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How to answer critics of Ellen G. White

Shrewsbury

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How do you answer critics such as Hank Hanegraaf who wrote:

I came across this statement by accident, and I know there are a lot of SDA detractors, but I am unsure how I should answer if someone says to me something along the lines of what Hanegraaf has said above. Thanks in advance!
 

EastCoastRemnant

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Well, even though Adventism has placed upon her the title of prophetess, she never said that about herself, she was a messenger. It could be argued that other prophets didn't speak of themselves as such either.

Refuting what detractors say is an exaperating game as they do not want to know the truth and nothing you will be able to say to them will be enough. You've seen it on this forum on the issue of the Sabbath. Either you believe the Spirit has brought you to an understanding and in faith that is where you stand, or you are constantly looking for 'proof'.

There is an explanation for sister White saying what she did in regards to being alive when Jesus was to return and I'll explain it later, unless someone else does before me.
 
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Joe67

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ECR,

What she said is the same as what Paul said concerning the return of our Lord.

1 Thess 4:15-18
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. KJV

We need the vision to be comforted. The Lord gives us to believe through the simplicity of a childish foolishness.

Joe
 
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OntheDL

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One advice if I can give you is that you do not have to dwell in controversy. Continue to study the bible to to form a strong foundation before you can take on fiery darts of Satan. There will never be a lack of critics. But they are just that...critics.

To answer the 2 questions...

1. If Ellen White was inspired by God, then God, not Ellen White is the authority. The purpose the prophecy is not to glorify the prophet (which of the prophets God sent to Israel was not rejected and persecuted?). The purpose of the prophecy is to vindicate God: so when it came to pass, ye shall know I am YHWH Elohim.

2. The bible was written for the generation that reads it. Every person has the exact same life time of preparation to meet the Lord upon His advent. So the Lord's return is always in the present tense. It was the case with the disciples. They all expected to see Jesus coming. Furthermore, Ellen White expected to be among the living when Christ returns and she made predictions that some in 1856 will be alive when Jesus returns. That was a conditional prophecy.

There are conditional prophecies in the bible. For example, the story in 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah was sick. Isaiah went to tell him he would die. But Hezekiah cried and prayed. So the Lord said fine. The Lord told Isaiah to go back and tell him 15 years were added to his life. So was Isaiah a false prophet?

The Lord could was ready to give the church His spirit in 1888 during the righteousness by faith message. But the church was not looking for it. So I think she was referring to that.

Here is a link from White Estate that deals with some of the criticisms.

Ellen G. White® Estate: Issues & Answers Regarding Inspiration, Life and Work of Ellen G. White®
 
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OntheDL

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Here is a quote from Ellen White.

“Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble. Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.”—3 Testimonies, 255.

The definition of faith is substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.

There are plenty of doubts and detractors even with the bible. But yet you believed.
 
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Stewartnz

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Shrewsbury, I find myself wondering what Mr. Hanegraaf is actually referring to in his second charge. The references he gives to Early Writings, pages 58, 64, 67, do not seem to contain things relative to the point he is making. Those pages speak about the shortness of time, just as the New Testament writers speak about the shortness of time.
 
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Cribstyl

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I've "chimed in often" on issues about Sabbath (creation instituted).
I dont remember anyone presenting any quotes from EGWhite, nor have I referenced her either. All I hear is passionate individual commentary.
I often raise the issue about EVIDENCE because SDA members say more about creation activities and "the law" than is written by referencing Gen1-2:3.

Fact is, if SDA members would say....."She said"(EGW),"He said" (God), that would settle plenty of issues for me and others.


It's my pray that we all work out our faith by constantly dining on the word of God. We're not all mature as some other are.

Does EGW settle every Christian doctrine?
 
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Stryder06

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Hank in my opinion, is solid on some things and way of on others i.e Adventism. My advise is to avoid critics. Focus on the Author, not the messenger.

It is my firm opinion that people try to discard what Sr White wrote because of the conviction it brings and because of the change in lifestyle it would demand. In other words, if I say she's right then I have to do XYZ, and I don't wanna. The sad part is that she is only proclaiming what scripture already says. This isn't an exact quote, but I recall Sr White saying something along the lines of her writtings only being needed because people don't go to the bible the way they ought to.

And if you've ever read Sr Whits writings (not you Shrewsbury but you as in a general sense), you'll see that her writings do anything but appeal to the desires of human nature. Many people forget the time and context in which Ellen wrote many of her letters. As already stated, people will either believe it or they won't and there's really no sense in arguing it.
 
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Stewartnz

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Hello Crib. I think that perhaps you are hoping we would handle the Scriptures in a way that neither Jesus nor the apostles used it.

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures" (Acts 17:2).
 
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EastCoastRemnant

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My dad asked me the other day if any of EGW's prophecies ever came true. I couldn't think of any but I'm assuming there must be some..

There is a book out that covers this subject... the civil war was one. I'll get the name of the book for you.
 
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Stryder06

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Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but Ellen never actually prophesied that anything particular was going to happen. Rather in her dreams and vision she revealed what she saw, and usually they weren't specifically named events with dates or anything along that line.
 
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OntheDL

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Ellen White made a few predictions.

On the Civil war.

“Men are making light of the secession ordinance that has been passed by South Carolina [Dec. 20, 1860]. They have little idea of the trouble that is coming on our land. No one in this house has even dreamed of the trouble that is coming. I have just been shown in vision that a number of States are going to join South Carolina in this secession, and a terrible war will be the result. In the vision I saw large armies raised by both the North and the South. I was shown the battle raging...There are men in this house who will lose sons in that war." Bio., Vol 1, p463“I was shown that many do not realize the extent of the evil which has come upon us. They have flattered themselves that the national difficulties would soon be settled, and confusion and war end; but all will be convinced that there is more reality in the matter than was anticipated. Many looked for the North to strike a blow and end the controversy.” Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 264.


The San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906:

"Not long hence, these cities will suffer under the judgment of God. San Francisco and Oakland are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them in wrath." (Evangelism, 403-404). 1902.

"While at Loma Linda, California, April 16, 1906 [2 days before the earthquake], there passed before me a most wonderful representation. During a vision of the night, I stood on an eminence, from which I could see houses shaken like a reed in the wind. Buildings, great and small, were falling to the ground. Pleasure resorts, theaters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. Many lives were blotted out of existence, and the air was filled with the shrieks of the injured and the terrified." (Country Living, p. 8).

Are these statement she saw about 9-11?

"On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify the owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. . . .
The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: "They are perfectly safe." But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 12, 13.

"But I have no light in particular in regard to what is coming on New York, only that I know that one day the great buildings there will be thrown down by the turning and overturning of God's power. From the light given me, I know that destruction is in the world. One word from the Lord, one touch of his mighty power, and these massive structures will fall. Scenes will take place the fearfulness of which we cannot imagine."—Review and Herald, July 5, 1906, emphasis supplied.

"In the night I was, I thought, in a room but not in my own house. I was in a city, where I knew not, and I heard explosion after explosion. I rose up quickly in bed, and saw from my window large balls of fire. Jetting out were sparks, in the form of arrows, and buildings were being consumed, and in a very few minutes the entire block of buildings was falling and the screeching and mournful groans came distinctly to my ears. I cried out, in my raised position, to learn what was happening: Where am I? And where are our family circle? Then I awoke. But I could not tell where I was for I was in another place than home. I said, Oh Lord, where am I and what shall I do? It was a voice that spoke, "Be not afraid. Nothing shall harm you." {11MR 361.1}

The Review and Harold publishing house was printing secular materials. Ellen White warned that God will cleanse it by fire. 13 months later, the publishing house was burnt to the ground.

“I have been almost afraid to open the Review, fearing to see that God has cleansed the publishing house by fire. . . . Unless there is a reformation, calamity will overtake the publishing house, and the world will know the reason." Testimonies vol. 8, pp. 91, 96.

She wrote in 1885 about the ecumenical union of Protestants and Catholics and the US Constitution and republican form of government repudiated. We see these came/coming true.

“When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Great Controversy, p445.

She also wrote many personal letters that were later published pointing out secrets of those she addressed to. For example she wrote to man who was also a mason. She wrote to him and warned him about serving two masters.

And her writings on health and education were ahead of her time are still proving true today. For example, she wrote the tobacco is a poison (Counsels on Health, p84). Physicians as late as 1960s were still prescribed asthma patients with tobacco.

And some physicians today advocated diet instead of medicine to cure diseases after more than 100 years Ellen White wrote volumes on health and diet.

When Dr. Walter Martin an 'cult expert' in the evangelicals was rewriting the book 'the Kingdom of Cults', he confirmed the prophetic gift of Ellen White.
 
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OntheDL

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Guess I was wrong. Don't know why I ddin't consider those as predictions.



Cliff, a former member here who is from Australia told me when Ellen White went there, the people were looking for a site to set up the Adventist schools. They couldn't find a piece of property with source of water because the dryness of the land. Ellen White told them about this place on top of a hill. They dug deep, found water and made a well from it. God really blessed them. From there, it flourished and became the Avondale college.
 
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Stryder06

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God is amazing. It's things like that that continually reaffirm my faith in this church.
 
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