She said it herself that we must learn the truth of the Bible first, yet we could not help ourselves in elevating Ellen White to the point that others could see we had made her the focus of our beliefs instead of the scriptures first and foremost. Adventist allowed the haters and enemies of God to stream into the wide breach of out of context quotations, lauding of praise and exaltation on the person rather than the truth given, and extremism in minor issues.
Take the case in point on Adventist who to this day see it a sin to have a bicycle, instead of seeing the context which was indulgence in a unneeded expesive extravegance for that time. Here is a excellent explanation:
In Testimonies for the Church, volume 8, pages 50-53, is recorded a portion of a letter addressed to the Battle Creek church in 1894. It was a letter of warning and reproof sent by Ellen White from Australia. One section of the letter deals with bicycles. Reproof was being sent because some of the members of the church had purchased bicycles. On the surface it seems rather strange that such a matter should be considered important enough for a prophet to deal with, and doubly odd when we notice that the things mentioned had been specifically revealed in vision. What was wrong with owning a bicycle? Does it mean that Seventh-day Adventists should never own bicycles? If not, why not?
The background is this: In 1894 the modern version of the bicycle was beginning to be manufactured, and there was a considerable fad to get the bicycles, not for the purpose of economical transportation, but simply to be in style, to parade about town, or to engage in bicycle races. Frank Tripp, in an article called, "When All the World Went Wheeling," written in 1951, describes the bicycle craze of the nineties in these words:
"Toward the end of the last century the American people were swept with a consuming passion which left them with little time or money for anything else.. What was this big new distraction? For an answer the merchants had only to look out the window and watch their erstwhile customers go whizzing by. America had discovered the bicycle, and everybody was making the most of the new freedom it brought.. The bicycle began as a rich man's toy. Society and celebrity went awheel..
"The best early bicycle cost $150, an investment comparable to the cost of an automobile today. Those were the days when $100 a month was an excellent wage, when a good suit cost S15 and meals were a quarter. Every member of the family wanted a 'wheel,' and entire family savings often were used up in supplying the demand."
In the light of this brief history, Ellen White's statements have real significance. "There seemed to be a bicycle craze. Money was spent to gratify an enthusiasm.. A bewitching influence seemed to be passing as a wave over our people there . to invest their time and money in gratifying supposed wants.. The example will be followed, and while hundreds are starving for bread, while famine and pestilence are seen and felt, . shall those who profess to love and serve God act as did the people in the days of Noah, following the imagination of their hearts?"-Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 51.
Take the case in point on Adventist who to this day see it a sin to have a bicycle, instead of seeing the context which was indulgence in a unneeded expesive extravegance for that time. Here is a excellent explanation:
In Testimonies for the Church, volume 8, pages 50-53, is recorded a portion of a letter addressed to the Battle Creek church in 1894. It was a letter of warning and reproof sent by Ellen White from Australia. One section of the letter deals with bicycles. Reproof was being sent because some of the members of the church had purchased bicycles. On the surface it seems rather strange that such a matter should be considered important enough for a prophet to deal with, and doubly odd when we notice that the things mentioned had been specifically revealed in vision. What was wrong with owning a bicycle? Does it mean that Seventh-day Adventists should never own bicycles? If not, why not?
The background is this: In 1894 the modern version of the bicycle was beginning to be manufactured, and there was a considerable fad to get the bicycles, not for the purpose of economical transportation, but simply to be in style, to parade about town, or to engage in bicycle races. Frank Tripp, in an article called, "When All the World Went Wheeling," written in 1951, describes the bicycle craze of the nineties in these words:
"Toward the end of the last century the American people were swept with a consuming passion which left them with little time or money for anything else.. What was this big new distraction? For an answer the merchants had only to look out the window and watch their erstwhile customers go whizzing by. America had discovered the bicycle, and everybody was making the most of the new freedom it brought.. The bicycle began as a rich man's toy. Society and celebrity went awheel..
"The best early bicycle cost $150, an investment comparable to the cost of an automobile today. Those were the days when $100 a month was an excellent wage, when a good suit cost S15 and meals were a quarter. Every member of the family wanted a 'wheel,' and entire family savings often were used up in supplying the demand."
In the light of this brief history, Ellen White's statements have real significance. "There seemed to be a bicycle craze. Money was spent to gratify an enthusiasm.. A bewitching influence seemed to be passing as a wave over our people there . to invest their time and money in gratifying supposed wants.. The example will be followed, and while hundreds are starving for bread, while famine and pestilence are seen and felt, . shall those who profess to love and serve God act as did the people in the days of Noah, following the imagination of their hearts?"-Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 51.
