Memory, Meaning & Faith

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium: "The Phenomenon of Prophecy and Role of Prophets in the Old Testament Compared with the Ministry of Ellen G. White"

Presentation

Jiri Moskala, Professor for Old Testament Exegesis and Theology at the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University, shared a paper about the characteristics and major roles of prophets in the Old Testament and whether these roles/tasks can be found in the ministry of Ellen G. White.*

Testimony. Dr. Moskala started with a personal testimony on how he had gone from a fearful picture of God to the picture a loving, a "smiling" God, who wants the best for everyone and who delights in His children. He found forgiveness, a new picture of God, joy of salvation and assurance of salvation in Christ. In this context, he found God as a loving savior also in Ellen White's writings, for example in Steps to Christ: "If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your personal Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God as just as if you had not sinned." (p.62) Actually, her writings had a big influence on Moskala's spiritual growth.

Phenomenon of Prophecy. Pointing to the dominant role of prophets in the Old Testament (OT), Dr. Moskala listed several prophets and the crucial points in salvation history in which they were called to their ministry: Noah (before the Flood); Abraham (starting point for a new ministry to all nations); Moses (Exodus from Egypt); Hosea and Amos (before Samaria's fall in 722 BC); Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (before and during Babylonian captivity); John the Baptist (before Christ's appearing). Prophets also came often during a distinct time of crisis, Elijah and Elisha for example (Israel's idolatry).

Moskala quoted Abraham Heschel and said: "The God of the philosophers is a concept derived from abstract ideas; the God of the prophets is derived from acts and events." (Heschel, God in Search for Man, p. 213). After that Moskala gave an overview over the different kinds of prophets: starting with Enoch (first prophet, Jude 14) and his son Methuselah (prophetic meaning of name: "At his death He will send" or "When he is dead it shall be sent" - pointing to the flood which came in the year of Methuselah's death). Then Moskala proceeded to honorary prophets (Noah [Gen 6-9], Abraham [Gen 20:7], Moses [Deut 18:15, 18], Samuel [1 Sam 3:20] and David [Acts 2:29-30]) and mentioned also the different classifications of prophets in general (non-writing prophets [e.g. Enoch, Abraham, Elijah and Elisha] and classical writing prophets [major and minor prophets - number of 16]). Beside these there are, according to Moskala, also other special categories of prophets: those, whose writings were not included in the biblical canon (Samuel, Nathan, Gad [see 1 Chr 29:29; 2 Chr 9:29]) and prophetesses like Miriam and Hulda.

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium: "The Early Translation of Ellen G. White Books into Spanish"

Presentation

Glúder Quispe, currently a Ph.D. candidate in Adventist Studies at the SDA Theological Seminary, and a native from Peru, shed light on early translations of Ellen White into Spanish and the role Eduardo F. Forga played in this process.* He limited his research mainly to the years between the 1890s and 1915, the year in which Forga (as well as E. White) passed away. 

Translation from White's Books into Spanish from the 1890's to 1907. Quispe pointed to the important role that the literature work played in Adventist missions (Matthew 28:19-20 and Revelation 14:6) in every new global field. The first impulse to translate Adventist books into Spanish for the mission work in South America came from the European book committee. The first book published in Spanish was Patriarcas y profetas (Patriarchs and Prophets) by E. G. White in the year 1893. In the same year a group of missionaries arrived in Mexico and helped in the establishing of a medical mission and a school. In 1896 the first Adventist magazine in Spanish, El amigo de la verdad (The Friend of the Truth) with Dan T. Jones (1855-1901) as an editor, began to be published there. Articles by Ellen White and others started to follow soon. Other book projects were planned.

In 1897, G. W. Caviness (1825-1923) joined that group, after having worked as an SDA representative in an interdenominational committee to revise the Spanish translation of the Bible in Mexico City. After Jones' death in 1901 he became the next editor of El amigo de la verdad, and he worked  25 years in Mexico, translating also books and periodicals for the Spanish field.

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium: "Gift of Prophecy and the Church: A Biblical Perspective"

Presentation

Ranko Stefanovic, Professor for New Testament at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, traced origin, meaning, and function of the gift of prophecy in the Bible.* 

The Pre-Prophecy Period. After creation, still in Eden, God attempted to have an intimate relationship with Adam and Eve with straight face-to-face communication (cf. Gen 2:15-17). Since their disobedience and the fall caused a disconnectedness between them and God (Gen 3), the result was a disrupted relationship between Him and whole humanity as well as a destruction of their intimate communication with Him—which ultimately will not be restored until sin is totally removed (Rev 21-22).

Despite the fall God continued to communicate with humankind. According to Stefanovic, two phases can be traced in the Old Testament: a) the to-each-individual-communication and b) the through-prophets-communication. The first took place during the antediluvian/pre-flood up to patriarchal times where God spoke directly to individuals via theophanies or dreams. Examples for these periods can be found in Genesis, e.g., Noah (Gen 6:13-21; 7:1-4; 8:15-19; 9:1-19), Abraham (Gen 12-17; 22), Isaac (26:2-5, 24), Rebekah (25:22-23), Jacob (28:13-15; 31:3, 11-13; 35:9-12; 46:2-4), and also persons who did not belong to the godly line, for example Cain (4:6-15), Hagar (16:7-12; 21:17-18), and Abimelech (20:3-7). This list is not exhaustive and it also can be presumed, said Stefanovic, that God spoke to many others during this period, although they are not directly mentioned in Scripture.

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium: "The Captain Goes To Church"

Presentation

James R. Nix, director of the Ellen G. White Estate at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was the first presenter after the devotional. He took the audience back to a series of events that happened in 1899 and that were almost unknown for several decades.*

On February 15, 1899, the 33rd General Conference Session of Seventh-day Adventists opened in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. According to a letter of M. C. Wilcox to Ellen White nothing important happened during the first two weeks, but this should change soon with the arrival of Elder Frank H. Westphal and his accompanying guest, Captain Henry Norman. Westphal, a 41-year old missionary to Argentina and official delegate from South America, had met Captain Norman on a ship going from Southampton, England to New York City.

Immediately after their arrival, Captain Norman recognized Mrs. S. M. I. Henry who was sitting on the side of the GC Session platform. Conversing with each other he told her that he had seen her several years earlier at a series of her lectures for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in Washington, D.C.; she had been the national evangelist for the WCTU. After learning that she had been a Methodist before becoming an Adventist, Norman said that he had a Methodist background too, but was discontent already for years with his denomination. Mrs. Henry handed him a pamphlet of hers, "How the Sabbath Came to Me," and got to know from him that he considered the way of meeting Elder Westphal and coming to the GC Session as providential, because he felt like being in the presence of the people of God.

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium: Devotional

2011 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium

Every year the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, in association with the Center for Adventist Research and the Ellen G. White Estate hosts an Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium in order to highlight current research and discuss new questions relating to her work and ministry. This year, on March 28, 2011, is the seventh such symposium (download the program (PDF) here). In the following days, Memory, Meaning & Faith will give summaries of the proceedings by our web editor, Angelika Kaiser*.

 

Devotional

Dwight K. Nelson, Senior Pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church of Seventh-day Adventists, on the Campus of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI, opens this year's Ellen White Symposium with a devotional entitled "The Gift".

The Fruits. After reading Matthew 7:15-20, Nelson pointed to a survey by pollster George Barna on authors which pastors consider as most influential in their library and life. The surveyed pastors under 40 championed, among John Ortberg, Thom Rainer and others Ellen White as one of the most influential authors. - Just recently (March 17, 2011), USA Today published an article on "Adventist's back-to-basics faith" in which interviewed professor of Fuller Theological Seminary Daniel Shaw utters his astonishment on the growth of Adventism. - The Christian Science Monitor's article from November 15, 2010 entitled "For real education reform, take a cue from the Adventists" deals with the role, the Adventist holistic educational system could play as a model for educational reform. Nelson pointed to these examples as to "good fruits" of the ministry of Ellen G. White.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: Current Issues Discussion

The 2010 Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium concluded with a panel discussion of previously submitted questions. The panel, moderated by Merlin Burt, was composed of the persenters and respondents from the previous sessions.

If the second coming is somehow conditional as intimated, how does this dynamic of what we do play out? Do we as a church have to do something in order for Jesus to come? Or is something else at work here?

Poirier: I did not mean that the second coming is conditional, but that the time has been delayed until we are ready. Whether it's a fixed time or not, I leave to theologians. I think it's similar to the children of Israel who could have entered the promised land, but were diverted to the wilderness for forty years.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: "History of Interpretation: Ellen White’s 1856 ‘Food for Worms’ Vision”

Presentation

Tim Poirier, vice-director and archivist of the White Estate, is not seeking to provide a new understanding of the "Food for Worms" vision, but rather to track how Adventists have understood the words of the angel in Ellen White's 1856 vision: "Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, and some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus."

Ellen White attended a general conference in May of 1856 in Michigan. It was at the 5:00 am prayer meeting on the morning after the conference ended that Ellen White had a vision. Evelyn Reavis was there and recalled a seeing a smile on Ellen White's face as she repeated the words, "Lovely, lovely Jesus." Then she expressed fear and said, "Oh, oh, how terrible." In her first "view" she was shown a vision of heaven and in the second, the seven last plagues. After the vision she reported the "food for worms" statement.

On the way home, Reavis' friend said that she would be in that first group. Three days later she died, which increased the trustworthiness of the vision. The story was included in a footnote whenever the vision was published.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: "Ellen White’s Theology Of The Holy Sprit In Conversion"

Presentation

Isaac Olatunji, adjunct professor of Religion at Oakwood University, opened with 2 Corinthians 5:17 as a definition of conversion. For Olatunji, conversion is the becoming a new creature.

In 1840 around the age of 12, Ellen White was converted, and upon getting baptized she wrote that her strength was nearly gone becuase the power of God was upon her. She felt that she was not of this world. Arthur White says that this was the biggest turning point in Ellen White's life. She began to share Christ in groups with her friends. Ellen White also wrote that this new birth is a rare experience. She says that many church members have been baptized but did not die and therefore are not living the new life.

According the Ellen White the Holy Spirit has a role in conversion to convict of sin. The Spirit does this by revealing to us the full meaning of the law, our defects of character, and our powerlessness to be saved by the law. The goal of this is to lead us to Christ so that we can be saved.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: New Ellen White Resources

Tim Poirier, Vice-director of the Ellen G. White Estate, demonstrated new resources available on the White Estate web site. One is the capability of searching the writings of Ellen White in multiple languages. Another is the Ellen G. White Digital Resource Center (available on the "Issues and Answers" page) which is a searchable database of answers the White Estate has given to questions, White Estate Document Files, and White Estate answers to email inquiries. There is also a new magazine, Visionary, that aims to acquaint youth with the ministry of Ellen White.

Click here for detailed summaries of all the presentations at the Ellen White Symposium.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: "Ellen White, Authority, And The Authority Of The Bible In Adventism"

Presentation

George Knight, emeritus professor of Church History at the Adventist Theological Seminary presented on "The Relationship between Ellen White, Authority, and the Authority of the Bible in Adventism." He began by pointing out that there is a great gulf between the Adventist understanding of Ellen White's authority and the Mormon understanding of their prophets' authority. He first came to this topic by comparing the differences.

According to Knight authority is the basic issue of theology. How should the Adventist church relate the authority of a modern prophet to the authority of the ancient prophets cannonized in the 66 books of the Bible.

Early Adventist Position. The Adventist church was formed in the tension between Scripture and visions. The Millerites had a statment of no confidence in dreams and visions. Millerite Adventism's theology was based on the authority of one book, the Bible. It was the same with the Christian Connection, however an informal leader in the Christian Connection, Kincaid, believed in the restoration of spiritual gifts in the church, including the gift of prophecy.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: "Ellen White And The 'Daily' Conflict"

Presentation

Denis Kaiser, an Andrews PhD student in Adventist Studies from Germany, presented on his MA thesis research on "Ellen White and The 'Daily' Conflict" (PDF). The conflict regarding the symbolic meaning of "daily" (KJV) in Daniel 8:11-13 lasted from 1900-1930. It was between the "old view, that the "daily" is Roman paganism, and the "new view," that the "daily" is Christ's heavenly ministration.

In 1850 Ellen White made a statement about the "daily", to the effect that the "word 'sacrifce' was supplied by man's wisdom" (Early Writings, 74-75), consisting of four paragraphs that Kaiser read in full. This statement was at the center of the the later controversy and illustrates the context in which the Paganism View of the daily arose.

2010 Ellen White Symposium: Devotional

2010 Ellen White And Current Issues Symposium

Every year the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, in association with the Center for Adventist Research and Ellen G. White Estate hosts an Ellen White and Current Issues Symposium in order to highlight current research and discuss new questions relating to her work and ministry. This year is the sixth such symposium (download the program (PDF) here), and Memory, Meaning & Faith will give summaries of the proceedings by our web editor, David Hamstra.

Devotional

Van Hurst, president of the Indiana conference, issued a call to be real. He posited that the value of a gift is ascribed by the giver, not the receiver. The Spirit of Prophecy is a gift from heaven, and ours is to receive it with gratitude.

He sees some in the church saying that since we have come of age, we no longer need the gift. He believes this attitude is having a detrimental effect on the church, while other denominations use Ellen White's writings to grow large ministries.