The Sacred and the Common

1
The Sacred andthe Common

• Denis Fortin
• Sydney, Australia
• February 25, 2006

2
The Issue

• In 1906, Dr. David Paulson wrote to Ellen White
  that I was led to conclude and most firmly
  believe from my early training that every word
  that you ever spoke in public or private, that
  every letter you wrote under any and all
  circumstances, was as inspired as the ten
  commandments. (Quoted by Ellen White in RH,
  August 30, 1906 also in 1SM 24)

3
The Issue

• Did Ellen Whites call to prophetic ministry and
  her reception of prophetic revelations through
  visions mean that every word subsequently spoken
  or written by her was inspired?
• Obviously the answer is No.
• But this answer raises many new questions.

4
Difficult Questions

• How do we know what is inspired and what is not?
• Can we make a mistake in this distinction between
  what is inspired and what is not?
• Who is to decide what is inspired and what is not?

5
Biblical prophets were not infallible

• "Abraham deceived, Moses lost his patience and
  spoke hasty words, David instructed Joab how to
  have Uriah killed, Nathan agreed with David's
  plans to build a house for the Lord, and then had
  to reverse his statement. All of these men were
  prophets, but the possession of the prophetic
  gift did not mean moment-by-moment direction of
  all their words and acts." (T. H. Jemison)

6
How can we distinguish?

• Then, if all a prophet said was not inspired, how
  much was given by divine direction?
• How do we know what was inspired and what was
  not?
• Nowhere in the Bible is there a clear statement
  on this subject.

7
Ellen Whites inspiration

• "Mother never made the claim, as some have said,
  that everything she ever wrote at any time was
  inspired. I told them that Mother, like every
  other prophet of God, had her own private life,
  and she spoke and wrote about matters of finance,
  about her household, her farm, her chickens, her
  horses, and her dairy, and that there was no
  claim that she was speaking regarding these
  matters with the voice of inspiration." (W. C.
  White to J. W. Watt, March 7, 1915, quoted in
  Jerry Moon, W. C. White and Ellen G. White, p.
  414.)

8
Ellen Whites inspiration

• In response to God's call, "I gave myself, my
  whole being, to God, to obey His call in
  everything, and since that time my life has been
  spent in giving the message, with my pen and in
  speaking before large congregations. It is not I
  who controls my words and actions at such times.
  But there are times when common things must be
  stated, common thoughts must occupy the mind,
  common letters must be written and information
  given that has passed from one to another of the
  workers. Such words, such information, are not
  given under the special inspiration of the Spirit
  of God." (1SM 39 the context of this statement
  is the exact number of rooms in the Paradise
  Valley Sanitarium.)

9
Ellen Whites writings

• In this statement Ellen White made a distinction
  between the sacred and the common, between that
  which is directly inspired by the Holy Spirit and
  that which is of common origin.
• Evidently not every word written or spoken by her
  on every occasion, was received by revelation.

10
Yet, there are dangers

• 1. How are we to safely and certainly
  distinguish between sacred and common
  writings?
• 2. If we should erroneously categorize some
  inspired material as uninspired, would we not
  thus reject Gods counsel for us, fail to profit
  by it, and fail to fulfill His purpose in giving
  it?

11
Yet, there are dangers

• 3. Even to suggest that some part of her
  writings might be uninspired or non-authoritative
  opens the possibility that one might apply the
  same judgment to any of the writings.

12
Yet, there are dangers

• 4. Who is to decide what is inspired and what is
  not? There is the real danger that each
  individual would become the self-arbiter of what
  is inspired. This would mean losing the benefit
  of these writings.

13
Yet, there are dangers

• "What reserve power has the Lord with which to
  reach those who have cast aside His warnings and
  reproofs, and have accredited the testimonies of
  the Spirit of God to no higher source than human
  wisdom? In the judgment, what can you who have
  done this, offer to God as an excuse for turning
  from the evidences He has given you that God was
  in the work?" (3SM 70 TM466)

14
Basic principle

• The question of sacred versus common is to
  be settled, not by external criteria or analysis,
  but by the internal testimony of the writings
  themselves.

15
Testimonies for the Church

• "Those who carefully read the testimonies as
  they have appeared from the early days, need not
  be perplexed as to their origin. The many books,
  written by the help of the Spirit of God, bear a
  living witness to the character of the
  testimonies." (Letter 225, 1906 in 1SM 49)

16
Conflict of the Ages Series

• "Sister White is not the originator of these
  books. They contain the instruction that during
  her lifework God has been giving her. They
  contain the precious, comforting light that God
  has graciously given His servant to be given to
  the world." (CM 125)

17
Articles in Journals

• "I do not write one article in the paper
  expressing merely my own ideas. They are what God
  has opened before me in vision--the precious rays
  of light shining from the throne." (5T 67)

18
Letters (unpublished testimonies)

• Weak and trembling, I arose at three o'clock in
  the morning to write to you. God was speaking
  through clay. You may say that this communication
  was only a letter. Yes, it was a letter, but
  prompted by the Spirit of God, to bring before
  your minds things that had been shown me. In
  these letters which I write, in the testimonies I
  bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord
  has presented to me. (5T 67)

19
Common letters

• Ellen White wrote letters that were intended to
  be personal communications to family members and
  friends, in which she spoke of common matters.
• How are we to relate to the different categories
  of content in the writings of Ellen White?

20
God vs. Sister White

• "You have talked over matters as you viewed them,
  that the communications from Sister White are not
  all from the Lord, but a portion is her own mind,
  her own judgment, which is no better than anybody
  else's judgment and ideas. This is one of Satan's
  hooks to hang your doubts upon to deceive your
  soul and the souls of others who will dare to
  draw the line in this matter and say,

21
God vs. Sister White

• "this portion which pleases me is from God, but
  that portion which points out and condemns my
  course of conduct is from Sister White alone, and
  bears not the holy signet. You have in this way
  virtually rejected the whole of the messages,
  which God in His tender, pitying love has sent to
  you to save you from moral ruin. . . ." (To J. D.
  Rice, Letter 16, 1888 in 3SM 68-69)

22
Revelation vs. Opinion

• "In the testimonies sent to Battle Creek, I have
  given you the light God has given to me. In no
  case have I given my own judgment or opinion. I
  have enough to write of what has been shown me,
  without falling back on my own opinions. You are
  doing as the children of Israel did again and
  again. Instead of repenting before God, you
  reject His words, and attribute all the warnings
  and reproof to the messenger whom the Lord
  sends." (3SM 70)

23
Divine vs. Human

• "I have my work to do, to meet the misconceptions
  of those who suppose themselves able to say what
  is testimony from God and what is human
  production. If those who have done this work
  continue in this course, satanic agencies will
  choose for them." (3SM 70)

24
Inspired vs. Uninspired

• "Those who have helped souls to feel at liberty
  to specify what is of God in the Testimonies and
  what are the uninspired words of Sister White,
  will find that they were helping the devil in his
  work of deception. Please read Testimony No. 33,
  page 211 Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 682, 'How to
  Receive Reproof.' " (Letter 28, 1906 in 3SM 70)

25
The sacred and the common

• The only safe basis for understanding the
  distinction is
• The function and purpose of the writings
  themselves.
• We should not ask whether a statement is inspired
  or not, whether it is of divine origin or of
  common source, whether it comes from God or from
  the writer.

26
The sacred and the common

• Instead we should understand what are the
  purpose, context, and function of the statement.
• The difference between 'sacred' and 'common' is
  not a matter of truth vs. error, but a difference
  in function.

27
Only Safe Course

• Accept the writings in their entirety as the
  prophet's total testimony, but use the various
  parts according to the purposes for which they
  were given.