Understanding Ellen White

8. Recognize Ellen White’s understanding of the ideal and the real

Ellen White often found herself plagued by “those who will select from the testimonies the strongest expressions and, without bringing in or making any account of the circumstances under which the cautions and warnings are given, make them of force in every case. . . .Picking out some things in the testimonies they drive them upon every one, and disgust rather than win souls.” ³⁰ UEGW 76.4

Her observation not only highlights the fact that we need to take the historical context of Ellen White’s statements into consideration when reading her counsel, but it also indicates that she put some statements in stronger or more forceful language than others. That idea leads us to the concept of the ideal and the real in Ellen White’s writings. UEGW 76.5

When Ellen White is stating the ideal, she often uses her strongest language. It is as if she needs to speak loudly in order to be heard. One such statement appears in Fundamentals of Christian Education. “Never can the proper education be given to the youth in this country, or any other country, unless they are separated a wide distance from the cities” ³¹ Now, that is about as forceful a statement as she could have made. Not only is it adamant, but it appears to imply universality in terms of time and space. There is no stronger word than never. In its strictest meaning it allows no exceptions. She uses the same sort of powerful, unbending language in terms of location—“in this country, or any other country.” Once again a plain reading of the words permits no exceptions. We are dealing with what appears to be a universal prohibition regarding the building of schools in cities. But the statement is stronger than that. Such schools are not merely to be out of the cities, but “separated a wide distance” from them. UEGW 77.1

But there were exceptions. For example, by 1909 the Adventist work in large cities was increasing. And those cities had families who could not afford to send their children to rural institutions. As a result, Ellen White counseled the building of schools in the cities. “So far as possible . . . schools should be established outside the cities. But in the cities there are many children who could not attend schools away from the cities; and for the benefit of these, schools should be opened in the cities as well as in the country.” ³² UEGW 77.2

By this time you may be asking yourself how the same woman could claim that proper education could “never” be given in Australia “or any other country, unless [schools] are separated a wide distance from the cities” and yet still advocate the establishment of schools in the cities. UEGW 77.3

The answer is that rural education for all children was the ideal that the church should aim at “so far as possible.” But the truth is that the hard facts of life make such education impossible for some. Thus reality dictated a compromise if Christian education were to reach children from poorer families. Ellen White understood and accepted the tension between the ideal and the real. UEGW 77.4

Unfortunately, many of her readers fail to take that fact into consideration. They focus merely on Ellen White’s strongest statements, those that express the ideal, and ignore the moderating passages. As a result, as we noted above, “picking out some things in the testimonies they drive them upon every one, and disgust rather than win souls.” UEGW 77.5

Ellen White has more balance than many of those who claim to be following her. Faithful followers must take into account her understanding of the tension between the ideal and the real in applying her counsel. UEGW 77.6