Understanding Ellen White

Statement 9: Height of antediluvians and giant fossils

Adam is said to have been more than twice the height of modern men. ⁴⁵ The parallel passage in Patriarchs and Prophets makes the more moderate claim that Adam’s height was “much greater” than that of men who now inhabit the earth. ⁴⁶ A supporting passage says that “geologists claim” to have found “bones of men and animals, as well as instruments of warfare, petrified trees, et cetera, much larger than any that now exist,” from which these geologists infer the existence of “a race of beings vastly superior in size to any men now living.” ⁴⁷ Whether or not there exists valid fossil evidence for “a race of beings vastly superior in size” to humans today is still a subject of debate and cannot be categorically validated or invalidated. However, it is worth noting that in this particular statement Ellen White points readers not to inspiration, but to the claims of geologists of the time. UEGW 187.2