Understanding Ellen White

Theological themes in Ellen White’s writings

Ellen White never claimed to be a theologian, nor was she trained in biblical studies; but her writings present many theological themes and ideas, which expand on the biblical stories. Herbert Douglass has commented correctly that “the uniqueness of Ellen White’s contribution lies not in total originality of thought but in her synthesis of divinely revealed insights and the results of her own reading and observation” ¹⁶ UEGW 114.1

As John Calvin’s theology is centered around the organizing principle of the sovereignty of God, so Ellen White’s theological themes integrate various strands of her thought into a unified network of concepts and provide an inter-pretative framework for not only single documents or books, but for entire sec-tors of her writings (such as health, education, family living). ¹⁷ George Knight has identified seven of those themes in her writings: the love of God; the great controversy between good and evil; Jesus, the cross, and salvation; the centrality of the Bible; the second coming of Jesus; the third angel’s message and Adventist mission; and practical Christianity and character development. ¹⁸ UEGW 114.2

Illustrative of how Ellen White understood the theological articulation of Bible doctrines are the following three statements highlighting two major themes. UEGW 114.3