History of the Church & the Beliefs of Ellen White
The SDA Church sprang from the Second Great Awakening in the mid-19th century, which saw many new Christian groups reemphasizing the Second Advent of Christ. A particularly notable group were the “Millerites,” followers of Baptist preacher William Miller who predicted the dates of Christ’s return on October 22, 1844. He gained a wide following, and Ellen White’s family came into the fold when she was only thirteen.
After October 22 came and went, many Millerite splinter groups formed; Ellen White was the head of one of these groups. She claimed to have visions and began to be regarded as a prophet (although the modern church downplays the importance of the word “prophet”). She wrote thousands and thousands of pages about how Christians should act in accordance with her visions, and her writings and ministry became the foundation of the SDA Church.
The modern Church is very large and is structured like a corporation. The General Conference corporation owns church property, employs and pays ministers, and receives tithes from members. The ministers or pastors are a single level of ordained clergy and there are no bishops; elders and deacons are lay ministries. Polity is very hierarchal. By the numbers, the Church has (as of 2014): 78,810 churches; 18,479,257 members; 260,181 active employees; 1,807,693 total enrollment in schools; and $3,276,600,259 yearly income from tithe and offerings.
Below are some summaries of the beliefs outlined in White’s writings along with their cultural context; the context of the Church’s founding the Victorian Era sheds light on why the SDA believes as it does today. [Much of the following information is taken or adapted from Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet, eds. Terrie Dopp Aamodt, Gary Land, and Ronald L. Numbers.]
Science and Medicine
“Mental and moral power is dependent on the physical health.” – Ellen White
White had a love-hate relationship with science. She viewed nature as a book authored by God, so therefore studying this “book” is a noble pursuit. But she only advocated for “true science,” i.e., those findings which did not conflict with her theology. Many of her visions were on “scientific” topics: she claimed to have extensive visions of flying around the planets, including visits to distant galaxies and encounters with extraterrestrial beings.
The huge health reform movement in the Victorian era informed White’s theology greatly. She was also a fierce supporter of the growing temperance movement. White and her followers eagerly highlighted the similarities between White’s writings and the popular health literature of the day in order to lure more followers.
So linked were her conceptions of the mind and the body that she grew to believe that the vast majority of illnesses grew from a “sickness of the mind.” Because the brain controlled the body with its “electricity,” it followed that a strong will and pure thoughts were the best way to defend oneself physically as well as morally.
The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a health resort based on SDA health principles.
White was a Young-Earth Creationist. Adventist belief in creationism stems from their emphasis on the Sabbath, because they reject the notion that the seven days of creation is a metaphor for immense amounts of time (which would negate the Sabbath’s importance). White discounted geological findings by citing Noah’s flood (“Flood Geology”) and she looked down upon Darwin’s findings and the teaching of evolution as science.
Culture
White had a utilitarian view of art: that it should cultivate spirituality and moral discernment. She saw no place for mere aestheticism of amusement. She was especially opposed to novels, writing that “novel and storybook reading are the greatest evils in which youth can indulge.” [She tended toward superlatives and hyperboles in her writing – there were many “greatest evils.”] As a result, unlike many religions, no artistic tradition has developed from Adventism. She was also against theatre, which she saw as “the very hotbed of immorality. … Every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions will be corrupted in principle.”
As for recreation, White preferred gentle, rural, outdoor recreations, such as long walks or travel. She was a fierce opponent of sports and other games, especially baseball, but context is again important: nineteenth century baseball venues had a male-dominated, hard-drinking, profane atmosphere. And college football was notorious for multiple deaths every year, to the point that Teddy Roosevelt threatened to ban the game.
Gender
Victorian culture upheld separate realms for the genders. Women’s realm, the home, was to be a haven into which men could retreat in order to be replenished and find refuge. The home was widely recognized as a sanctuary, the moral center of society, and it was women’s responsibility, through their childcare and domestic efforts, to keep it so. This model in many ways compatible with the Adventist emphasis on lifestyle and wellbeing.
However, within her Church she supported women’s active participation in diverse religious work, believing it was essential. Although she fundamentally believes in separate spheres of work, her call for women’s participation in religious work was unusual and progressive in its time. She even advocated for a modified reform dress for Adventist women – a long skirt with puffy pants underneath – under the pretense of creating a more healthy and safe outfit for women than stifling traditional dresses.
Conscientious Objector Status & War
In 1864, during the Civil War, the SDA Church declared their belief that the Bible was contrary to the spirit and practice of war: the fourth commandment requires them to cease labor on Saturday, and the sixth prohibits the taking of life. Historically, many Seventh-Day Adventists have refused to enlist in the army as combatants. Many, however, have participated as medics, ambulance drivers, etc.
Before a Supreme court decision in 1971, in order to attain CO status men had to demonstrate their pacifism based on religiously-based opposition to all war. (This meant that atheists, and political critics of specific wars, were exempt.) It was often difficult to demonstrate this opposition. Moreover, men who sought CO status were often seen in the same light as draft dodgers, and it was a social taboo in many conservative circles.
Source:
Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet. Eds. Terrie Dopp Aamodt, Gary Land, and Ronald L. Numbers.
“Statistics.” Adventist.org. https://www.adventist.org/en/information/statistics/
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