation week
described in Genesis.[18]
Recognizing that all truth in a fallen world is vulnerable to distortion,
Ellen White continually repeated her clarion call to elevate Scripture over
humanity’s ideas of science.[19]
True science, in her view, must always be brought to the test of the unerring
standard of Scripture.[20]
Ellen
White was aware of ideas similar to the uniformitarianism of James Hutton.
She was also aware of the scholarly scorn leveled against the notion of a
recent historical creation week, similar to the scorn offered by Schleiermacher’s
caricature in 1829 that only “gloomy creatures” believe in ancient literalism.
In this milieu of Genesis reconstruction with its converging concept of “deep
time,” she could state both, “The work of creation cannot be explained by
science,”[21]
and “True science and the Bible religion are in perfect harmony.”[22]
Not
only did Ellen White reject popular scientific notions of her day relating
to geology, she recognized that higher criticism could undermine the Genesis
account of Creation by proposing hierarchical concepts of polygenesis, thus
providing a religious rationale for the preservation of racial hierarchy.[23]
In an era where notions regarding the biological, social, and civilizational
inferiority of the Negro were commonly accepted as scientific,[24]
Ellen White challenged science by such statements as “The Black man’s name
is written in the book of life beside the White man’s. All are one in Christ.
Birth, station, nationality, or color cannot elevate or degrade men.”[25]
Thus,
like Christ, Ellen White demonstrated both inclusiveness in her ministry and
a Spirit-driven ability to filter through conflicting claims to define truth.
Her unique voice contrasts with the increasing solidarity in biblical reconstruction
and revisionism of her time and ours.
“Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets,
and you shall prosper.”[26]
These are encouraging words for the Adventist discussion of earth history
and the meaning of Ellen White’s statements on the subject to which we now
turn.
INTERPRETING
WHITE’S EARTH HISTORY STATEMENTS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE GENESIS
FLOOD
[Return
to the Homepage] | [Return
to the Issues and Answers page] | [Top of Page] | [Menu]
We
now examine a brief case study of how we today might best interpret Ellen
White’s comments on earth history, focusing primarily on the Genesis flood.
We need, first of all, to review the source of her information regarding earth
history. In at least three places regarding earth history we find White making
the following claims: “I was then carried back to the creation and was shown
that the first week, in which God performed the work of creation in six days
and rested on the seventh day, was just like every other week.”[27]
Regarding the size of pre-flood animals she writes: “I was shown that very
large, powerful animals existed before the flood, which do not now exist.”[28]
Finally, concerning geology White says: “I have been shown that, without Bible
history, geology can prove nothing.”[29]
Thus, her information on the history of the creation and flood came, according
to her claims, from divine visions regarding these historical events.
The
above statements by Ellen White help to explain her strong conviction, evident
in the following quotation, regarding the authority and reliability of God’s
Word concerning earth history: “There should be a settled belief in the divine
authority of God’s Holy Word . . . Moses wrote under the guidance of the
Spirit of God, and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries
that cannot be reconciled with his statements.”[30]
This
statement also shows that the relationship between field evidence and the
biblical account of the flood is a crucial issue. Commenting upon this point
White writes, “relics found in the earth do give evidence of conditions differing
in many respects from the present, but the time when these conditions existed
can be learned only from the Inspired Record.”[31]
Here White indicates that the implications which human research draw from
field data can extend only so far and no further. In other words, the implications
that a Christian geologist may draw from field data need to be informed and
guided by biblical claims, i.e., by a worldview constructed by the Bible.
This is an example of what today we would call a rejection of methodological
naturalism in favor of creationist catastrophism. An example of Ellen G.
White’s implied application of the latter model or worldview of catastrophism
is that on one hand the relics or the fossils, which White describes as “men,
animals, and trees many times larger than now exist,”[32]
correctly establish that different conditions existed in the past than exist
now. So far so good on the interpretation of field data and the biblical
claims. On the other hand, according to Ellen White, if we were to claim
that these same fossils show that life forms existed millions of years ago,
we would be drawing an unwarranted implication from the field data.[33]
Why would this be so? According to White, the answer lies in a statement-of-faith
claim that “[i]n the history of the Flood, inspiration has explained that
which geology alone could never fathom.”[34]
Explaining
some implications of the historical event of the flood, White notes that during
the Flood humans, animals, and trees were “buried, and thus preserved as an
evidence to later generations that the antediluvians perished by a flood.
God designed that the discovery of these things should establish faith in
inspired history; but . . . the things which God gave them [i.e., to us humans]
as a benefit, they turn into a curse by making a wrong use of them.”[35]
These words are encouraging regarding the relation of paleontology and the
biblical record as intended by God. In other words, according to Ellen White,
Deity encourages the search for and study of fossils, and actually intends
that their discovery should help to ground personal belief in the historical
reliability of the Genesis account of the creation and the Flood. This forcefully
illustrates that White believed that the accounts of Genesis 1-11 are divinely
intended to be interpreted historically, and not only theologically. Thus,
according to Ellen White, the only true biblical understanding of the creation
and the flood accounts is to interpret them as referring to empirical, historical
events which are of interest to the natural sciences.
These
quotations show us how Ellen White would have us interpret her statements
on the Flood today. It seems that she would have us take her flood comments
by faith as divinely given insights into the true historical nature of what
happened during the Genesis flood. These insights can help to formulate
sound, scientifically responsible field research projects. Thus, her statements
not only serve us devotionally, they are also profitable in supporting the
only truly biblical interpretation of the creation and the flood.[36]
Viewed
in the light of her statements on time and the flood presented above, we can
safely say that were Ellen White alive today, she would hold to a recent historical
creation week and a global flood even in the face of challenges presented
by radiometric dating and paleontological research. She would encourage
us to persevere in faith in the historical reliability of Genesis 1-11, and
to pursue research informed accordingly.
In
conclusion, we note that while Ellen G. White’s comments concerning earth
history may produce a crisis today, (as Christ’s comments demanded hearing
and discernment in His time) that crisis can result in healthy discussion
that ultimately strengthens the church body by promoting Christ as Creator,
Lord of the creation-commemorating Sabbath, and King of Eden restored.