This self-styled “theological biography” on the life of Ellet Joseph Waggoner is the fifth volume in the Adventist Pioneer Series edited by George R. Knight. The author, Woodrow Whidden, is a well-known systematic theologian who taught for 18 years at Andrews University and currently teaches at the Adventist International Institute for Advanced Studies in the Philippines.

Waggoner is an enigma in Adventist history and theology. Up until now the only other published treatment specifically dealing with his life and views has been David P. McMahon’s Ellet Joseph Waggoner: The Myth and the Man (Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1979). The two authors take similar approaches: each focuses heavily on the development of Waggoner’s theology, which results in less of a “biography” and more of a theological analysis of Waggoner. Each also seems to focus more on their own theological views, especially as they react to other interpreters of Waggoner’s writings (e.g. see Whidden, 127; McMahon, 74). Whidden, as a trained systematician, is able to move far beyond McMahon’s very basic analysis, especially McMahon’s primary obsession with disproving the “myth” that Waggoner’s understanding of justification went far beyond that of Martin Luther and other Reformers.

Whidden divides Waggoner’s life into four sections: the early years (19-87), the 1888 General Conference Session and its aftermath (88-213), his tenure in Europe (214-312) and years of decline (313-75). One of the strengths of this volume is that Whidden highlights the role of Ellen White in E. J. Waggoner’s childhood, adult years, and even after he left the denomination. Her interest extended also to his parents, and throughout the biography Whidden looks to this established relationship between White and the Waggoner family for familial patterns. The “prophetic laser beam” was used effectively against those who opposed Waggoner at the famous 1888 General Conference session (118) and still later against the pantheistic teachings of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, but Ellen White continued to “endorse” Waggoner as a “messenger” even after he crossed his own “theological divide” (261-312, 372-373), which raises questions about why Ellen White did not use the same “prophetic laser beam” to point out his aberrant theological views and whether she really knew what was going on (thus raising additional questions about the nature of inspiration and the authority of Ellen White that are not addressed in this volume).

One of Waggoner’s greatest contributions, according to Whidden, was his understanding of the covenants (81-83, 162-168, 373). The controversy over the covenants occurred in the context of the 1890 Bible Institute where Uriah Smith emphasized the idea of “obey and live.” Waggoner on the other hand looked past the traditional Adventist perspective to an everlasting covenant “of grace and grace alone.” This had practical ramifications within Adventism on the understanding of how a person is saved: by obedience (Smith) or through the promise of God (Waggoner). Ellen White defended Waggoner’s viewpoint on the covenants (165‑167), pushing Adventism away from the dispensational perspective of the covenants embraced by Smith.

Whidden’s primary aim is to trace Waggoner’s theology of justification and sanctification by faith. Although he spends significant amounts of time on Waggoner’s later views, I personally wished that the author had spent more time analyzing his early theological views—especially what Waggoner taught at the pivotal 1888 General Conference Session. Whidden claims to rely on Clinton Wahlen’s research about what Waggoner taught at the 1888 meeting, but in comparison with the analysis of other periods of Waggoner’s thought Whidden spends relatively little space analyzing this momentous occasion. For those concerned with a snapshot of Waggoner’s theology at this particular moment I recommend reading Clinton Wahlen, “What Did E. J. Waggoner Say at Minneapolis?” Adventist Heritage 13, no. 1 (Winter 1988): 22-37.

Whidden is strongest in his tracing of how Waggoner developed a mystical view of the atonement, ultimately blurring the lines between justification and sanctification. “When he concluded,” the author notes, “that Christ could not sin because of His inherent deity, his concept would unfold in some problematic, even troubling directions” (210). Such a concept was the source for almost all of Waggoner’s later errant theological and ethical paths. Whidden engages with the writings of Wieland and Short and the 1888 Message Study Committee as he seeks to demythologize the real 1888 message from Waggoner’s later, mystical view of the atonement. He furthermore convincingly argues that the shift between Waggoner’s earlier and later theological views occurred about 1891/1892; Wieland and Short argue that these “inspired” writings extended to the period in which Ellen White endorsed them (1895/1896). Whidden thus undermines the interpretative framework of Wieland and Short by showing that Waggoner’s earlier writings better define the “1888 message” than his later teachings. Whidden also draws a surprising parallel with Desmond Ford (355), suggesting that every debate within Adventism about soteriology from Waggoner’s day up to the present has been a reaction to either Waggoner or Ford. In the conclusion, Whidden analyzes Waggoner’s positive legacy (364-365), along with a statement about what the 1888 message is not (365-369), affirming that God clearly used Waggoner but that even during the heyday of his presentation of righteousness by faith he was not infallible.

I recommend this book to Seventh-day Adventist pastors, thought leaders, and church members because the issues raised in this volume continue to have profound repercussions on Adventist theology and life today. Whidden has assisted Adventist studies by providing the most comprehensive treatment of E. J. Waggoner’s teachings to date. Despite its flaws, serious students of the “1888 message” will find the copious footnotes a helpful launching pad for delving into the writings of Waggoner for him/her self.