The early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was heavily influenced by the ministry of Ellen G. White (1827-1915). Through her ministry, God guided the fledgling church and protected it from many pitfalls. On the basis of her visions the educational and medical institutions and the health food work of the church were established, and wherever and whenever her counsel was followed the church prospered. Nevertheless, not long after her call as the Messenger of the Lord to the church, and ever since, critics from inside and outside the church have cast doubt on her ministry and have questioned her prophetic gift. In recent years, a number of websites have sprung up that feature these criticisms, questioning her inspiration and her role in the church.

The Media Center of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists in Australia is to be commended for the production of a two-hour DVD to counteract these attacks on Ellen White’s inspiration. A number of biblical scholars and church historians, primarily from Australia, respond positively to these attacks by looking at what the Bible has to say about prophetic inspiration. The DVD is divided into the following five sections: (1) Ellen G. White – A Genuine Prophet; (2) The Role of Ellen G. White – Relationship to the Bible; (3) Prophets are Persons – God Speaks Through People; (4) How Inspiration Works – The Biblical Model; and (5) How to Test a Prophet – Biblical Criteria.

Due to the nature of the attacks, the DVD focuses heavily on the human element in the process of inspiration, both in Scripture and in Ellen White’s prophetic ministry. It emphasizes that the biblical prophets and Ellen White were fallible human beings whose writings contain genuine discrepancies, but that these discrepancies are minor and do not detract from their messages. By exploring the nature of inspiration in Scripture, showing that biblical writers at times used uninspired sources and employed helpers in writing down the divine revelations, the DVD helps the viewer to better understand why Ellen White used uninspired source material and secretaries to help her write down what God revealed to her.

The DVD repeatedly emphasizes that God meets people where they are; that the prophets, as well as Ellen White, were imperfect human beings with weaknesses; that they were children of their times and cultures, who had to grow in their understanding of God’s plan for mankind. Nevertheless, God used them; their messages were of divine origin and therefore trustworthy and reliable. The Bible, it is said, is an infallible revelation of God’s will and fulfills the purpose for which it was given, in spite of certain discrepancies in the biblical text. Such discrepancies in minor details, representing the human element in the inspiration process, are inconsequential, the viewer is told.

Inconsequential on this DVD is certainly Ray Roennfeldt’s slip of the tongue that Luke received revelations from God. Not so inconsequential is the quote from George B. Caird who wrote, “The prophet before all else is a man, and it is by the heightening of his normal human faculties that he attains his depth of insight. But like all men he is fallible. He may imperfectly understand the word spoken to him. He may lack the interpretive ability to make clear what he has seen.” The revelation-inspiration process is not simply the heightening of the normal faculties of the prophet; it is much more than that. And what a prophet may lack in natural ability God can supply so that the prophet can correctly convey God’s message to His people.

The DVD is not afraid to tackle some of the difficult issues in the writings of Ellen White, such as the shut door, the Israel Damon affair, and the amalgamation of man and beast; though not everyone will agree with the way these issues are handled and the answers it gives are definitely not inspired. Nevertheless, the overall message of the DVD comes through loud and clear: prophets are fallible human beings, but their messages have an infallible divine character.