People make mistakes. I don't know why you feel the need to keep emphasizing this mistake. Why can't you simply admit that even when it comes to sex in marriage, temperance is good, and simply agree that the manner that this issue was dealt with was impractical, and even extreme.
It seems to me that all you want to do is focus on what was extreme, while not showing any compassion towards a person who made a mistake in judgment.
When someone dictates the lifestyle of Millions, and states they are a profit then it is more than a mistake in judgment.
By the way, which is worse, telling people not to have marital sex excessively, or telling them to marry in order to suffice their need to have sex?
"I say therefore to the unmarried and the widows, It is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn." (1 Corinthians 7:8-9 MKJV)
This, like his other advice, is good advice to keep them from sin. If a person is not capable of single life, marriage is a better option.
Ellen White's advice goes against the prescription given to married people, which could lead them into temptation.
This counsel that Paul gave, was it given to him directly from God, or was it based on his own judgment?
Seeing as how to have sex outside of marriage is a violation of God's command, his advice is good. I assume it is from God, as he says the following:
1Co 7:40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Even in the instance when some say he is giving his own view in the chapter, what he is doing is to distinguish between his command to them and the command of Jesus when He was here:
1Co 7:10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband
1Co 7:12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
He is noting when he has a direct command from Jesus, such as that he referenced in Matt. 19, saying not to separate from one's husband.
You could try to maneuver around it all you want, but it is what it is. Paul encouraged people to remain as he was (unmarried), but encouraged those who had lack of self-control to marry in order to suffice their need for sex.
That's not to say Paul devalued the sanctity of marriage. I'm simply pointing out that a statement like this could lead a person to believe Paul had a wrong concept of why people should marry. I'm sure if you could sit down with him and ask him about this, he would have a lot more to say, to clear the matter up for anyone who might be confused about his saying.
I haven't met too many who were confused about his saying except for you.
If you don't think you can live the single life, consider getting married.
Ability to handle sexual urges is one of the criteria for making that life decision.
His advice is accurate.
The advice of Ellen White for wives to divert their husband's mind from sex is against Paul's advice and against the Bible.
Don't you think the same could be said about Ellen White? Could it be possible that you are not fully understanding what she said, and her reasons for saying it? Perhaps if she were alive today, she would be able to clarify things, and you might end up having an entirely different opinion about her. It could also be possible that she would have admitted that she made a mistake in adopting an extreme view on the matter.
I think it is unlikely I am misunderstanding it. We have her statements, we have the statements of another pioneer in the Adventist health movement, Kellog, we have the book put out by the Whites where her statements are put alongside other statements that give the same idea.
What she said is quite comprehensible. So much so that my members asked me about it when I was a pastor because they got the message just fine--don't have sex very often.
The only reason it is even the least confusing to some is that it does not agree with their own notions about what excess is.
They want to make Ellen White not to be out of line with the Bible so they figure she meant don't have sex more than 3-4 times per week.
But her own statements rule this out.
It seems to me that you are looking for perfection in a fallible human-being. And unless you find perfection, you will continue to emphasize that person's mistakes.
I'm not trying to be Ellen White's apologist here; I'm simply trying to be a peacemaker. I hope that you would come to see that at some point.
It seems I am testing Ellen's claim, and the claim of the Adventist church to be a prophet, and whether she lines up with the Bible.
This topic is one which is easier to look at because there is not as much material either in the Bible or in Ellen White as there are on larger topics such as the sanctuary etc. which are usually debated.
Most people at a glance can read her statements, read the Bible statements, and get the difference.