Walter Martin on Ellen White

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Few of Ellen White's critics have been as fair as Walter Martin, and none approach his intelligence. The reason we (Omega Countdown Ministries Home Page) cite him for fairness is because he read extensively into the writings of Ellen White. And what were his conclusions?:

"After reading the publications of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination and almost all the writings of Ellen G. White, including her Testimonies, the writer believes that Mrs. White was truly a regenerate Christian woman who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and dedicated herself unstintingly to the task of bearing witness for Him as she felt led. It should be clearly understood that some tenets of Christian theology as historically understood and the interpretations of Mrs. White do not agree; indeed, they are at loggerheads. Nevertheless, Ellen G. White was true to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith regarding the salvation of the soul and the believer's life in Christ. We must disagree with Mrs. White's interpretation of the sanctuary, the investigative judgment, and the scapegoat; we challenge her stress upon the Sabbath, health reform, the unconscious state of the dead, and the final destruction of the wicked, etc. But no one can dispute the fact that her writings conform to the basic principles of the historic Gospel, for they most certainly do.... Many critics of Seventh-day Adventism have assumed, mostly from the writings of professional detractors, that Mrs. White was a fearsome ogre who devoured all who opposed her, and they have never ceased making the false claim that Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White is infallible, despite the often published authoritative statement to the contrary. Although Seventh-day Adventists do hold Mrs. White and her writings in great esteem, they maintain that the Bible is their only 'rule of faith and practice.' Christians of all denominations may heatedly disagree with th4e Seventh-day Adventist attitude toward Mrs. White, but al that she wrote on such subjects as salvation or Christian living characterizes her as a Christian in every sense of the term...
Dudley M. Canright, the chief critic of Seventh-day Adventism, has, we feel...presented the human side of Mrs. White, from the standpoint of a first-hand friendship which lasted through the formative eyars of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Despite his criticisms of Seventh-day Adventism and Mrs. White, Canright himself never ceased to believe that, despite what he believed to be her errors in theology and her mistaken concept of visions, she was a regenerate Christian. With his brother, Canright attended the funeral of Mrs. White in 1915. His brother describes the occasion thus: 'We joined the passing throng, and again stood by the bier. My brother rested his hand upon the side of the casket, and with tears rolling down his cheeks, he said brokenly, 'There is a noble Christian woman gone!'
The controversy between Seventh-day Adventist historians and personal recollections of D. M. Canright will probably never be settled this side of Heaven, but beyond question, Canright has left an indelible mark upon the history of both the denomination and Ellen G. White, a woman of great moral fortitude and indomitable conviction. Her influence will doubtless affect the religious world through the Seventh-day Adventist denomination for many years to come." Walter Martin, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, 112-114.

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