Human Writings
In previous chapters we have made reference to the extraordinary
combination
of divine and human elements that takes place in communicating God's
message. Divinity uses human messengers who, though fully consecrated to
God's service, continue showing signs of the imperfections and weaknesses
that are common to all human beings. These servants of the Lord
communicate
the divine message in the only language they know, their own-a language
learned in childhood and cultivated by means of study, culture, travel,
and
reading.
An expression we analyzed previously may still be resonating in the mind
of
the reader: "It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the
men
that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man's words or his
expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy
Ghost, is imbued with thoughts."[52]
Taken with all the seriousness that this declaration deserves, it means
that
expressions such as "the pen of inspiration," and "the inspired writings"
are only symbolic expressions that refer to the message the writings
communicate and not to the text itself of the prophetic declarations.
Expressions such as these
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will continue to be used-and there is nothing wrong with that-because we
all
understand what they mean: that what we may be reading at the moment comes
from a mind inspired by the Spirit of God. Therefore, we speak of
"inspired
paragraphs" or "inspired books" or "inspired letters." Nevertheless, those
expressions, taken literally, would contradict the prophetic thought that
tells us that it is not the text, the words, or the language of a
declaration that is inspired, but the message these communicate-and that
message comes from heaven.
At this point in our study, some church members may ask: "But, how is it
possible to separate the divine message from the text that communicates
it?
Is not the communication vehicle-the language-an integral and inseparable
part of the message itself? How did Ellen White come to the understanding
that the message she communicated was inspired, but the words used were
not?" This chapter allows the messenger of the Lord herself to answers
these
questions. We will do so by analyzing one of her books.
The Great Controversy: A Case Study
In the previous chapter, we analyzed an apostolic letter that allowed us
to
study a special model of inspiration, the epistolary model. Now we will
analyze a book that is an excellent illustration of what we might call the
historical model of prophetic inspiration. In this book, The Great
Controversy, we find an inspired message about the history of the
Christian
church, a summary of the final events in human history, and we also find a
series of elements that allow us to study the dynamics of divine
communication-the elements that God and the prophet use to communicate a
message.
The Great Controversy was one of Ellen White's favorite
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books. In 1905 she declared: "I am more anxious to see a wide circulation
for this book than for any others I have written."[53] Some years later
she
again commented: I appreciate it above silver or gold, and I greatly
desire
that it shall come before the people."[54]
Origin of The Book: Revelations and Visions
This book is the final product of a series of publications related to the
topic of the great controversy between good and evil; between Christ and
Satan. Their origin is nothing less than special revelations that Ellen
White received, the most im****tant of which took place on March 14, 1858,
while she was attending a funeral in the state of Ohio, United States. For
nearly two hours, the funeral guests had the unique and surprising
op****tunity of seeing a prophet in vision. On that occasion, events were
revealed to her that covered the history of the universe, from the dismal
appearance of sin until its final eradication and the final victory of
God's
love. Ten years previously she had had a similar revelation. On this
occasion, however, she was told, for the first time, to write out the
vision. In the introduction of the book, the author very appropriately
states:
Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the scenes of the
long-continued conflict between good and evil have been opened to the
writer
of these pages. . . . As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great
truths of His word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been
bidden to make known to others that which has thus been revealed.[55]
This book must undoubtedly be classified as an example
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of the visionary model of inspiration. In the Bible, books such as
Ezekiel,
Daniel, and Revelation fit this category. The authors, clearly and with
conviction, tell us that those things were revealed to them directly by
the
Lord through visions and prophetic dreams.
First Surprise: The Book Grows From 200 To 3500 Pages
In 1858, in spite of Satan's attempts to stop the writing of the book, the
manuscript was ready in five months and published before the end of the
year.[56] This first version had only about two hundred pages.[57] By the
year 1884, the material had been enlarged to four volumes and more than
seventeen hundred pages. A person believing in verbal inspiration (the
idea
that God dictates the text, word for word, to the prophet), would be
completely confused trying to figure out how it is possible for a prophet
to
enlarge the material in this way. Still more astoni****ng for that same
believer would be the knowledge that over the next few years the author
revised the book several times, adding dozens of statements about the
events
she described from well-known historians of her time. Since these
revisions
were made during the last years of the nineteenth century, when copyright
laws were different from the current ones and authors quoted freely from
one
another without giving credit, the author did not document the references
used nor the names of the authors cited. All that was done was to add a
statement in the introduction of the book that said:
In some cases where a historian has so grouped together events as to
afford,
in brief, a comprehensive view of the subject, or has summarized details
in
a convenient manner, his words have been quoted; but in
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some instances no specific credit has been given, since the quotations are
not given for the purpose of citing that writer as authority, but because
his statement affords a ready and forcible presentation of the
subject.[58]
As the decades passed, however, the need for giving proper credit to
authors
quoted was considered im****tant. Therefore, a new and im****tant revision
took place in the year 1911, when the historical references in the current
editions were included.
By the year 1916, one year after the author's death, the series called
"The
Conflict of the Ages," that began in 1858 with a small book of 200 pages,
had been enlarged to a collection of five books with 3500 pages.[59]
Second Surprise: The Prophet's Uses Of Other Author's Statements
It is possible that the reader has heard the word plagiarism with
reference
to the writings of Ellen White. During recent decades, this second
"surprise" has caused frustration and incredulity in some believers. How
is
it possible, some wonder, that a prophet who receives the message of
heaven
needs to appeal to the expressions of other authors to communicate that
message?
Some believers, in their frustration, have ended up accusing Ellen White
of
plagiarism; of using, covertly, the statements of other authors without
giving due credit. Why did Ellen White use the language of others? The
answer, in fact, is uncomplicated.
Ellen White did not use the statements of other authors covertly. Proof of
this fact is the statement mentioned above, where she informs her readers
that, on occasion, she has used the statements of respected historians.
Studies done by professional
86
specialists in literary property laws, have reached the conclusion that,
taking into account the time and circumstances, Ellen White can not be
accused of plagiarism for the use of other author's expressions.[60]
However, the question may still persist: Why did she use the words of
others?
The messenger of the Lord was fully aware that God did not give her the
exact words to use. In most cases, she was presented with graphic
scenes-like those we would see today as movie films-without comprehensive
statements or comments. On occasion she heard words and expressions, but
even these had to be integrated within a more comprehensive description.
Ellen White was aware of her limitations as a writer,[61] but she was also
aware of the limitless possibilities of enriching her language, her
vocabulary, and her literary culture through reading. As is the case with
any self-educated person, what she read immediately became an integral
part
of her fund of knowledge and her culture. That was her language, enriched
by
hundreds of pages read. Ellen White was a great reader. Her library-about
fourteen hundred volumes at the time of her death-would give pause to more
than one scholar of her time, and even today.
When the messenger arose at two or three in the morning to write-she
regularly used these first hours of the day to do so-certain expressions,
literary figures, and well-formed sentences, came to mind from her
reading.
In fact, it seems that she did not go back to her library to check a
statement word for word, but rather quoted it as she remembered it, or
because it was already integrated into her language. Studies carried out
in
recent years show that the quotations cited word for word constitute only
a
small percentage.[62]
Why did she do it? Simply because prophets are allowed
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to use their own language. That language includes all that they may have
memorized throughout a lifetime, including passages from their reading.
Just
as the apostle Paul mentioned a Cretan poet without mentioning his name
(Titus 1:12) and other biblical authors referred to well-known writings in
their times,[63] modern prophets are allowed to use the expressions,
literary figures, or phrases they have learned or read, in order to
communicate the divine message that they have received.
Third Surprise: There Are Several Versions of The Great Controversy
Although believers in general accept the fact that there are various
versions of the Bible, some have difficulty in accepting that various
versions of a book by Ellen White also exist. They feel that changing
certain words or expressions is somehow tampering with the sacred and
profaning something inspired. The starting point for an answer to this
third
surprise is to accept without reservations her own statement: "It is not
the
words of the Bible that are inspired." Once this statement is accepted, it
is easier to understand why, on occasion, some words or sentences have
been
modified.
We are not speaking here of editorial changes or corrections. We have
already dealt with that point in chapter two. It is clear that the
prophet,
as is the case with any writer, requires editors who verify the spelling
and
grammar of their writings. Also, with the passing of years, some
expressions
become archaic terms or are no longer used, and it is necessary to change
them because contem****ary generations no longer understand their meaning.
We are talking here about modifications or changes due to special
circumstances. One of those circumstances refers to our
88
relation****p with other religious persuasions in various countries or
regions of the world.
Offensive Expressions About Other Religions
This story begins around the year 1913, when the leaders of the church in
Europe consulted Ellen White about certain expressions in the book The
Great
Controversy that might be offensive to members or the leaders of the
Catholic faith. Elder William White responded on his mother's behalf:
Regarding the anticatholic character of "Great Controversy," we must admit
that our critics are correct in an intimation that the anti-Catholic
character of the book is not to be found in a few places only, but that
the
spirit permeates a large ****tion of the book. . . . But we could modify,
with the author's consent, several of those passages which are most
objectionable to our Roman Catholic critics.[64]
This statement by Elder White, the prophet's son and her main assistant at
the time, is very im****tant because Ellen White was still alive, and still
capable of making her own decisions about authorizing changes that would
avoid offending other religious groups. This decision was consistent with
a
line of thought that she herself had suggested in regard to the way in
which
we should treat other religious denominations:
Over and over the message has been given to me that we are not to say one
word, not to publish one sentence, especially by way of personalities,
unless positively essential in vindicating the truth, that will
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stir up our enemies against us, and arouse their passions to a white heat.
.
.. .
It is true that we are commanded to "cry aloud, spare not, lift up the
voice
like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of
Jacob their sins." Isa. 58:1. This message must be given, but while it
must
be given, we should be careful not to thrust and crowd and condemn those
who
have not the light that we have. We should not go out of our way to make
hard thrusts at the Catholics. Among the Catholics there are many who are
most conscientious Christians, and who walk in all the light that ****nes
upon them, and God will work in their behalf.[65]
Following this recommendation, there are today two Spanish versions of The
Great Controversy in existence. The original version, left without
modifications, is published for countries where the majority of the
population is not Roman Catholic. The other version, published in Catholic
countries, has been revised, taking into consideration the suggestions
made
by the author herself in 1913, changing expressions and phrases that could
unnecessarily offend not only the members of other religions but also the
governments of those countries.
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