"The Credibility of Ellen White"


I came across the 'Editorial Reflections' by Samuele Bacchiocchi, on the "The Credibility of Ellen White" and the piece itself and found it interesting as some say Bacchiocchi is out to question Ellen White and her credibility...

"...UPDATE ON THE RELEASE OF PROF. BRADFORD'S BOOK MORE THAN A PROPHET AND OF HIS CD/DVD ALBUMS

On Thursday, July 6, 2006, Prof. Graeme Bradford's new book More than a Prophet came off the press. On the same day also the editing of Bradford's live video lecture on Ellen White was completed. The two hours video lecture was recorded at Avondale College. With the help of 75 slides, he discusses in an open and objective way the major issues related to the prophetic ministry of Ellen White.

..It is evident that the question of the authority and use of Ellen White's writings, is a hot issue in the Adventist church today. Several pastors have called me to share the challenge they are facing in dealing with two different groups of members in their churches: those who are very critical of Ellen White, and those who strongly believe in the verbal inspiration of all her writings. They hope that 'More than a Prophet' will help both groups to come to a more balanced understanding of Ellen White's prophetic gift.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION TO "THE CREDIBILITY OF ELLEN WHITE"

This newsletter offers you a foretaste of Prof. Graeme Bradford's book More than a Prophet. I have decided to introduce you to this timely book, by posting chapters 11 and 12, which I have packaged together under the title "The Credibility of Ellen White." In the first chapter Bradford mentions 10 reasons why people closely associated with Ellen White during her 70-year ministry, firmly believed in her prophetic gift, though they were well aware of several weaknesses in her life.

You will enjoy especially the testimony of H. M. S. Richard who had tremendous confidence in the ministry of Ellen White because as a young man he heard her preach three years before she died. I was moved to read about the impact of Ellen White's prayer on himself and the 5000 people attending the meeting.

Elder Richard was fully aware of the discussion about the literary dependency of Ellen White, discussed even at the 1919 Bible Conference, but his confidence on her prophetic gift remained unperturbed, because he was fully aware of that prophets are human.

The second chapter contains significant insights into the literary dependency of Ellen White. First, Bradford shows that borrowing from other sources was a common practice in the nineteenth century. Second, Ellen White used historical sources, not to approve or correct them, but to teach the way of salvation. Third, she never claimed to be an authority on history or theology. She asked for help both in gathering the information and in correcting any inaccuracies.

Fourth, the problem of historical inaccuracies in The Great Controversy, is partly due to her use of Uriah Smith's Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation. Unfortunately, Uriah Smith was a very poor historian and she followed his lead. Lastly, Bradford shows that it is imperative to understand that the stated purpose of Ellen White's writings is not to be the final word on history, prophecy, science, or theology, but to illustrate spiritual lessons. When we understand and accept the stated purpose of her writings, then we should find no problem in accepting her prophetic gift-a gift designed to bring encouragement, reproof, and spiritual instruction to the church.

I trust that this preview of the essay has wetted your appetite for a thoughtful reading of this timely study. It is my plan to post other important chapters in future issues of our newsletter.

"The Credibility of Ellen White"
Graeme Bradford, D. Min.,
Retired Professor of Theology
Avondale College, Australia

ELLEN WHITE'S GIFT OF PROPHECY

More than 150 years ago a 17-year-old girl began to give messages to early Adventist believers and said they were from God. Often these messages were not what they wanted to hear. Often they ran contrary to their plans. At times they pointed out weaknesses in the lives of many of the leaders and gave them advice contrary to their own inclinations. But they believed her.

Why Early Adventists Believed in Ellen White's Prophetic Ministry?

Throughout her 70-year ministry, those who were closest to her were firm believers in the fact that God had given her the gift of prophecy. Why was this? There are several reasons.

1. 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 "Great Disappointment" 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 God's 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.114
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 Christ and the Trinity.

Awareness of Weaknesses in Ellen White's Life

They still believed in Ellen White, even though they were also aware of weaknesses in her life. And they could have listed them as well:
1. She did have some problems in her marriage. There were times when she and her husband workedapart.116
2. She had problems with her children. She tended to favour Willie as the "good boy." 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.117
4. She could be forgetful.118
5. She may not have always been as open about her use of other sources as she could have been.119
6. She struggled to give up eating flesh foods and live up to the health counsel she had given to others.120

However, as they applied the biblical tests for a prophet, they saw that she matched the biblical expectation in that she uplifted Jesus and called for obedience to God and His word. (It is also helpful to remember that all of us would like to be judged by the general tenor of our lives and not from a few lapses).

They found that she was in harmony with the major doctrines of the Bible such as Creation, salvation, law and the deity of Christ. And, in hindsight, you can add that she had a view of inspiration that is biblically correct even though it was not the prevailing view of her contemporaries. Her material on the subject was not printed until volume one of Selected Messages appeared in 1958, with more of her material on the topic appearing in volume three in 1980.

A large number of Adventists are still oblivious to her views found in these volumes. Why her views on inspiration have not been widely known until recent times will be dealt with when considering the 1919 Bible Conference and its aftermath.

The Testimony of H. M. S. Richards

H. M. S. Richards had tremendous confidence in the prophetic gift of Ellen White because as a young man he heard her preach just three years before she died. About 5000 people were present, most of them non-Adventists. Here is how he described it: "Willie 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 on 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.

"When she had spoken about 45 minutes her son came out and said, 'I think you are getting tired mother. You have talked long enough. I think you had better sit down.' 'No not yet I haven't prayed yet.' 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 God's 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 congregation."121

That experience 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 expectation of what to expect from a person manifesting the gift of prophecy. In his biography of Richards, Robert Edwards comments on Richard's attitudes and understanding of the work of Ellen White: "Although the writings and the character of Ellen White powerfully influenced him, he also had common sense enough to know that she was a fallible human being, that she made mistakes.

"When the furore over the accusations that she had plagiarized from other authors shook many in the church some years ago, Richards remained unperturbed. 'They haven't discovered anything new,' he said 'All those charges are old. I heard them all 40 years ago. They were all discussed at the 1919 Bible Conference.' H. M. S Richards accepted her for what she was and what she herself claimed to be. It protected him from the disappointments some men and women experienced who held an unreal view of what a prophet and prophecy should be."122

Walter Martin was once interviewed about his concepts of Ellen White. He was critical of her work, on a basis she did not meet up with his private expectations. Toward the end of the interview he said, "I have been pressed and pressed by people to get me to say Ellen White is a false prophet. . . . Mrs. White in my opinion, madefalse statements. She misused what she claimed was the prophetic gift she had. I believe this, in certain instances. But if you're going to try and say that makes Ellen White the same as the false prophets prohibited in Exodus and Deuteronomy, then you have to demonstrate, that Ellen White was an unbeliever and that it was a deliberate and willful perversion of truth regarding salvation and revelation. That's a very fine line. . . . Of course, technically, I would have to say that the person who prophesies in the name of God and turns out to be wrong, has prophesied falsely. You have to say that. But they want me to go further than that. They want me to make Mrs. White a biblical false prophet which means that she is not a Christian. I cannot endorse that."124

Martin, although critical in many respects, still accepted her as a believer in Jesus Christ and a true Christian.

Critics Ignore the Real Test of a True Prophet

There have been many critical of her work. It may also be that those who are most critical have not done their homework in the Scriptures to have a proper understanding of the biblical expectations of how a person functions under the gift of prophecy.

Remember, the real test is that the prophet calls people to holy living and obedience to God's word. The true prophet will uplift Jesus Christ as the sin bearer of the world and challenge people to trust in Him. Jesus said that "by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7: 15-23)...."excerpts with permission of Samuele Bacchiocchi.

http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_151.htm