|
New Age/Occult
Markings on Ellen G. White's Writings -- "Mother
Earth", "Vital Force"
The
late Ellen G. White (November 26, 1827-July 16,
1915), known to Seventh-day Adventists as "God's
Messenger" or "God's Prophet," used New Age/occult
terminology and taught New Age doctrine via some of
the pages of her voluminous published works.
For the sake of brevity I did not cite all the
passages in which Mrs. Ellen G. White used the New Age term, "vital force" or
"vital forces." Below are selected citations from Mrs. White's complete
published works found at http://www.whiteestate.org. [Quotations are used in accordance with
the Fair Use Copyright Law. Bold emphasis added]
New Age/Occult terms: Mother
earth, Mother Nature
--Cited from
The Health
Reformer, March 1, 1871 and The Health Reformer, May 1, 1871
Ellen G. White referred to the earth as Mother
Earth:
May
has come, with all her beauties of the sunshine, clothing nature with a
glorious dress. Mother earth has laid off
her brown mantle, and wears her cheerful robes of green. The trees and
shrubs upon the lawn are decorated with their opening buds and flowers
of varied tints. The peach and cherry are covered with blossoms of pink
and white, and the pure music from a thousand of nature's happy and
cheering songsters, unite to awaken joy and thankfulness in our hearts.
{HR,
"The Beautiful May"
May 1, 1871
par. 1} (Emphasis added)
The trees, shrubs, and flowers, will soon be attractive to the eye, inviting
all who delight in the beauties of nature to enjoy life out of doors. The
flowers and green foliage have not appeared, but mother earth
has thrown from her bosom her white mantle, and she even now bears a
cheerful aspect in the bright sunshine and shadows. All should now seek
employment some hours every day out of doors.
{HR,
March 1, 1871
par. 3} (Emphasis added)
Ellen G. White chose Beltane (the highest
holiday in Druid witchcraft) as the time to cite a lengthy passage by Fanny B. Johnson that contains New Age terminology and
teaches New Age doctrine:
Lovely May is here. Enjoy her, all you who
can, while she is with us. Read what Fanny B. Johnson, in Laws of Life,
says under the caption,
{HR, "The Beautiful May"
May 1, 1871
par. 4}
Mrs. White endorsed Fanny Johnson's
highly New Age passage in which she urged Mother Nature's children to "come out of doors,
and take part in
the grand entertainment which she has gotten up with wondrous skill, taste, and
power":
OUT OF DOORS.
IN BEHALF OF OUR GOOD MOTHER
NATURE, I HEREBY INVITE AND ENTREAT ALL HER CHILDREN WITHIN SOUND OF MY
VOICE OR SIGHT OF MY PENTRACES TO COME OUT OF DOORS, AND TAKE PART IN
THE GRAND ENTERTAINMENT WHICH SHE HAS GOTTEN UP WITH WONDROUS SKILL, TASTE,
AND POWER.
{HR,
May 1, 1871
par. 5}
(Emphasis added)
Johnson presented Mother Nature (not the Lord
Jesus Christ) as the way for poverty-stricken, burden-bearing human beings to escape from their
condition:
MOTHER
NATURE WILL TAKE YOU IN HER LAP, WILL WOO YOU WITH THE BREATH OF
APPLE BLOSSOMS AND CLOVERS, WILL FAN YOUR CHEEK WITH PERFUME-LADEN
AIRS, WILL SOOTHE YOU TO SLEEP WITH DROWSY HUM OF BEES, AND MURMUR
OF STREAMS, AND RUSTLE OF MYRIAD FLUTTERING LEAVES, WILL WAKEN YOU
WITH JOYOUS VOICES, WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR SPIRITS THE PEEVISHNESS
AND LITTLENESS THAT IS SURE TO GATHER IN A NARROW ROUND OF CARE, AND
PUT IN THEIR PLACE SOMETHING OF HER SPIRIT OF CHARITY, AND
LARGENESS, AND HARMONY, AND BRING YOU INTO SYMPATHY WITH THE
DIVINE.
THERE WAS NEVER BETTER CHANCE FOR
POVERTY-STRICKEN, BURDEN-BEARING HUMAN BEINGS TO ESCAPE FROM THEIR
CONDITION AND INDULGE IN LUXURIES FURNISHED WITHOUT MONEY AND
WITHOUT PRICE. I PROMISE YOU NATURE WILL SHOW NO FAVORS ON
ACCOUNT OF WORLDLY DISTINCTIONS. SHE WILL MINISTER NO MORE
GRACIOUSLY TO THE QUEEN OF A REALM THAN TO HER HUMBLEST MENIAL,
PROVIDED THAT MENIAL BE LOYAL TO HERSELF. BUT TO THOSE WHO LOOK UPON
HER WITH "LOVERS' EYES" SHE MUST OF NECESSITY BE PARTIAL. SHE SHOWS
THEM WONDROUS THINGS IN HER PAGES, AND REVEALS HERSELF TO THEM AS
SHE CANNOT TO OTHERS.
{HR,
May 1, 1871
par. 6}
(Emphasis added)
Ellen G. White did not
disclaim any of Fanny Johnson's New Age teachings and warn her readers
to refrain from being wooed by the devil in Mother Nature's garb. An
ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ would contradict Fanny Johnson and
insist that Jesus Christ's
invitation to the weary is the only one that is valid:
"Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest."
(Matthew 11:28)
The Lord Jesus Christ offers
the only legitimate spiritual rest but the devil seeks to ensnare the
weary with a counterfeit rest via Ellen G. White's endorsement of Johnson's "Mother Nature," who is known to New Agers
as Earth Mother, or Gaia.
New Age/Occult term:
Vital Force
Ellen G. White favored the occult term,
"vital force." Vital Force is a foundational concept in New Age
doctrine. Vital Force is another name for Chi
which is commonly known in the West as life force, vital force, universal
energy, subtle energy, etc.
Chi (also ki, qi or ji) - A “life force” pervading the universe that
sustains the body & the material world. These terms & concepts come
from Eastern beliefs but are most prominently used in the martial
arts and in alternative healing. Both ki & chi can be
seen in the following terms: Aikido, Tai Chi, Reiki (energy
healing). This force may also be known as the life force, vital
force, the vital energy, bioenergy, universal life force, or
universal energy. The belief in such a force is at the heart of
occultism and is also found in New Age beliefs. (1) [Emphasis
added]
New Agers believe that Vital Force
(subtle energy) is a nonmaterial force that sustains life:
vital force (bioenergy, cosmic energy, cosmic energy force,
cosmic force, cosmic life energy, cosmic life force, elan vital, energy of
being, force of life, force vitale, inner vital energy, internal energy, life,
life energy, life force, life force energy, life power, life source energy,
nerve energy, nerve force, personal energy, spirit, subtle energy, universal
energy, universal life energy, universal life energy power, universal life
force, universal life force energy, universal life principle, vital cosmic
force, vital element, vital energy, vital energy force, vitality, vital life
force, vital life force energy, vitalistic principle, vitality energy, vital
life spirit, vital magnetism, vital principle, vital spirit): An alleged
nonmaterial "force" that sustains life. (2)
Subtle Energy, vital force, universal
life force, etc. (demon spirits) can be
manipulated and sent on assignment to perform lying wonders (2 Thess.
2:9) via various forms of witchcraft that
are often disguised as alternative medical treatments--such as Reiki and
acupressure. Man cannot
control or manipulate God (or
healings from God)--ever.
Man can manipulate demons (which
disguise themselves under
sophisticated and scientific-sounding terms) if he submits to the occult methodology necessary for their
cooperation but the result of such sin (even if it is engaged in under
the guise of New Age alternative medicine) is eternal destruction in the
Lake of Fire.
Ellen G. White's
use of the term, "vital force."
[Bold emphasis is added.] Please note
that Mrs. White used the term, "vital force" in the same manner New Agers do today:
God has endowed us with a certain
amount of vital force. He has also formed us with organs
suited to maintain the various functions of life, and He designs
that these organs shall work together in harmony. If we carefully
preserve the life force, and keep the delicate mechanism of the body
in order, the result is health; but if the vital force is too
rapidly exhausted, the nervous system borrows power for present use
from its resources of strength, and when one organ is injured, all
are affected. [The Ministry of Healing, pg. 234] (3) [Note:
in this passage Ellen G. White teaches that God gives vital force.]
Food should
not be eaten very hot or very cold. If food is cold, the
vital force of the stomach is drawn
upon in order to warm it before digestion can take place. [The
Ministry of Healing pg. 305] (4)
Sometimes the result of overeating
is felt at once. In other cases there is no sensation of pain; but
the digestive organs lose their vital force, and the
foundation of physical strength is undermined.
[The Ministry of Healing pg. 306](5)
These unpleasant symptoms are felt
because nature has accomplished her work at an unnecessary outlay
of vital force and is thoroughly exhausted. The stomach is
saying, "Give me rest." But with many the faintness is interpreted
as a demand for more food; so instead of giving the stomach rest,
another burden is placed upon it. As a consequence the digestive
organs are often worn out when they should be capable of doing good
work. [The Ministry of Healing pg.
307] (6)
[Note:
in the passage above, Ellen G. White attributed vital force to nature.
Mrs. White's practice of citing God and nature as the source of vital
energy is an example of Christian/New Age
syncretism.]
Where wrong habits of diet have
been indulged, there should be no delay in reform. When dyspepsia
has resulted from abuse of the stomach, efforts should be made
carefully to preserve the remaining strength of the vital forces
by removing every overtaxing burden.
[The Ministry of Healing pg. 308] (7)
In the following passage, Ellen G.
White links Christian growth with vital force:
Let a living faith run like threads
of gold through the performance of even the smallest duties. Then
all the daily work will promote Christian growth. There will be a
continual looking unto Jesus. Love for Him will give vital force to
everything that is undertaken. [From Christ’s Object Lessons,
pp. 356-360] (8)
Those who think that perhaps Mrs. White used these terms
unknowingly and innocently taught New Age doctrine,
please understand that New Age teachings were not widely known in the United States in the 1800s. Ellen G.
White learned these doctrines from
someone...and that someone was not God.
Ellen G. White's "Christ"
bestowed vital
force:
He was the originator of all the
ancient gems of truth. Through the work of the enemy, these truths
had been displaced. . . . Christ rescued them from the rubbish of
error, gave them a new, vital force, and commanded them to shine as
jewels, and stand fast forever. [Manuscript 25, 1890.] (9)
[Note:
The context of this quote has to do with Mrs. White's defense of her
practice of claiming authorship of material she did not write but
she did use the occasion to link Christ with vital force. I ask
which "Christ" might that be? It is the New Age Christ who afflicts
his followers with subtle energy.]
In the next passage Ellen G. White was
correct to warn against the dangers of drugs but that does not
negate the fact that she was functioning as an early spokeswoman for the New Age
Movement by her continual promotion of the idea that vital force keeps
the body in good health. We see Christian/New Age syncretism at work again via Ellen G. White's
attribution of vital energy to nature in some passages and to God in
others:
People need to be taught that drugs
do not cure disease. It is true that they sometimes afford present
relief, and the patient appears to recover as the result of their
use; this is because nature has sufficient vital force to
expel the poison and to correct the conditions that caused the
disease. [The Ministry of Healing, pg. 126] (10)
Here Mrs. White attributed vital force
to God:
The Lord will put new, vital
force into His work as human agencies obey the command to go
forth and proclaim the truth. . . . The truth will be criticized,
scorned, and derided; but the closer it is examined and tested, the
brighter it will shine. . . . [Selected Messages, book 1, p.
201] (11)
God endowed man with so great
vital force that he has withstood the accumulation of disease
brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has
continued for six thousand years. . . . [From My Life Today, page
126] (12)
According to Mrs. White, vital force is
highly desirable and parents should take care not to deny this force to
future generations:
If the mother is deprived of the
care and comforts she should have, if she is allowed to exhaust her
strength through overwork or through anxiety and gloom, her children
will be robbed of the vital force and of the mental elasticity and
cheerful buoyancy they should inherit. [The Ministry of Healing, pg. 375]
(13)
Children who are robbed of that
vitality which they
should have inherited from their parents should have the utmost
care. [Vital Vigor and Energy 204] (14)
Rather than tell her followers not to
overwork lest they become too tired and run down, Ellen G. White
presented the New Age concept that overexertion depletes vital force to the
hurt of one's health:
Those who make great exertions to accomplish
just so much work in a
given time, and continue to labor when their
judgment tells them they
should rest, are never gainers. They are living
on borrowed capital.
They are expending the vital force which they
will need at a future
time. [From My Life Today - Page 142] (15)
Mrs. White promoted
the New Age teaching that drugs destroy vital force:
Break Down
Vital Forces.--Drugs always have a tendency
to break down and destroy vital forces.--[Medical
Ministry, p. 223 (General Manuscript
entitled "Sanitarium," 1887).] (16)
According to Mrs. White, frequent child-bearing
depletes women of vital energies. This of course
conflicts with God's command to multiply and be
fruitful and 1 Timothy 2:15: "...she shall be saved
in childbearing..."
Everywhere you may look you will see pale,
sickly,
care-worn, broken-down, dispirited, discouraged
women.
They are generally overworked, and their vital
energies
exhausted by frequent child-bearing. [Vital
Vigor and Energy 203] (17)
While
it is a fact that frequent child-bearing can be
physically exhausting, giving birth has nothing do
with losing a nonmaterial
"force" that sustains life.
Mrs.
White taught that snacking causes the unnatural
stimulation and wearing of the vital forces. The
context suggests that an imbalance of the vital forces
leads to sin:
Children are generally untaught in regard to the importance of
when, how, and what they should eat. They are permitted to indulge their
tastes freely, to eat at all hours, to help themselves to fruit when it
tempts their eyes, and this, with the pie, cake, bread and butter, and
sweetmeats eaten almost constantly, makes them gormands and dyspeptics.
The digestive organs, like a mill which is continually kept running,
become enfeebled, vital force is called from the brain to aid the
stomach in its overwork, and thus the mental powers are weakened. The
unnatural stimulation and wear of the vital forces make them nervous,
impatient of restraint, self-willed, and irritable. . . . It is
difficult to arouse them to a sense of the shame and grievous nature of
sin. [Selected Messages, book 1, p. 201.] (18)
The God of the Bible is NOT the
god of Vital Force
Ellen G. White, regardless of what she
may have stated in her other writings, chose
to repeatedly use the occult phrase, "vital force" to promote the pagan belief that
"an alleged nonmaterial force sustains life."
The Bible clearly states that it is by
the Lord Jesus Christ that all things consist:
For by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him: Colossians 1:16
And he is before all things, and by
him all things consist. Colossians
1:17
It is in Jesus Christ that we live,
move and have our being:
For in him we live, and move, and
have our
being; Acts 17:28
The Holy Bible refutes the New Age lie
of vital force. It is by Jesus Christ himself, not a nonmaterial force,
that all things consist. It is in Jesus Christ (not vital force) that
Christians live and move and have their being. (Also see:
Who Holds the Universe
Together -- God or Life Force?)
It is God, not
Vital Force That Sustains Mankind
This passage was
cited earlier in the article, but in conclusion,
please note that Ellen G. White taught her
followers that vital force has enabled man to
live on earth for six thousand years without
becoming extinct:
God endowed
man with so great vital force that he has
withstood the
accumulation of disease upon the race in
consequence of perverted
habits, and has continued for six thousand
years. . . . If Adam, at his
creation, had not been endowed with twenty
times as much vital force
as men now have, the race, with their
present habits of living in violation
of natural law, would have become extinct.
[From My Life Today, page 126]
It is God
himself, not a nonmaterial "vital force" who
has mercifully sustained mankind's existence
upon the earth for all these years.
Ellen G. White promoted the "vital force"
doctrine of devils long before Eastern
religious thought became prevalent in the
United States and other parts of the western
world.
MORE ARTICLES
--New
Age Markings on Ellen G. White's Writings
Notes:
(1) http://cana.userworld.com/cana_occultTerms.html
(2)
http://www.rodsmith.org.uk/alternative-health/Alternative-health-glossaryU-Z.htm
(3) www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/mh/mh17.html
- 11k
(4), (5), (6), (7)
http://www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/mh/mh23.html
(8)
http://www.whiteestate.org/message/littlethings.asp
(9)
http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/whitelie.html
(10)
http://www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/mh/mh8.html
(11) http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/rev-insp.html
(12)
http://egwlists.whiteestate.org/Lists/devotional/Message/1185.html
(13)
http://www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/mh/mh31.html
(14) http://healthyliving.benabraham.com/html/vital_vigor_and_energy.html
(15)
http://egwlists.whiteestate.org/Lists/devotional/Message/1201.html
(16)
http://www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/cgi-bin/egw2html?C=59292588&K=015422082410817998
(17) http://healthyliving.benabraham.com/html/vital_vigor_and_energy.html
(18)
http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/rev-insp.html#footnote-28
Return to:
Explanation For the Removal of Tackling the
Tough Topics Website
|