Many Seventh-day Adventists are somewhat familiar with positions taken by Ellen G. White on such topics as recreation, education, health, reform, etc. Most Adventists are not familiar, however, with the historical context of her writings. Even biographies of Ellen White usually fail to describe the world in which she lived and of which she was a part. What was the usual diet of Americans when she gave counsel on that subject? What was the situation of public education? What was the town in which she grew up like? She made many cross-country train trips, beginning soon after the first transcontinental railroad. What was the rail travel like then? What was the situation of Blacks, when she wrote about the church's attitude toward the freedom? All these topics and more, including the economic situation in Australia during the nine years Ellen White spent there, are presented in this book. Each of 14 areas is handled by a scholar who has specialized in the field. - Contributors. Preface. 1. Ellen White's Hometown: Portland, Maine, 1827-1846. 2. Michigan and the Civil War. 3. Tension Between the Races. 4. Overland by Rail, 1869-1890. 5. The Rise of Urban- Industrial America. 6. When America Was "Christian". 7. The Sunday Law Movement. 8. The Crusade Against Alcohol. 9. Health and Health Care. 10.The Transformation of Education. 11. Amusing the Masses. 12. Literature for the Nation. 13. Ideas and Society. 14. The Australian 1890s. For Further Reading.
The Great Controversy is a work by Ellen G. White, a founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, considered a prophetess or messenger of God among Seventh-day Adventist members. The book tells about the ever-persistent controversy between the good and the bad, represented by the opposition of Christ and Satan and the forces of angels that accompany them.
"The Lord has shown me that Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Jesus Christ. His countenance was mild, expressive of happiness like the other angels. His forehead was high and broad, and showed great intelligence. His form was perfect. He had noble, majestic bearing. And I saw that when God said to his Son, Let us make man in our image, Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man. He was filled with envy, jealousy and hatred. He wished to be the highest in heaven, next to God, and receive the highest honors. Until this time all heaven was in order, harmony and perfect subjection to the government of God."-Ellen G White
Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker; but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race has been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption, however, a way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may still have connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine light has been imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through successive generations. The preparation of the written word began in the time of Moses. Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book. This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years,—from Moses, the historian of creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel. The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed, have themselves embodied the thought in human language. The ten commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were written by His own hand. They are of divine, and not of human composition. But the Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ, that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying harmony. As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind—a different aspect of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men in all the circumstances and experiences of life. God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by human agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak and what to write. The treasure was intrusted to earthen vessels, yet it is, none the less, from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language, yet it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing child of God beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth.
"During her 70-year ministry the author spoke, through her pen, to young people, to church members, and to the world in the The Youth's Instructor, the Review and Herald, and The Signs of the Times. Selections for this book have been drawn from these three periodicals as well as from her books and previously unpublished manuscripts and letters"--Foreword.
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