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HERMENEUTICS

B A S I C

P R I N C I P L E S

F O R

I N T E R P R E T I N G

I N S P I R E D

W R I T I N G S

B Y M I C H A E L W . C A M P B E L L

©2013 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Instructional ObjectivesAfter studying this course, you should

be able to do the following:1. Recognize that while a “private in-

terpretation” of inspired writings mayseem to satisfy personal needs, theprophetic writer’s ultimate purpose (see 2Peter 1:20) is not accomplished until thereader understands the principles thatunderlie the inspired message.2. Realize that what an inspired writer

meansmay be even more important in ar-riving at truth than what the writer says.(The words of the message are the sym-bols; understanding their meaning is thegoal.)3. Recognize that the use of rational,

objective rules/tools of hermeneutics (thescience and art of deriving meaning) isnot only legitimate and valid, but alsonecessary in order to discern correctly themessage that the inspired writer sought toconvey.4. Identify and employ the appropriate

rule/tool to resolve various hermeneuticalproblems, thus correctly handle the wordof truth (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV).2

IntroductionHermeneutics is the science of inter-

preting literary documents.3 Webster’sDictionary defines hermeneutics as “thestudy of methodological principles of in-terpretation and explanation.”4 Herm e -neutical rules help readers understand awide range of documents by diverse au-thors—ranging from secular writers such

as Homer, Plato, and Shakespeare to in-spired writers such as Moses, Paul, andEllen White—a person whom Seventh-day Adventists consider to have been in-spired by God. Born in 1827, Ellen Gould Harmon

White grew up in Portland, Maine. Whenshe was nine years old, a serious accidentleft her unconscious for three weeks.When she regained consciousness, shebegan to ask existential questions: DidGod love her? Why did God allow thisbad thing to happen to her? She was en-couraged by her mother to give her heartto Jesus Christ. After hearing the revivalistWilliam Miller preach, Ellen joined hisfollowers, who believed that Jesus wouldcome in 1844. Shortly after the Millerites’“Great Disappointment” because Jesushad not appeared as predicted, as Ellenwas worshipping with a group of women,she received her first vision. Over the nextseven decades, she would share the revela-tions she received from God in more thanan estimated 2,000 prophetic visions anddreams.5

The question is increasingly raisedwithin Adventist circles, “How do you in-terpret a horse-and-buggy-era prophet inan age of iPads, interplanetary probes,and genetic engineering?” This questiondeserves a good answer. Life was very dif-ferent in Ellen White’s day. Automobiles,electricity, and the pasteurization of dairyproducts did not become commonplaceuntil the end of her lifetime. The firstHollywood feature motion picture didnot flash upon the screens of theatersuntil 1915, the year she died. The firstcommercial radio station did not begin tobroadcast until five years later. And thefirst commercial television station did notgo on the air until 1939. Medical care wasstill very primitive, and most people hadonly a limited education.6

Of course, if a person defines relevanceas inversely proportional to distance intime, then the Bible would become increas-ingly irrelevant, for the New Testament waswritten nearly two millennia ago, and por-tions of the Old Testament were pennedhundreds of years before that.The same principles of interpretation

can be applied to both the Bible and EllenWhite’s writings. As with Moses, Jere-miah, Daniel, and Paul, so with EllenWhite: It is often necessary to apply gen-erally accepted principles of hermeneuticsin order to determine what the prophetmeant, rather than simply what theprophet said.Many Christians, including some Sev-

enth-day Adventists, view attempts to “in-terpret” the Bible as dangerous. Such peo-ple feel sincere concern (if not fear) that

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HERMENEUTICS:BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR

INTERPRETINGINSPIRED WRITINGS

B Y M I C H A E L W . C A M P B E L L

This article is approved by the North AmericanDivision Office of Education for 0.5 Continuing Ed-ucation Units credit or 5 contact hours.

HOW IT WORKS: After you have studied the content presented here, send for the test,

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“liberals” will exploit this device in order to“water down,” if not totally nullify, theWord of God by cleverly “spiritualizingaway” the clear intent of inspired state-ments. Nor are such concerns unfounded.In the days of Jesus, the religious teachersdid that by using what they called the“Corban doctrine.” The Hebrew leaders de-clared that once the term Corban was in-voked, anything to which it was appliedwas irrevocably dedicated to the Templeand became available for their selfish pur-poses. They could thus avoid helping par-ents in distress, thereby nullifying the fifthcommandment.7 Jesus declared: “Thushave ye made the commandments of Godof none effect” (Matthew 15:6, KJV). In-

deed, “explaining” must never be allowedto degenerate into “explaining away.”However, those who insist that no

rules of interpretation should be usedmust contend with an unintended irony:the “no-hermeneutics” position is, itself, ahermeneutical position. A woman oncewrote to the late Roger Coon at the EllenG. White Estate about Mrs. White’s strongstatements regarding cheese. In response,Coon made a compilation of the variousstatements and admonitions penned bythe prophet, and provided some contex-tual background regarding the times inwhich she gave that counsel—lack of pas-teurization, unhygienic conditions in19th-century dairies, etc.Upon receiving Coon’s letter, the

woman consulted with two female physi-cians. One rebuked Coon for his stance,the other said: “If God took all the trouble

physicians). Mrs. White later madeearnest appeals for Seventh-day Advent -ists to maintain only the highest stan-dards in training physicians, participatedactively in the establishment of the de-nomination’s health-care system, and un-derwent modern medical treatments her-self. Thus, a misunderstanding of EllenWhite’s writings that insists on a narrowinterpretation of what she said ratherthan investigating what she meant couldresult in deadly consequences.Hermeneutics, rightly employed, could

have come to the rescue in both these sit-uations. The goal of hermeneutics is to“correctly [handle] the word of truth” (2Timothy 2:15). Hermeneutics seeks toachieve balance and to avoid distortion.The earliest preaching (as we define ittoday) took place in the postexilic syna-gogues of Palestine. It involved her me -neutics: “They read in the book in the lawof God distinctly [margin: ‘with an inter-pretation’], and gave the sense, andcaused them to understand the reading”(Nehemiah 8:8, KJV). The New Interna-tional Version translates it this way: “Theyread from the Book of the Law of God,making it clear and giving the meaning sothat the people could understand whatwas being read.”

The Need for HermeneuticsThere are four basic reasons why a

clear hermeneutical method is necessary:1. The Possibility for Misinterpreta-

tion. The existence of hundreds of Chris-tian denominations, with widely varyingdoctrines, illustrates the fact that theScriptures can be interpreted in vastly dif-ferent ways. Achieving agreement on a setof valid hermeneutical rules diminishesthe likelihood of misinterpretation.

2. Distance. The greater the chrono-logical, historical, theological, or linguis-tic distance from the original context, thegreater the need for a hermeneuticalmethod that pays close attention to eachof these areas.3. Truth. In order for Christians to dis-

cern the will of God as accurately as pos-sible, they need a Bible-based hermeneu-tical method.

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to send an angel from heaven down to tellSr. [Sister] White that cheese was whollyunfit for food, I am going to believe it.” The woman then wrote back to Coon.

She concluded her letter as follows: “Ihave always wondered why it is so hardfor us to read English. To me, when Sr.White wrote in [The] Ministry of Healing,‘Cheese . . . is wholly unfit for food,’ I ac-cepted it, and we never used . . . cheese.’”As Dr. Coon told the story, he resisted

the temptation to respond to the letterwriter and the physicians (both of whomwere often seen on the platforms of theirrespective churches), as follows: “If Godtook all the trouble to send an angel totell the Apostle Paul that ‘[t]he women are

to keep silent in the churches, for they arenot permitted to speak’ [1 Corinthians14:34, NASB], shouldn’t you believe thatas well?”So, is cheese—all cheese—“uncondition-

ally” condemned for food? Are womennever to speak publicly in church? This iswhat God’s prophets have seemed to say.But is that what the prophets really meant?A pastoral friend wrote me a letter

expressing concern about a parishionerwho was dying of cancer. She had refusedmed ical intervention, citing Ellen White’sstatements about the dangers of drugs,which she interpreted as referring to allforms of medical treatment. It was clearthat she had failed to investigate the his-torical context in which such statementswere made (when Ellen White wrotethose counsels, a person could obtain amail diploma to practice medicine, andmany dangerous chemicals such as ar-senic and opium were prescribed by

The existence of hundreds ofChristian denominations, withwidely varying doctrines, illus-trates the fact that the Scrip-

tures can be interpreted in vastlydifferent ways.

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4. Unity of the Church. In order topromote unity in Christ, the church needsto adopt a hermeneutical method thatcan be agreed upon by members and thusdoes not divide the members into warringfactions.8

Together, these four reasons reveal theneed for every Christian who takes in-spired writings seriously to carefully re-flect on how he or she interprets thesedocuments and to develop a reliable set ofguidelines for resolving disagreementsabout how they should be interpreted. Justas nourishment of the body is providedby ingestion of physical food, so is thegrowth of spiritual life ensured by thespiritual food received through the par-taking (Jeremiah 15:16) of God’s inspiredcounsel and promises.9

Failure to rightly interpret propheticcounsel can result in serious errors thataffect the Christian’s physical and spiri-tual life.

Six Rules of HermeneuticsBecause it is a scientific discipline,

hermeneutics uses some basic method-ological tools. In the case of propheticwritings, I have distilled six methodsbased upon biblical scholarship from aca-demics who adhere to a “high view” ofScripture—in essence, they regard theBible as the divinely inspired and authori-tative Word of God, capable of being un-derstood by human beings with guidancefrom the Holy Spirit. Obviously, amongbiblical scholars there is quite a bit of de-bate over how to apply the methods, but Ihave tried to summarize them into a basicsix-step hermeneutical outline.10 Therules are based upon Scripture and areelucidated in Ellen White’s writings.

Hermeneutical Principle No. 1:Seek Divine GuidanceSeventh-day Adventist Church histo-

rian and philosopher George R. Knightmakes three suggestions about how tostudy inspired writings: First, “begin yourstudy with a prayer for guidance and un-derstanding.”11 The same Holy Spirit whoinspired the writers is able to help believ-

ers understand the meaning of their doc-uments. Such an attitude has the effect ofsoftening people’s minds, hearts, andlives, and will enable the sincere believerto grasp God’s truth for his or her life. Anattitude of faith rather than doubt is anessential starting point for hermeneutics.Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.As Ellen White commented about herown writings: “some who are not willingto receive the light, but who prefer towalk in ways of their own choosing, willsearch the testimonies to find somethingin them to encourage the spirit of unbe-lief and disobedience.”12

Hermeneutical Principle No. 2: BeginWith a Healthy OutlookEvery person has a unique mindset,

often described as a "worldview," whosescope and influence are far-reaching. Thephilosophical values that inform one’sworldview impact the person’s attitudesand decision-making and profoundly in-fluence his or her outlook on life. World-view is also influenced by a person’s atti-tude and temperament. Some people tendto be naturally positive about life, whileothers are consistently negative. In orderto develop a “healthy” outlook, each per-son needs to recognize what presupposi-tions and biases have helped to shape hisor her unique worldview. Thus, develop-ing a “healthy” outlook means identifyinganything that might prevent one fromhaving an open mind about inspiredwritings. It is easy to read something intothe text rather than letting the text remainauthoritative, an inspired piece of writingthat can be interpreted by careful studyand comparison with other texts.An important aspect of a “healthy out-

look” includes being willing to changeone’s opinion when confronted with solidevidence—in other words, keeping an“open mind.” We must recognize our bi-ases (both for and against) and not allowthem to control our thinking. These bi-ases come from our worldview, which isinfluenced by race, culture, gender, tradi-tion, upbringing, training, and beliefs,which can lead to preconceptions and as-sumptions about inspired writings. Whileit is impossible to completely overcome

human bias, by recognizing it we can askthe Holy Spirit to help us keep our mindsopen and balanced. Ellen White describedthis process when she wrote: “If yousearch the Scriptures to vindicate yourown opinions, you will never reach thetruth. Search in order to learn what theLord says.”13

Hermeneutical Principle No. 3:Consider All Available DataRemember the story of six blind men

who found an elephant. The first thoughtit was a wall, the second a spear, the thirda snake, the fourth a tree, the fifth a fan,and the last a rope.14 Because they all cor-rectly described various anatomical fea-tures of the elephant, each one was par-tially right, but also totally wrong. Theymissed the “big picture,” which considerseach portion of the anatomy as part of aunified whole! In a similar way, it is easyto make incomplete and inaccurate as-sumptions when dealing with a largequantity of material, whether the 66books of the Bible or the voluminous lit-erary output of Ellen White. Before draw-ing a conclusion, the reader should takethe time to examine all that the writer hasto say on a topic. Jesus exemplified thisprinciple in His teaching: “And beginningat Moses and all the prophets, He ex-pounded unto them in all the Scripturesthe things concerning Himself” (Luke24:27, KJV). The prophet Isaiah similarlyunderstood this principle when he wrote:“precept upon precept; line upon line;here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah28:10, KJV).When studying everything that Ellen

White or the Bible has to say on a topic,the modern reader will quickly recognizethat there are:

• topics that Ellen White (and the bib-lical authors) did not write about becausethey had not been discovered or were notwidely known during their lifetimes (i.e.,genetic treatments for disease, birth con-trol, electronic media, and organ trans-plants);

• topics upon which Ellen White wrotevery little (gardening, astronomy, homo-

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sexuality, life insurance, the weddingband); and topics upon which EllenWhite wrote a great deal (salvation inJesus Christ and end-time events).

• In the case of some topics, such asEllen White’s use of the word amalgama-tion, insufficient data is available to beable to determine conclusively what shemeant by the term.15

Arthur White, Ellen White’s grandson,discussed the necessity of examining allthe information available when studyingher writings. He stated: “many have erredin interpreting the meaning of the testi-monies by taking isolated statements . . .out of their context as a basis for belief.Some do this even though there are otherpassages, which, if carefully considered,would show the position taken on thebasis of the isolated statement to be un-tenable. . . . It is not difficult to find indi-vidual sentences or paragraphs in eitherthe Bible or the Ellen G. White writings,which may be used to support one’s ownideas rather than to set forth the thoughtof the author.”16 Ellen White also em-braced this principle when she wrote:“The testimonies themselves will be thekey that will explain the messages given,as scripture is explained by scripture.”17

As a case study, let’s look at EllenWhite’s counsel about the use of eggs. In aletter written in 1869, she wrote: “Eggsshould not be placed on your table. Theyare an injury to your children.”18 Properhermeneutics prompts us to ask whetherthis was all she wrote about the topic. In 1901, Ellen White wrote a letter of

counsel to Daniel H. Kress, a medicalmissionary to Australia. She told him thathe had become a health reform “extrem-ist.” “You must not deprive yourself ofthat class of food which makes goodblood,” she added. “It is your duty to . . .get eggs of healthy fowls. Use these eggscooked or raw. Drop them uncooked intothe best unfermented wine you can find.This will supply that which is necessary toyour system. Do not for a moment sup-pose that it will not be right to do this.”19

Forty-three years later, Dr. Kress testi-fied that Ellen White’s counsels had saved

his life at a time when he was almost atthe point of death. “After receiving thismessage,” he wrote, “I at once began mak-ing reforms by using eggs as directed, andmilk, and with God’s blessing I made afull recovery . . . . For the health so gra-ciously granted me, I am indebted to themessages that came to me at a time whena recovery seemed hopeless from ahuman standpoint. I still follow the in-struction by using milk and eggs.”20

Did Ellen White contradict herself? Inthe case of her earlier counsel, she wasconcerned about the health of a youngman, but she knew some people whose“blood-making organs were feeble” andneeded eggs for a well-balanced diet.Ellen White’s counsel about eggs under-scores the importance of reading every-

thing she wrote about a topic beforeforming a conclusion.

Hermeneutical Principle No. 4:Consider the ContextThe context of a statement is ex-

tremely important in understanding anauthor’s meaning. Three primary types ofcontext affect meaning: literary, historical,and theological:

A. Literary Context. The goal is to getas close to the original language as possi-ble. Use a historical dictionary, and com-pare the language of the author in theoriginal context, as well as the way the au-thor uses the word in other places. “Inorder to sustain erroneous doctrines orunchristian practices,” noted Ellen White,“some will seize upon passages of Scrip-ture separated from the context, perhapsquoting half a single verse as provingtheir point, when the remaining portion

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Arthur White, Ellen White’sgrandson, discussed the

necessity of examining all theinformation available when

studying her writings.

would show the meaning to be quite theopposite. With the cunning of the serpentthey entrench themselves behind discon-nected utterances construed to suit theircarnal desires. Thus do many willfullypervert the word of God.”21

B. Historical Context. The historicalcontext includes the time, place, and cir-cumstances that led to the creation of theoriginal document. Today, Seventh-dayAdventists keep the Sabbath from sun-down Friday to sundown Saturday. Howearly Adventists decided when the Sab-bath began is an instructive exampleabout the importance of historical con-text. On Friday, November 16, 1855, thegroup, meeting in a formal session, desig-nated the Sabbath as beginning at 6:00P.M. (despite the fact that the sun had set

an hour earlier) largely based upon thepractice at that time. The foremost advo-cate of this position was Captain JosephBates, who reasoned that the most uni-form way to keep the Sabbath was to haveit begin when the Sun set at the equator(6:00 P.M.). But others at that GeneralConference session pointed to Leviticus23:32, which said: “from even unto even,shall you keep your sabbath” (KJV). Theyoung scholar J. N. Andrews was asked topresent his research that Sabbath morn-ing. After examining all the biblicalevidence, Andrews concluded that theSabbath should be kept from sunset tosunset. Without the historical contextof knowing how, when, and why thechurch’s thinking on this topic changed,the modern reader would likely be con-fused and conclude that early Adventistscontradicted one another. A few days

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later, on November 20, Ellen White had avision that validated J. N. Andrews’s pres-entation.22

Another example of historical devel-opment involves the Adventist under-standing of clean and unclean meats. Asearly as 1858, Mrs. White admonishedS. N. Haskell about his persistence in agi-tating for Christians to avoid uncleanfoods as defined in the Old Testament, es-pecially pork. “I saw,” she wrote, “thatyour views concerning swine’s fleshwould prove no injury if you have themto yourselves; but in your judgment andopinion you have made this question atest . . . . If God requires His people to ab-stain from swine’s flesh, He will convictthem on the matter.”23 Although manyearly Sabbatarian Adventists were reform-ers, there was among them no widespreadinterest in health principles until afterEllen White’s June 5, 1863, health-reformvision. The following year, Mrs. Whitebegan to write about what she had seen.Spiritual Gifts, volume 4, makes it clear

that her emphasis had changed: “Godnever designed the swine to be eatenunder any circumstances.”24

The culture (e.g., time and place) issimilarly an important component of his-torical context. An instructive example isEllen White’s counsel on courtship. In1897, while she was in Australia, Mrs.White wrote regarding the students at thenewly formed Avondale School: “We wouldnot, could not, allow any courting or form-ing attachments at the school, girls withyoung men and young men with girls.”25 In1913, a former principal of the AvondaleSchool, C. W. Irwin, was asked to read amanuscript being prepared by Mrs. Whiteon the subject of education. This docu-ment did not include her strongly worded1897 statement! In its place was a farmilder statement: “In all our dealings withstudents, age and character must be takeninto account. We cannot treat the youngand the old just alike. There are circum-stances under which men and women ofsound experience and good standing may

be granted some privileges not given to theyounger students. The age, the conditions,and the turn of mind must be taken intoconsideration. We must be wisely consider-ate in all our work. But we must not lessenour firmness and vigilance in dealing withstudents of all ages, nor our strictness inforbidding the unprofitable and unwise as-sociation of young and immature stu-dents.”26

Irwin responded that he was “at a loss toknow how to make it [this later statement]agree with matter which Sister White hadwritten on other occasions.”27 Church his-torian George Knight explains the reasonfor the disparity: “What Irwin had nottaken into account was the difference incircumstances in which Ellen White hadgiven the seemingly divergent counsel. Hercounsel to the Avondale School in 1897 fo-cused on a situation in which nearly halfthe students were under 16 years of age.But in 1913 the majority of students in thedenomination’s colleges were older, moreexperienced, and more mature.”28

Ellen White recognized the importanceof time and place in interpreting hercounsel. She wrote: “Regarding the testi-monies, nothing is ignored; nothing iscast aside; but time and place must be con -sidered. Nothing must be done untimely.Some matters must be withheld becausesome persons would make an improperuse of the light given.”29

C. Theological Context: Obscure pas-sages need to be understood in the lightof major theological themes. For EllenWhite, some of these major themes in-clude the primacy of Scripture, the GreatControversy theme, and her devotion toJesus Christ.Ellen White never intended for her

books to be used as a substitute for Scrip-ture. She described her writings as a “les- ser light” to lead people to the “greaterlight”—the Scriptures.30 Even within herown lifetime she saw her writings beingmisused. However, as she herself observed,a balanced understanding should lead peo-ple back to the Bible and encourage themto focus on its dominant themes. For thisreason, in everything she wrote, EllenWhite emphasized the “redemption plan,the restoration in the human soul of the

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image of God.”31 She wrote that “The Biblestudent should learn to view the work [theBible] as a whole, and to see the relation ofits parts. He should gain a knowledge of itsgrand central theme, of God’s original pur-pose for the world, of the rise of the greatcontroversy, and of the work of redemp-tion.”32

Another major theme in the writings ofEllen White was her devotion to JesusChrist. This devotion stemmed from herown three-step conversion process duringwhich her relationship with Jesus deepenedfrom respect for a God who would save herfrom the torments of hell, to assurance ofsalvation with a God who loved her uncon-ditionally, to finally understanding right-eousness by faith as the need to dependcompletely upon the merits of Jesus Christfor salvation. Her relationship with Jesusdeepened throughout her lifetime. Hence,toward at the end of her life, she wrotesome of her most Christ-centered works,books like Steps to Christ (1892), The Desireof Ages (1898), Christ’s Object Lessons(1900), and The Ministry of Healing (1905),which demonstrate the depth of her spiri-tual experience.One of the challenges of ascertaining

theological context in the writings ofEllen White was created inadvertentlywhen the church began to assemble com-pilations—books or pamphlets takenfrom her original writings, which are usu-ally grouped topically. While there aresome advantages in having a convenientform to access her writings on a giventopic, compilations can also obscure theoriginal literary and theological context.The danger of intensely scrutinizing a sin-gle topic is that it may cause the reader tomiss the larger themes on which EllenWhite was focusing.

Hermeneutical Principle No. 5:The Difference Between Principles andParticularsAt the risk of oversimplification, it is

possible to argue that when prophets aregiving counsel and instruction, they aredoing one of two things: (a) declaring aprinciple (an unchanging rule of human

conduct that is timeless and universal), or(b) making an application to an immedi-ate situation. This application could becalled a particular. Ascertaining the differ-ence between principles and particularsforms a recurring theme throughout thewritings of Ellen White. “The Bible is theguidebook that is to decide the many dif-ficult problems that rise in minds that areselfishly inclined. It is a reflection of thewisdom of God, and not only furnishesgreat and important principles, but sup-plies practical lessons for the life and con-duct of man toward his fellow man. Itgives minute particulars that decide ourrelation to God and to each other.”33

In 1903, Ellen White wrote that girlswho “could learn to harness and drive a

horse . . . would be better fitted to meet theemergencies of life.”34 Similarly, EllenWhite wrote that every Adventist schoolshould teach agriculture, and schoolsshould be built only in rural locations.35

Does this mean that all Adventist institu-tions must be built in rural locations andall young women must learn horseman-ship? If so, then this counsel is now fre-quently ignored, and some even refer tostatements such as these as evidence thatthe Adventist educational system has“abandoned the Blueprint.”36 However,Ellen White’s writings in other places makeit clear that she was concerned that bothboys and girls learn practical life skills—sothat they could be self-reliant enough todrive a car and prepared for emergenciessuch as changing a tire.37 And Ellen Whitewas a pragmatist who recognized that al-though the ideal was for Adventist institu-tions to be in rural settings, in order to

One of the challenges of ascertaining theological con-text in the writings of Ellen

White was created inadvertentlywhen the church began toassemble compilations. . . .

serve a broad spectrum of students, schoolswould need to be built in urban areas.38

Another case study involves the properphysical posture for prayer. In 1897, whileEllen White was on the platform of theBattle Creek Tabernacle, she whispered tothe minister who intended to remainstanding, “Get down upon your knees!” Inreporting this experience, she added: “Thisis the proper position always.”39 So, doesthis mean that in all circumstances, theonly proper position for prayer is kneeling?Based on these counsels, a friend of minehas suggested that when Ellen White said“always,” that’s what she meant, and so shekneels every time she prays, no matterwhere that might be. Is that what EllenWhite really intended?

An examination of all of her teachingon the topic quickly reveals a balancingstatement: “it is not always necessary tobow upon your knees in order to pray. Cul-tivate the habit of talking with the Sav-iour when you are alone, when you arewalking, and when you are busy withyour daily labor.”40 Furthermore, in dis-cussing her own practices, she reportedthat “Sometimes I pray for hours whilelying in my bed” and publicly made altarcalls urging people to stand for the clos-ing benediction.41 Her action at the BattleCreek Tabernacle seems to have been di-rected to a specific minister who did notshow proper respect during the churchservice, which Ellen White viewed as em-blematic of a growing trend at that spe-cific time toward a lack of reverencewithin Adventist churches. The principle

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she emphasized was the need to show rev-erence to God while worshiping.Ellen White recognized the possibility

that some people would confuse princi-ples and particulars. During her own life-time, she was troubled by “those who,”she said, “select from the testimonies thestrongest expressions and, without bring-ing in or making any account of the cir-cumstances under which the cautions andwarnings are given, make them of force inevery case. . . . Picking out some things inthe testimonies they drive them uponevery one, and disgust rather than winsouls.”42 This suggests that she wrotesome of her counsels more forcibly thanothers because of specific circumstances,

so it is essential to understand the under-lying principle at stake before one exam-ines how she applied it to a particular sit-uation. Ellen White frequently chosesome of her strongest language to de-scribe the ideal, while making it clear thatshe also understood the challenges of ap-plying principles to real-life situations.43

Hermeneutical Principle No. 6:Obtain Specialized HelpGiven the huge amount of inspired

writings, whether in the Bible or the pub-lished and unpublished writings of EllenWhite, it may be difficult at times to makesense of a specific counsel. One of the bestways to resolve this problem is to acquaintoneself with a variety of reference works(both print and electronic) and know howto find additional help when necessary.Helpful biblical reference works include

can also be purchased on a DVD. Anotherhelpful Website for exploring issues re-lated to Ellen White is Jud Lake’s Website:http://www.ellenwhiteanswers.org.

The Importance of Common SenseSometimes when confronted with

some strongly worded counsels written byEllen White, people are tempted to applythem rigidly without exercising commonsense.47 One example is this counsel:“Parents should be the only teachers oftheir children until they have reachedeight or ten years of age,”48 which was firstpublished in 1872 and reissued in 1882and 1913. I have sat through board meet-ings where church members asserted thatthis statement was an inflexible rule thatshould be applied in every situation.In order to understand this statement,

it is necessary to apply the six hermeneu-tical principles listed earlier in this article,along with some common sense. GeorgeKnight has suggested that the struggleover how to apply this statement “hasprovided us with perhaps the very bestrecord we possess of how Mrs. White in-terpreted her own writings.”49

A church school was built in 1902 nearEllen White’s “Elmshaven” home in St.Helena, California. The school board hadno trouble finding older children to en-roll, but they regarded some of the fami-lies as careless because they were allowingtheir young children to roam free insteadof enrolling them in school. When theboard received a recommendation tobuild a second classroom for the youngerchildren, some board members objected,basing their viewpoint on Ellen White’sstatement that “parents should be the onlyteachers of their children” until age 8 or10. The school board was now split.In order to achieve a consensus, they

proposed to discuss this quotation di-rectly with Ellen White. Fortunately, theentire interview was transcribed for pos-terity.50 Ellen White reaffirmed her ear -lier position. “The home,” she told them,“is both a family church and a familyschool.” That was the principle, the idealthat she strove to place before Adventists.

Given the huge amount ofinspired writings, whether in theBible or the published and unpub-lished writings of Ellen White,

it may be difficult at times to makesense of a specific counsel.

Bible dictionaries and commentaries. TheSeventh-day Adventist Church during the1950s prepared The Seventh-day AdventistBible Commentary (revised in 1980),44

which is still an excellent resource. A morein-depth study of the original languagescan be obtained by using Young’s referencenumbers in conjunction with a Greek orHebrew lexicon. Many libraries have cur-rent bibliographies that can guide you tocurrent biblical research.Similarly, there are some standard ref-

erence works for the study of Adventisthistory and Ellen White’s writings. TheSeventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia(1996)45 contains detailed information onthe history of the denomination. Other

current reference works include LightBearers, A History of the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church by Richard W. Schwarz(1979), revised and updated by Floyd L.Greenleaf (2000); In Passion for the World:A History of Seventh-day Adventist Educa-tion (2005) by Floyd L. Greenleaf; andThe Ellen G. White Encyclopedia, editedby Jerry Moon and Denis Fortin.46 TheEncyclopedia contains research on EllenWhite’s life and ministry, written by morethan a hundred Adventist scholars. Thispeer-reviewed volume will probably be-come the benchmark reference on EllenWhite’s life and thought for many years tocome. If you still have questions, a helpfulresource is the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.,which has many helpful studies aboutproblematic statements on its Website:http://www.whiteestate.org. In addition,the Website contains a mechanism thatallows visitors to search all of EllenWhite’s published counsels. This material

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But she recognized that the ideal is notalways possible. “Mothers should be ableto instruct their little ones wisely duringthe earlier years of childhood. If everymother were capable of doing this, andwould take time to teach her children thelessons they should learn in early life,then all children could be kept in thehome school until they are eight, or nine,or ten years old.”51 Thus, Ellen Whitesought to adjust the ideal “with a realitythat modifies the categorical and uncon-ditional nature of her statement on par-ents being the only teachers of their chil-dren until 8 or 10 years of age.”52

Before the interview ended, she toldthe board: “God desires us to deal withthese problems sensibly.” She was quiteconcerned about individuals who took aninflexible approach to her writings. “Mymind has been greatly stirred in regard tothe idea, ‘Why, Sister White has said soand so, and Sister White has said so andso; and therefore we are going right up toit.’” She added: “God wants us all to havecommon sense, and He wants us to rea-son from common sense. Circumstancesalter conditions. Circumstances changethe relation of things.”53 It was obvious toeveryone present that when she had madethe original statement about the age atwhich children should enter school(1872) that there were no church schools,but by 1913, many church schools wereaccessible for Adventist parents. Circum-stances indeed had changed.54

In 1886, Ellen White lamented the waysome people mistreated her writings aswell as the Bible: “This is the way my writ-ings are treated by those who wish to mis-understand and pervert them. . . . In thevery same way that they treat the writingsin my published articles and in my books,so do skeptics and infidels treat the Bible.They read it according to their desire topervert, to misapply, to willfully wrest theutterances from their true meaning.”55

Adventist theologian Herbert E. Doug -lass offers six suggestions that will pre ventdistortions and misunderstanding of in-spired writing: (1) invite the Holy Spiritto help you study; (2) be willing to obeythe truth; (3) be open-minded, even pre-pared to give up previously held opinions;

(4) expect to discover new truths; (5) en-sure that “new” light is in harmony withold truth; and (6) be aware that an inter-pretation may be wrong if it is accompa-nied by an un-Christlike spirit.56 These sixsuggestions along with a healthy dose of“common sense” will help the modernstudent of inspired writings to avoid ex-treme interpretations.

Did Ellen White Really Say That?At the age of 12, I was asked to lead the

song service in our church. I was terrified,as it was my first time standing at the frontof a congregation. Fortunately, I made itthrough the hymns. After I finished, I wasso relieved that I quickly exited to the backof the congregation, where I was accostedby a well-intentioned woman who rebukedme in the name of Ellen White for not hav-ing the congregation sing every stanza ofevery hymn. “Don’t you know,” she toldme, “that the Ellen White writings saythat?” I replied that I did not. Immediately,I began to search for the statement. Aftermore than two decades, I still have notfound it, even though I have worked at theWhite Estate and consulted several other

experts on Ellen White’s writings. It is an“apocryphal” statement attributed to EllenWhite but which she herself never made.Indeed, it is common for public figures

and famous authors to have statementsfalsely attributed to them. In fact, the bestapocryphal statements are created whenthe person is no longer alive to refutethem! While Ellen White was alive, sherecognized this problem: Beware, shesaid, “how you give credence to such re-ports. . . . To all who have a desire fortruth I would say: Do not give credence tounauthenticated reports as to what SisterWhite has done or said or written. If youdesire to know what the Lord has revealedthrough her, read her published works. . . .Do not eagerly catch up and report ru-mors as to what she has said.”57

Some examples of favorite apocryphal“Ellen White said” statements that are stillcirculated today include: (1) inhabitantsof other planets are gathering fruit for acelestial Sabbath stopover on the way toheaven; (2) she saw an angel standing byUriah Smith inspiring him as he wroteThoughts on Daniel and the Revelation;(3) the Holy Spirit is or was Melchizedek;

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(4) she designated certain spots as hide-outs for the time of trouble; (5) specificcities would be destroyed by comingearthquakes, fires, floods, etc.; (6) Christwill return at midnight; (7) eggs shouldnever be eaten; (8) Ellen White will beamong the 144,000; (9) darkness willcover the Earth as the close of probationoccurs; (10) Christ’s last mediatorial workbefore probation closes will be for chil-dren who have wandered away from thechurch; (11) we should live as though wehad 100 years to live but may die tomor-row; (12) entire churches and conferenceswill apostatize.58

The 1919 Bible Conference andthe Application of HermeneuticsIn the Seventh-day Adventist Church,

the first major test of how to apply herme -

neutical principles occurred at the pivotal1919 Bible Conference, four years afterEllen White’s death. The planning commit-tee intended for this conference to focus onhow to interpret inspired writings.At first, the writings of Ellen White

weren’t even on the list of topics to be dis-cussed, but as delegates debated a varietyof issues, they kept returning to the un-derlying problem of how to interpret (toapply hermeneutics to) Ellen White’swritings. Two different schools of thoughthad developed on this subject, and bothwere represented at the conference. Onegroup, who called themselves the “pro-gressives,” emphasized the importance ofchange; others, calling themselves “tradi-tionalists,” emphasized a literal interpreta-tion. The two sides polarized the confer-ence as they debated how to interpret theBible and Ellen White’s writings.The crucial conversation occurred

conferees instead sought to arrive at apreconceived conclusion rather than to beopen to where their study would takethem. At that historic gathering, confereesdisregarded basic hermeneutical princi-ples, holding on to preconceived ideas.They pushed each other further apart,creating polarized theological camps. Forthe first (but not the last) time in Ad -ventist history, “traditionalists” waged waragainst “progressives.” In the end, the1919 Bible Conference set the stage forlater hermeneutical struggles that contin-ued through the rest of the 20th centuryand into the 21st.61

ConclusionHermeneutics is the science of deriv-

ing meaning. It is the method used to dis-cover exactly what an author meant to saywhen he or she wrote a specific statementor chapter. The Bible describes this as“rightly dividing the word of truth.”62 Toarrive at a credible conclusion, one mustachieve the twin tasks of achieving bal-ance and avoiding distortion.The six hermeneutical principles out-

lined in this mini-course are critical for abalanced understanding of Ellen White’swritings and the Bible. First, the readermust ask the Holy Spirit to guide his orher search for truth and approach theprocess with a genuine openness. Other-wise, hermeneutical principles, no matterhow valid, are unlikely to help. Next, con-sider all of the data available. Third, con-sider the historical, literary, and theologi-cal context. Fourth, differentiate betweenprinciples and particulars. A particular isa specific application of the principle. Lastbut not least, if a statement still does notmake sense to you, obtain specialized helpfrom a reference work, or contact theEllen G. White Estate or the Biblical Re-search Institute at the General Conferenceof Seventh-day Adventists.63

Ultimately, hermeneutics is a “tool” toassist in the search for truth. Commonsense is important. Make sure that beforeyou try to follow all of the hermeneuticalsteps that the Scripture verse or passageby Ellen White actually exists!

“the Bible explains itself and must be understood through itself without

resorting to the Testimonies [EllenWhite’s writings] to prove it.”

during “roundtable” discussions aboutEllen White’s writings that occurred onJuly 30 and August 1, 1919. The firstgroup of questions centered on the “ex-egetical” use of Ellen White’s writings. A.G. Daniells, the leader of the discussionand president of the General Conferenceat that time, asserted “the Bible explainsitself and must be understood through it-self without resorting to the Testimonies[Ellen White’s writings] to prove it.”59

Daniells spoke “very frankly” to the 18 in-dividuals present about the importance ofhermeneutical principles. “If we had al-ways taught the truth on this question[hermeneutics],” he added, “we would nothave any trouble or shock in the denomi-nation now. But the shock is because wehave not taught the truth, and have putthe Testimonies on a plane where she says

they do not stand. We have claimed morefor them than she did.”60

One of Daniells’ primary concerns wasthe importance of educating young peo-ple, and church members in general,about the proper way to interpret theBible and Ellen White’s writings. He de-scribed a trip he took up to the ArcticCircle to visit a young pioneer missionary.There he found the young man as pale asa ghost due to his attempts to follow a fewstatements that Ellen White made abouthealth reform without exercising com-mon sense in applying the principlesto his particular situation. According toDaniells, this was an abuse of EllenWhite’s writings.The 1919 Bible Conference illustrates

that there is more than one way to inter-pret Ellen White’s writings, and that whenthere is disagreement about how to in-terpret inspired writings, the most pro-ductive approach is to agree on solidhermeneutical principles. However, the

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Last but not least, keep in mind the les-son from the 1919 Bible Conference:Within a short time after Ellen White’sdeath, at least two different hermeneuticalcamps existed within the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church. A. G. Daniells recognizedthis problem and tried to do somethingabout it by gathering thought leaders in hisday to discuss the problem. Unfortunately,the issues have never been fully resolved,which explains why, even now, Adventistscontinue to disagree about what the Biblewriters and Ellen White said and what theymeant. Even though differences of opinionare likely to persist, such discussions withinAdventism will be far more fruitful if theyestablish how to approach inspired writ-ings. The basic hermeneutical principlesoutlined here are well-established princi-ples grounded in Scripture and the writ-ings of Ellen White and can serve as a start-ing point for every sincere student whosearches for truth.

This article has been peer reviewed.

Michael W. Campbellis Lead Pastor of theWichita Seventh-dayAdventist Church inKansas. He obtained aPh.D. in AdventistStudies from AndrewsUniversity and previ-

ously spent time working as an associate di-rector of the Ellen G. White Estate BranchOffice at Loma Linda University.

NOTES AND REFERENCES1. This article is revised from the original article

by Roger W. Coon, “Hermeneutics: Interpreting a19th-Century Prophet in the Space Age,” The Journalof Adventist Education 50:5 (Summer 1988):16-31.2. All Scripture references, unless otherwise

noted, are from the New International Version. 3. Cf. Sinclair B. Ferguson, David F. Wright, and

J. I. Packer, eds., New Dictionary of Theology (Down-ers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1988).4.Webster’s Third New International Dictionary

of the English Language, Unabridged (Springfield,Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2002).5. Robert McHenry, ed., Famous American

�

Women: A Biographical Dictionary From ColonialTimes to the Present (Springfield, Mass.: C. & G.Merriam Co., 1980), p. 439.6. Cf. Otto Bettmann, The Good Old Days: They

Were Terrible! (New York: Random House, 1974).7.Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary,

Unabridged (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster,1913), s.v. “Cor’ban.”8. Jerry Moon, “Ellen G. White and Hermeneu-

tics, Part I: Who Needs It?” GSEM 534 Ellen WhiteWritings, Lecture Outline, Andrews University (Jan-uary 30, 2003), p. 6.9. George R. Knight, Reading Ellen White: How to

Understand and Apply Her Writings (Hagerstown,Md.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1997), p. 36.

10. T. Housel Jemison, A Prophet Among You(Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn.,1955), pp. 438, 439; Arthur L. White, “Helpful Pointsin the Interpretation and Use of the Ellen White Writ-ings,” in Comprehensive Index to the Writings of EllenG. White (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publ.Assn., 1963), vol. 3, pp. 3211-3216; Robert W. Olson,“Hermeneutics: Guiding Principles in the Interpreta-tion of the Bible and the Writings of Ellen G. White,”White Estate Shelf Document, 1986; Roger W. Coon,“EGW and Hermeneutics: Its Importance and Place—An Introduction,” GSEM 534 Lecture Outline, An-drews University, April 4, 1995; Knight, Reading EllenWhite, op. cit.; Herbert E. Douglass, Messenger of theLord: The Prophetic Ministry of Ellen G. White (Nampa,Idaho: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1998), pp. 372-443.11. Knight, Reading Ellen White, op. cit., pp. 43-

123.12. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages (Washing-

ton, D.C.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1958),Book 1, p. 48.13. ______________, Christ’s Object Lessons

(Oakland, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Co., 1900), p.112.14. John Godfrey Saxe, “The Blind Men and the

Elephant.” The Poems of John Godfrey Saxe: http:// en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_poems_of_John_Godfrey_Saxe/The_Blind_Men_and_the_Elephant.Retrieved July 2, 2012.

15.The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia, Jerry Moonand Denis Fortin, eds. (Hagerstown, Md.: Review andHerald Publ. Assn., at press), s.v. “Amalgamation.” 16. Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: Messenger to

the Remnant (Washington, D.C.: Review and HeraldPubl. Assn., 1969), p. 88.17. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, op. cit.,

Book 1, p. 42.18. ______________, Testimonies for the Church

(Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn.,1948), Book 2, p. 400.19. ______________, Counsels on Diet and

Foods (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publ.Assn., 1976), p. 204.20. As quoted by Knight in Reading Ellen White,

op. cit., p. 76.21. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy

(Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn.,1911), p. 521.22. For an overview, see Douglass, Messenger of

the Lord, op. cit., p. 157.

23. White, Testimonies, op. cit., vol. 1, pp. 206,207.24. Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts (Washington,

D.C.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1945), vol. 4, p.124.25. ______________, Letter 193, 1897.26. ______________, Counsels to Parents, Teach-

ers, and Students Regarding Christian Education(Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn.,1963), p. 101.27. C. W. Irwin to W. C. White, February 12,

1913, cited in Knight, Reading Ellen White, p. 80.28. Knight, Reading Ellen White, op. cit., p. 80.29. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, op. cit., p. 57.30. ______________, Colporteur Ministry

(Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1990), p.125.31. ______________, Education (Mountain

View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1942), p. 125.32. Ibid., pp. 190, 191. See also Douglass, Mes-

senger of the Lord, op. cit., pp. 256-260, 268-277.33. ______________, The Upward Look (Wash-

ington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1982),p. 187, italics supplied.34. ______________, Education, op. cit., pp.

216, 217.35. ______________, Country Living: An Aid to

Moral and Social Security (Washington, D.C.: Reviewand Herald Publ. Assn., 1946). This posthumouscompilation contains a helpful summary of her per-tinent writings on the topic.36. For an in-depth overview of the use of the

word Blueprint in the Seventh-day AdventistChurch, see Floyd Greenleaf, “The Blueprint: TheColorful History of an Adventist Metaphor,” TheJournal of Adventist Education 74:4 (April/May2012), pp. 16-23: http://circle.adventist.org/files/ jae/en/jae201274041607.pdf.37. Ellen White wrote about the importance of

boys learning how to cook, put their room in order,wash dishes, prepare a meal, and wash and repairclothing. See Education, pp. 216, 217.

38. George R. Knight, “Another Look at City Mis-sion: Many Look to Ellen White for Counsel AboutHow to Reach the Cities. What Did She Really Say?”Adventist Review (December 6, 2011), pp. 25-29.39. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 2, op.

cit., p. 311.40. Ibid., Book 2, p. 316.41. Ellen G. White, Letter 258, 1903.42. __________, Selected Messages, Book 3, op.

cit., p. 285.43. See Knight, Reading Ellen White, op. cit., pp.

90-94.44. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary

(Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn.,1954-1957).45. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Hagers -

town, Md.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1996).46. Floyd L. Greenleaf and Richard Schwarz,

Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch, rev. ed. (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publ.Assn., 2000); Floyd L. Greenleaf, In Passion for the

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C O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O N

World: A History of Seventh-day Adventist Education(Nampa: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 2005); Moon andFortin, The Ellen White Encyclopedia (Hagerstown,Md.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., at press).47. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 137. For

this insight I am indebted to George R. Knight. SeeReading Ellen White, pp. 95-99.48. ______________, Manuscript Releases (Silver

Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 6, p.351.49. Knight, Reading Ellen White, op. cit., p. 95.50. Ellen G. White, Manuscript 7, 1904, mostly

reproduced in Selected Messages, op. cit., Book 3, pp.214-226.51. ______________, Manuscript Releases, op.

cit., vol. 6, p. 351, also in Selected Messages, op. cit.,Book 3, pp. 214, 215.52. ______________, Selected Messages, ibid., p.

217.53. Ibid., pp. 215, 217.54. In 1880, there was one school with one

teacher and an estimated enrollment of 15. By 1910,the Adventist school system had grown to 594schools with 758 teachers and 13,357 students. SeeKnight, Meeting Ellen White: A Fresh Look at HerLife, Writings, and Major Themes (Hagerstown, Md.:Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1996), p. 68.55. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, op. cit.,

Book 1, p. 19.56. Douglass, Messenger of the Lord, op. cit., p.

374.57. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, op. cit., vol. 5, p.

694.58. Douglass, Messenger of the Lord, op. cit., pp.

402, 403.59. General Conference Archives, “Report of Bible

Conference, Held in Takoma Park, D.C., July 1-19,1919,” August 1, 1919, pp. 1238, 1239. Available onlineat: http://www.adventistarchives.org/documents.asp? CatID=19&SortBy=1&ShowDateOrder=True.60. Ibid.61. Michael W. Campbell, “The 1919 Bible Con-

ference and Its Significance for Seventh-day Advent -ist History and Theology,” Ph.D. diss., Andrews Uni-versity, 2008.62. 2 Timothy 2:15, KJV.63. See http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org

and http://www.WhiteEstate.org.

BIBLE CREDITSScripture quotations credited to NIV are from

The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by per-mission. All rights reserved worldwide.Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the

New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962,1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by TheLockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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