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Charge

Robert K. Sanders alleges that Ellen White contradicts the Bible more than 50 times. The following is #1 from the revision of his document dated June 2002:

1. WAS THE PLAN OF SALVATION MADE AFTER THE FALL?  EGW: YES "The kingdom of grace was instituted immediately after the fall of man, when a plan was devised for the redemption of the guilty race" (Great Controversy, p. 347).  BIBLE: NO    "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" (1 Peter 1:18-20).  BIBLE: NO    "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).  NOTE: The Gospel of salvation through grace by faith in Jesus Christ was already in existence before the creation of this world. EGW contradicts the Bible by claiming the plan of salvation was devised after the fall of Adam and Eve.

Pretty straightforward. Maybe he has a case on this one?

Sanders goes on to cite a "rebuttal" from an "apologist," which includes parts of the following quotations from Ellen White's pen:

The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of "the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Rom. 16:25, R. V. . . . From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate.—Desire of Ages, p. 22 (1898). The words, "Mine hour is not yet come," point to the fact that every act of Christ's life on earth was in fulfillment of the plan that had existed from the days of eternity.—Ibid., p. 147.

To all such quotes Sanders replies:

The apologists [sic.] argument is EGW got it right in other places. We agree with this. But here is the problem. The Apologist tries to confuse the issue by saying EGW got it right in a different place while hoping you will not see that she got it wrong in our quotation . . . Here EGW contradicted the Bible; made God a liar, and the apologists are defending EGW's errors.

Whew! That's pretty strong!

Initial Observations

Sanders appears to have forgotten to check a few facts before arriving at his conclusions. For example, he should have checked what else the Bible has to say on this topic:

Before the Foundation of the World	Since the Foundation of the World
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4)	Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Mat. 25:34) . . . whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 17:8)
. . . as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world. (1 Pet. 1:19, 20)	. . . the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)

Adam and Eve leaving the garden after the fall.—Davis Collection.

Surely Sanders would not be so brash as to accuse the apostle John or our Savior of contradicting the Bible and making God a liar. And yet it is very true: While Paul has us being chosen before Creation, Christ and John have our names written and the kingdom prepared for us since Creation. And while Peter has Christ being ordained to die before Creation, John has Christ being slain since Creation. Thus we have the same apparent contradiction in Scripture that we find in Ellen White's writings.

Yet we will quickly add, such apparent contradictions in Scripture are typically only apparent, never real. For example:

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. (Acts 9:7) And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. (Acts 22:9)

The Greek grammar in Acts 9:7 indicates that the men with Paul heard some sort of noise, while the Greek grammar of Acts 22:9 indicates that they did not hear with understanding what the voice was saying. Thus these verses don't contradict each other at all: The men definitely heard something, but didn't hear with understanding.

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