Taking Down or Erecting EGW

[GHansen]

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[GHansen]

Recent attacks on EGW, specifically regarding the health message, are truly misguided. The SDA health message is possibly the  denominations greatest contribution to humanity. What's really strange is the repeated accusations of plagiarism/ literary theft. EGW's first acknowledged health vision occurred on June 5, 1863. She didn't write about it immediately, then included a chapter in Spiritual Gifts vol 4 a entitled Health. In this chapter, she mentions the harmfulness of tobacco, tea, coffee, and opium, as well as medications which are harmful. She also mentions the harmfulness of overeating and snacking. This volume came out in 1864. EGW's "vision" regarding health took place in 1863.  On December 13 of 1864, James White wrote a short piece on page 20 of the Review and Herald. He announced his intention of publishing a series of 6 pamphlets on "How to Live." Each pamphlet would include something from EGW.   

"We shall claim no skill as physicians to cure the
sick; but shall draw from personal experience, from
the word of God, and from the writings of able and ex'-
perienced health reformers, facts, for the common people,
which we ardently hope may teach them how to
preserve vital force, live healthily, save doctors' bills,
and be better qualified to bear with cheerfulness the
ills of this mortal life." 

Note that there is a declaration of intent to use the writings of others in the preparation of these pamphlets. Numbers mentions this (ibid p 146).

Ron Numbers in the third edition of Prophetess of Health page 148, indicates that health writers of that era routinely used the writings of one another without attribution.

The real dispute is whether or not the Whites had studied material written by contemporaries prior to the June 5, 1863 vision and used this material as the basis  vision. Numbers discusses this on page 136 of Prophetess of Health. 

Numbers book is very informative regarding EGW's health writings/collations/compilations, especially in regard to the context in which they were produced.