2008-05-09 15:44Z

The Loss of Transcendence, Pt. 1

Kevin D. Paulson reviews Graeme Bradford’s More Than A Prophet (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 2006), and People Are Human (Look What They Did To Ellen White) (Victoria, Australia: Signs Publishing Company, 2006).

Presenter: Kevin D. Paulson

Location: Internet

Delivery: 2007-04-19 20:30Z

Publication: GreatControversy.org 2007-04-19 20:30Z

Type: Book Review

URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/rar/pau-lot1.php

Prophets have never been popular. From Enoch to Isaiah, from Elijah to John the Baptist, from Moses to the apostle Paul, they easily qualify as the least liked of God’s servants. And when the final pages are penned in the controversy with evil, Ellen Gould White may prove to have been the least popular and most reviled of them all.

But far deadlier than open revilement is the veiled contempt, the fraud disguised as friendliness, the brick worn in a velvet glove. The recent books by Australian theologian Graeme Bradford on the authority and function of Ellen White’s prophetic gift, offer a textbook case of such cloak-and-dagger hostility.

It isn’t the first time, in Adventism or elsewhere.

Years ago one James A. Pike, the Episcopal bishop later famous for his foray into spiritualism (1), packaged his denial of basic Christian theology—biblical authority, the Trinity, the Virgin Birth—as an effort to help his denomination and Christendom at large meet the challenge of modern thinking and the quest for relevance (2). Yet another bishop of the same communion, John Shelby Spong, in his book Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism, would later insist that our Lord at times was “vindictive” and “narrow-minded” (3), that the Virgin Birth “should not be literally believed” (4), and that our Lord’s bodily resurrection never happened (5). In another book, titled Living in Sin?, Spong claims sex outside of marriage may at times be holy (6).

Just, as we will see, Graeme Bradford claims to recover the “real” Ellen White from alleged distortions by “fundamentalist” Adventists (7), Spong maintains his denial of foundational Christian beliefs has the same purpose:

I hold the Bible before my readers seeking boldly to free it from the clutches of a mindless literalism and, at the same time, presenting it as a dramatic and exciting document whose relevance for our day is both mighty and real (8).

In tones hauntingly similar, Bradford says much the same about Ellen White, despite having rejected her authoritative function:

I write this book as one having great confidence in the prophetic gift as it has been used in the ministry of Ellen White. After reading and studying the evidence for and against her work, I emerge a strong believer (9).

More recently, the Episcopal departure from biblical authority has included the ordination of an openly gay bishop, resulting in a major split in the church (10). Far from enhancing relevance, these compromises—like others in recent decades by liberal denominations—have produced a steady decline in membership (11). The loss of timeless, transcendent authority rarely makes the world more interested in the church. Such a course merely fosters a culture of ambiguity which stands for nothing and consequently falls for anything.

Sadly, revisionists in the Seventh-day Adventist Church seem not to be paying attention. In many ways, the two most recent books by Graeme Bradford—People Are Human and More Than a Prophet—offer a summary of modern (and not so modern) objections to Ellen White’s prophetic authority, as well as related disputes with other classic Adventist teachings. Despite revisionism’s abject failure to produce such results in other faiths, Bradford and his fellow travelers in Adventism persist in believing that only a reduction in Ellen White’s authoritative role—and a simultaneous relaxation of clarity on a wide range of doctrinal, liturgical, and lifestyle issues—will give the church relevant vitality in today’s world and keep restive youth from going elsewhere (12).

Ironically, Bradford acknowledges these disastrous trends in other Christian communities, speaking of how efforts to “demythologize” the Bible stories “led to a watering down of the Christian faith” (13). Then he observes, quite correctly: “Once you put your own mind above the Bible you’re on a dangerous journey. It ate the heart out of their Christian faith and led to a decline in attendance at those churches” (14). What he tragically fails to consider is the extent to which his own approach to both Scripture and Ellen White is indistinguishable from that employed by the “demythologizers” of liberal Christian scholarship, and is thus likely to inflict the same destructive consequences on the faith and prosperity of his own denomination.

Bishop Pike, while attacking the core of the Christian faith, first wrote his views in a book titled I Believe, later published under the title A Time for Christian Candor (15). The earlier title, by Pike’s own admission, had been chosen to “allay any suspicions of heterodoxy” (16). Perhaps Bradford had similar thoughts in mind when using the title More Than a Prophet to cover what is arguably the most devastating compromise of the prophetic gift ever proposed from within the ranks of Seventh-day Adventists.

More Than a Prophet opens, in its foreword, with a serious falsehood, one of many the book presents to the church. It is claimed that the book received “favorable evaluations” by “officers of the E.G. White Estate” (17). According to an officer of the White Estate, in a review of this book published by Ministry magazine, this is not true (18). The White Estate has not endorsed the book, and has in fact issued a disclaimer which makes this clear (19). Bradford has since apologized for this misstatement (20).

The present writer has already written a review of Bradford’s first book, Prophets Are Human (21). Bradford’s sequel, People Are Human, carries further the dialogue begun in the former book between a fictitious Adventist couple with doubts about Ellen White caused by perusal of the Internet, and a fictitious professor from the local Adventist college. Having carefully read both these books, along with More Than a Prophet, it seems to the present writer that the latter is a blended adaptation of the first two, minus the fictional dialogue. The latter book, published in America (the first two were published in Australia), seems more likely than its predecessors to reach a large audience in the church’s home Division and perhaps beyond.

Because of the similarity between Prophets Are Human and More Than a Prophet, readers familiar with the first book review may find the present review somewhat repetitious. At times, for the sake of brevity, the reader will be referred to the first review for an in-depth discussion of issues raised in the latter books. However, considering the gravity of the issues under discussion and their significance for the integrity and purpose of Adventism, the present writer holds that the occasional repetition of themes and evidence is both helpful and necessary.

In Summary

The message of Bradford’s latest books can be summarized in the following five points, each of which the present review will consider:

The prophetic gift, though essential to the church, must—according to Bradford—be judged and counterbalanced by other Spirit-imparted gifts, such as wisdom and discernment (22).
Ellen White supposedly never intended her writings to be the decisive word in disputes over theology, science, history, or lifestyle (23). Alleged errors and contradictions by Ellen White in the above areas are cited as evidence for this claim (24).
Ellen White’s scenario of end-time events is declared to be rooted in nineteenth-century expectations which presumably lack viability in our 21st-century world (25).
Ellen White’s contemporaries are cited as doubting both her authority and reliability in matters of doctrine, history, etc. (26). Attendant to this claim is the supposition that the high view of Ellen White’s authority held by conservative Adventists in the years since is a move beyond Ellen White’s own understanding of her work (27), and is depicted by Bradford as primarily the product of the popular fundamentalist movement so conspicuous in America at that time (28).
The teachings of Elder M.L. Andreasen regarding the humanity of Christ and the perfecting of the final generation, and the continuing division in the church over these topics, is portrayed by Bradford as primarily the result of giving Ellen White too much authority (29).

Each of these claims, and others cited by Bradford in his effort to cast Ellen White in a new role, are demonstrably false. While the church has confronted these claims before, Bradford has packaged and summarized them as to make them seem considerate of the church’s best good as well as the product of a fact-pursuing investigator who “speaks truth to power.” Not for him the anti-supernaturalism of Ron Numbers, the harsh iconoclasm of Walter Rea, or the acidic tone of Ellen White’s Internet critics. The more extreme, even absurd attacks on Ellen White’s authority, like the claim that her visions might have resulted from epileptic seizures, are given little credence by Bradford (30). Like most of history’s successful delusions, Bradford’s attack masquerades as help, his disbelief as loving concern.

In each of his two latest books he writes, “It may be Adventists will one day thank those who opposed them on the internet and put out videos attacking our faith” (31). If so, it will be because these opponents—unlike Bradford—are generally obvious in their contempt for our church and the faith for which it stands. Qualms and questions they may cast into certain minds, but as even one liberal Adventist was constrained to say of Rea’s The White Lie: “An angry man attracts less sympathy than hostility” (32). For every ex-Adventist seething with rage at his erstwhile church, there remain many more for whom their religious heritage—with all its faults, real or imagined—still hovers as the sheltering, ever-present nurturer in whose culture they came of age, found refuge from the chaotic world, obtained a good education, learned a healthy lifestyle even the world now acknowledges, and experienced memories to cherish for a lifetime.

In short, the devil knows frontal attacks make few friends. Ever since Eden, he has known the subtle approach is best. And the most dangerous.

Considering the Challenges

A major flaw in Bradford’s work, conspicuous on nearly every page of More Than a Prophet, is his heavy, even slavish dependence on the opinions of scholars in seeking to understand both the Bible and Ellen White. His reference to the Protestant principle of sola scriptura (33), together with his belated acknowledgment that the Bible is its own interpreter (34), are belied by his use of scholarly speculation as the primary means of building bridges to key conclusions regarding the authority of inspired writings. Examples will be cited as this review proceeds.

At times Bradford commits the grave error of alleging a certain statement by Ellen White without giving a reference, as in his claims regarding Ellen White’s alleged reversal of her stand on the law in Galatians (35), and his citing of Ellen White’s alleged endorsement of pork as “a healthy and nourishing food” (36). (We will later examine the allegations of contradiction on these and other issues raised by Bradford.) At other times he cites a reference in support of a particular claim, then when the reference is checked no support is given. An example is his statement at one point that “it is obvious that some of the concepts [Ellen White] borrowed from health reformers were not correct” (37). But when one checks the reference listed for this “obvious” fact, no specifics are provided (38).

Another, quite irritating feature of Bradford’s books is his heavy use of content references—foot and endnotes in small print which contain substantive elaborations of major points in his books. (A former roommate of mine once observed, “Small print is never good news.”) For Bradford’s purposes it would have been far better had he included these referenced thoughts in the main body of his text. This isn’t to say content references should never be used; the present writer has also occasionally used them. But Bradford’s repetitive, excessive use of such notes not only runs the risk of exhausting the reader, but also making the conscientious observer wonder how much of the author’s footnote material might go unnoticed.

The careful reader will also note a major editorial lapse in the preparation of More Than a Prophet—the failure to synchronize references in the text with endnotes at the close of the book, beginning with reference no. 188 (39). (The White Estate officer mentioned earlier, in his own review of this book, has also noted this problem (40).) Bradford’s recent comments in Ministry express regret for this lapse, and promise correction thereof in a pending, newer edition of the book (41). One doesn’t wish to make too much of benign errors such as this, but the reader who checks Bradford’s references in the current edition, in order to ascertain support for his claims, will likely find this glitch particularly troublesome. GCO

Endnotes

James A. Pike (with Diane Kennedy), The Other Side: An Account of My Experiences With Psychic Phenomena (New York: Dell Publishing Co, 1968).
________, If This Be Heresy (New York: Harper & Row, 1967), pp. 6-8; 19-24; 40-50, 68-74.
John Shelby Spong, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991), p. 21.
Ibid., p. 215.
Ibid., pp. 217-226.
Richard N. Ostling, “More Spongtaneous Eruptions,” Time, Feb. 18, 1991, p. 62.
Graeme Bradford, People Are Human (Look what they did to Ellen White) (Victoria, Australia: Signs Publishing Co, 2006), pp. 51-76.
Spong, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, p. 247.
Bradford, More Than a Prophet (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 2006), p. 15.
Claudia Wallis, “A House Divided,” Time, Aug. 18, 2003, pp. 50, 51; David Van Biema, “Blunt Bishop,” Time, Feb. 19, 2007, pp. 52-55.
See Dean M. Kelley, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing (New York: Harper & Row, 1982). John Dart, “Mainline Church Strength Shrinks,” Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1985, Part 1-A, pp. 1-8; Kenneth L. Woodward, “From Mainline to Sideline,” Newsweek, Dec. 22, 1986, pp. 54-56; Ostling, “The Church Search,” Time, April 5, 1993, pp. 46, 47; Woodward, “Dead End for the Mainline?” Newsweek, Aug. 9, 1993, pp. 46-48.
Bradford, More Than a Prophet, pp. 127, 227, 228; People Are Human, pp. 64, 65.
________, People Are Human, p. 44.
Ibid.
Pike, A Time for Christian Candor (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).
________, If This Be Heresy, p. 7.
Samuele Bacchiocchi, foreword to More Than a Prophet, p. 10.
Michael Campbell, review of More Than a Prophet, Ministry, February 2007, p. 29.
“A Notice Regarding More Than a Prophet,” www.whiteestate.org/issues/more-prophet.asp.
Bradford, letter to Ministry, April 2007, pp. 16, 25.
Kevin D. Paulson, “Prophetic Humanity: Comfort or Compromise?”
www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/rar/pau-phumanity.php.
Bradford, More Than a Prophet, pp. 69-84, 99, 107, 215-217, 244, 245; People Are Human, pp. 149, 156.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 121, 122, 125, 129, 135, 202, 207, 216; People Are Human, pp. 15, 22, 99, 135, 145.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 102, 103, 115-136, 199, 211, 217; People Are Human, pp. 84, 102, 103, 118, 119, 124-126, 143.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 137-150; People Are Human, pp. 146, 159-161.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 20, 100, 101, 108, 134, 151-156, 172, 205, 206; People Are Human, pp. 20-22, 30-38, 98, 133.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 105, 156, 165-169, 183; People Are Human, pp. 15, 16, 77-106, 127, 130.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 144, 156-164; People Are Human, pp. 16, 43-50.
________, More Than a Prophet, pp. 187-193.
________, People Are Human, p. 29.
________, More Than a Prophet, p. 213; see also People Are Human, p. 147.
Jonathan Butler, “Prophet or Plagiarist? A False Dichotomy” (a review of Walter T. Rea, The White Lie, Turlock, CA: M&R Publications, 1982), Spectrum, June 1982, p. 45.
Bradford, More Than a Prophet, p. 206; People Are Human, pp. 134, 155.
________, More Than a Prophet, p. 206.
Ibid., p. 121.
Ibid., p. 122.
Ibid., p. 111.
Ibid., p. 256.
Ibid., pp. 115, 257.
Campbell, review of More Than a Prophet, Ministry, February 2007, p. 29.
Bradford, letter to Ministry, April 2007, p. 25.

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Contributing author Pastor Kevin D. Paulson serves on the pastoral staff of the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. His published work has appeared in numerous venues. He is also editor of Quo Vadis, a truth-filled magazine predominantly featuring the work of SDA young people. Kevin has also since 2003 served as the speaker for “Know Your Bible,” a radio program broadcast each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on WMCA 570 AM, in Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey. Pastor Paulson received his BA in Theology from Pacific Union College in 1982 and an MA in Systematic Theology from Loma Linda University in 1987.