The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Was Ellen G. White a real prophet?

If we look at Seventh Day Adventists, they used to be considered on the fringes by mainstream Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox groups. In fact, I have read that a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church can’t marry someone from the Seventh Day Adventist church - in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It’s all to do the prophetic revelations of Ellen G. White. There’s even a Wiki article entitled Criticism of Ellen G. White. What I found particularly interesting in the second article is the mental illness section, which would also encompass organic illness. The modern Seventh Day Adventists have distanced themselves from her and are more accepted by mainstream Christian groups these days. Suppose we were coming to join the Seventh Day Adventists? How would we determine if Ellen G. White was a real prophet? It’s an interesting thing to ponder.

Now let me add some footnotes here, since we had a self-claimed prophet visit this forum. But I prefer the term from legal news media reporting - “alleged” prophet. And what are the differences between her claims and those of Ellen G. White?

I don’t speak of spiritual gifts of the living by name. In the case of someone who has passed on - like my Protestant mom - it’s a different matter. But I would have never mentioned this publicly - while she was alive. It was a secret kept among family members and friends. And my mom never charged money nor did she “advertise” her gifts.

Same goes for Father A. of the Roman Catholic church. He is still alive. But I only give his first initial - not his location nor identify. He has the gift of healing and hearing God speak - according to him.

But I have seen the gifts of my Protestant mom Lucille and Roman Catholic Father A. in action. At no time over the years, have they rebuked me. They both acted in the topmost Christian behavior and are- at least in my book - Christian saints. And I would seriously question prophetic claims to the contrary, when they are saying things that neither my mom Lucille nor Father A have said.
Nor could she mention what the Holy Spirit transmitted and communicated to me, via the Pentecostal “fully gospel” minister - in the rural south. Nor my mom’s last communicated vision for me - before she passed. Shouldn’t a true prophet be informed of what other prophets and/or the Holy Spirit has communicated?
And can we pit prophets against prophets? Much of my thesis that God, Christ and Christianity is beyond religion, is from the visions of Tiffany Snow. who is a contemporary Catholic mystic, along with being a stigmatist and healer. I have shown at great lengths in my theology section, that her visions are in accord with Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox (even Protestant inclusive and Quaker inner light) theology. And I have dialogued with her husband in the past, who is a priest in the Old Catholic Church.

By the way, May 10, 2015, was mother’s day. My mom passed away Oct. 4, 2013. Wouldn’t a true prophet be aware of a person grieving on that day?
Does a true prophet need to hide behind a pseudonym, when they have publicly declared themselves a prophet?
This “alleged” prophet showed a distaste for the Roman Catholic Church and inter-faith dialogue. Yet in The Pipe and Christ: A Christian-Sioux Dialogue by William Stolzman, we find a practitioner of the Native American ways, called by God and told by a nun - that God wants him to be a priest. And after becoming a Roman Catholic priest, to continue the dialogue between Roman Catholic priests and Lakota medicine men
Would a true prophet teach that God created evil, when all conventional Christian theologians and philosophers disagree entirely?
Would a true prophet side with only the Protestant canon of scripture, over those of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches? And would they try to promote a theological viewpoint that is at odds with Protestant denominational viewpoints, as well as those of TV evangelists, independent community, bible and non-denominational churches? Whom has the right and authority to correctly interpret scriptures (i.e. Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, various Protestant denominations, etc.)? And what if two or more claiming to be prophets, each has a different scriptural interpretation?
Could there be a scientific explanation to this claim, like some form of organic brain injury, psychosis, etc.? Has this person passed a comprehensive medical exam by a licensed medical doctor and a psychological exam by a licensed, certified psychologist, therapist or psychiatrist?
And here’s a simple test from the Old Testament Scriptures. One which my Protestant mom Lucille has done many times. Prophesize something and let’s see it come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

There’s a good article at True or false prophet? 4 ways to tell for sure. It says this:

If the prophet or prophetess

  1. …has prophesies that aren’t 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time (or are manipulated to come “true”) = False.

  2. …points to any “Jesus” other than the biblical one = False.

  3. …uses supernatural or occultist techniques used in his or her prophecy = False.

  4. …has a rebellious, unrepentant spirit = False.

Sorry Susan. I haven’t seen this demonstrated by you in item 1. But in my mom Lucille - now passed - her prophesies were always true and accurate.

And let’s take her focus on spiritual warfare. Well, while I agree demons can cause issues, there are some issues here:

In the Wiki article, one criticism is this:

Even though Tiffany Snow (Catholic mystic, healer and stimatist) considers Christ beyond religion and works regardless of religion (with some health and prosperity elements thrown in), she does have a prayer for spiritual warfare. The different between Tiffany and Susan’s perspectives is that Tiffany feels Christ has given us power, just by invoking his name. Here is her prayer:

Lastly, we need to search for natural and scientific causes first - and rule them out. This is what the Roman Catholic Church does, before they conduct an exorcism. They would seek an examination for organic disease from a comprehensive medical examination and the elimination of psychosis, from a board certified psychiatrist.

My personal view

First eliminate scientifically what it is not. Which would be a comprehensive medical exam by a licensed medical doctor and a psychological exam by a licensed, certified psychologist, therapist or psychiatrist
If the scientific tests failed, then some simple theological tests. Like prophesize something and let’s see it come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). Does this person behave in a proper Christian manner, as Christ would ask us to? Etc.
What happens if we allow folks to hide behind the claim of prophet and what they don’t agree with - is the work of demons? Everything goes out the window. Any discipline of hard science (i.e. chemistry, physics, biology, statistics, medicine, etc.) or soft science (i.e. psychology, anthropology. etc.), are wrong about things like evolution, the age of the earth, psychological and psychiatric conditions, etc. The two larges Christian Church bodies - Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy - are wrong in their teachings. Various denominational views of scripture and theology are wrong. There is no need for academic references to professional theologians, philosophers, scientists, etc. See the picture here?

I hope this sets the record straight here. Now let’s discuss Ellen G. White.