How did Ellen White know such specific details about the life of Christ?
26 August 2024 |
Dear Aunt Sevvy,
I’ve been reading The Desire of Ages. While it is inspirational, I’ve wondered how the author developed such specific details regarding the life of Christ when the biblical writers only gave broad outlines.
Such questions are interfering with my appreciation for the book and other books by the same author.
Signed, Eager Reader
Dear Reader,
Ellen White has been important to Adventists in many ways. But you put your finger on a problem: Ellen White added things not in the Bible. One scholar has described the Conflict of the Ages series as “religious fiction.”
Is it wrong to embroider and expand Bible stories? Not necessarily. Preachers and authors have always done it. But they don’t claim that they were told these details by special inspiration. Ellen White said her writings came directly from God via angels. Consequently, our church expects readers to adopt her interpretation over the Bible’s words.
Yet we can document that a significant portion of Ellen White’s commentary on Bible stories was copied, sometimes word for word, from other writers. If indeed she saw these things in vision, then the angels were plagiarists, too. We also know that she had secretaries who did most of the actual writing for her.
Does copying from other authors qualify as “inspired” writing? That’s something you’ll have to decide.
Aunty is happy to find new insights in The Desire of Ages and other books by Ellen White, but she takes them for what they are: the devotional writings of an Adventist pioneer, not an addition to the Bible.
Aunt Sevvy
Aunt Sevvy has collected her answers into a book! You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.
You can write to Aunt Sevvy at DearAuntSevvy@gmail.com. Your real identity will never be revealed.
