Sources

The primary sources for this study are the six last books which White published during the late years of her life between 1892 and 1905. She completed the books herself, and all of them are relevant from a point of view of Christian spirituality.6 1) Steps to Christ was published in 1892 and meant to serve as an evangelistic tool. The content indicates that it is actually a spiritual guide. It is the only one of her books which discusses in a systematic manner the spiritual path from alienation into a fellowship with Christ.

During her stay in Australia in 1891–1900 White wrote and published three books related to the life of Christ. 2) Thoughts from the Mount of

Blessings was the first of these, printed in 1896. It examines Christ’s teachings in

the Sermon on the Mount with the stated intention to direct readers so that they through faith could live “the life of the Life-giver”, indicating thus that the book was meant for spiritual inspiration and instruction.7

4 _{Perrin 2007, 185–215; Sheldrake 2005, 459–477.}

5 _{Perrin 2007, 8–9; 43–44; 191–202; 204–208; Sheldrake 2005, 459–477; White 1973, 137–170.}

Arthur L. White, White’s grandson, gives detailed instructions conveying the principles for interpreting White’s writings in a chapter entitled “Hermeneutical Principles in the E.G. White Writings”. He refers to ideas found in her writings which may guide in the hermeneutic task. His suggestions alone seem insufficient for arriving at the full meaning of each of the text passages which come under careful scrutiny in this study. http://www.Whiteestate.org/issues/herm-pri.html Downloaded 12.11.2009. Ellen G. White Estate suggests some principles for correctly interpreting the writings of White. See also White 1969, 88–91.

6 _{White used secretarial aides to help in compiling material from her previous writings for her}

books. However, she personally approved their final form and content. After her death a number of compiled books on various topics have been published. Obviously, she had no influence in what went into them.

3) In 1898 White’s extensive discourse on Christ’s life and teachings was published under the title The Desire of Ages. She developed the theme during a period of forty years; she had already begun in1858, writing on the life of Christ under the title Spiritual Gifts I. She enlarged the material after some twenty years and it was published in 1876 and 1877 under the title Spirit of Prophecy, Volumes II and III. A comparison of these works indicates that she had pondered these themes and shows how her ideas had developed. DA is in effect the final result of a process of thought leading to mature views and understanding. The life of Christ and all the issues deriving from it constitute one of the principal themes in White’s spiritual philosophy.8

4) Christ’s Object Lessons was published in 1900. It is White’s third

book with Christ’s life and ministry as its subject matter. As she deals with Christ’s parables, the ideas presented aim to nourish personal spirituality and to be relevant for the spiritual development and well-being of her readers. Thus it also has a bearing on the attempt to define and describe her spiritual thinking.9

5) White wrote extensively on educational matters during her life time but she presented her ideas on the issue most comprehensively when she published the book Education in 1902. In it she deals with a Christian approach to education systematically, but also with individual issues which she regards as essential within this framework. Rather surprisingly, it is a fitting source for this study since it reflects some of her leading spiritual considerations. The issue of education belongs inseparably to her holistic concept of spirituality, and without this feature a presentation of her spiritual ideas would, therefore, not be complete. Holistic spirituality, as the term is used in this study, refers to an understanding of people as undivided and whole entities. In addition to the fullness of being, holistic spirituality encompasses also the idea of human life as unified and connected. Thus it is related to the dynamic and active dimensions of life, to its functions and activities. This means that I do not understand holistic spirituality only as a quality of persons but also as an inseparable aspect of all human life. Spirituality is an integral part of human existence, and it cannot be compartmentalised or regarded as a feature unrelated to every-day experiences.

6) An emphasis on health and comprehensive well-being can be regarded as one of the typical characteristics of White’s teaching. In The Ministry

8 _{Olson. http://www.Whiteestate.org/issues/DA-HOW/DA-How.html Downloaded 17.9.2009.} 9 _{2SP. White deals with a number of Christ’s parables in the second volume of Spirit of Prophecy.}

of Healing, 1905, she presents a spiritually attuned approach to matters of

physical health. 10 A comprehensive analysis of her holistic thinking is substantially strengthened by the inclusion of this book also as a primary source for the present study. From 1863 onwards, the health emphasis, or “Health Reform” as she calls it, was a topic on which she wrote extensively.11

One of White’s major works, The Great Controversy Between Christ

and Satan, was published in 1888 and revised in 1911. However, I have not

included it as a primary source in this study for the following reasons: First, the material for my analysis had to be limited to a reasonable amount in order to make a thorough, systematic study feasible. Had GC been included as one of the primary sources, the work would have expanded beyond the boundaries of one academic dissertation. Secondly, in presenting broad church historical overviews it does not address the topic of Christian spirituality from the individual and personal angle which I have chosen as the vantage point of my exploration. Thirdly, the General Conference Session at Minneapolis in 1888 marks a paradigm shift in the spiritual thinking within Adventism which was largely a result of Ellen White’s intervention. Fourthly, the meeting can be seen also as the point at which altered emphases in her approach to the basic Christian teachings, such as e.g. justification, appears in her writings. Fifthly, I find it unsustainable to infer White’s later views on spirituality first expressed in an orderly way in SC into GC which was published four years earlier. I have chosen to focus on the thinking of her mature years for which the Minneapolis Session poses as a distinct point of demarcation.

In addition to the primary sources, the above-mentioned six books from White’s mature years, this study also includes references to a number of her books, articles and other texts which are available in printed form.12 Much of what she wrote was in reaction to issues rising within the Adventist Church. She responded to situations which occurred, commented on issues which rose from time to time and gave her guidance or counsel on current challenges. Being reactive to changing situations and emerging challenges, such texts do not

10 _{White 1981, 376–380. Arthur White gives an account of the actual writing and publishing}

project of MH.

11 _{White1986, 73–98; Coon 1986. Coon indicates that Ellen White herself went through a process}

of gradual adjustment into the high health and dietary ideals which she presented in her writings. For instance, it was while she lived in Australia in the 1890s that she eventually “abandoned all meat from her table” and became a vegetarian.

12 _{In 1998 The Ellen G. White® Estate published all the printed materials in digital form on a CD-}

necessarily express ideas to which White has had the opportunity to give sustained thought.13 In addition to representing her mature thinking, the six books listed above were also written by her for an audience wider than the SDA church. She does not here attempt to profile a distinctly Adventist spirituality, but instead approaches Christian spirituality from a more common Protestant point of view. As previously indicated, these books are the outcome of a thought process several decades long.