Adventist Great Controversy

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I was solicited at my door by two nice young ladies to buy some Christian books. I knew fairly quickly that they were 7th Day Adventists because they carried The Great Controversy by E.G.White. Anyway, after telling them I was Catholic and buying a harmless children’s book on Jesus (5 words per page on about 6-10 cardboard pages so I skimmed it and knew it was safe) I wished that I had some information on what their book The Great Controversy contained. I know Adventists believe things such as RCC is the whore of babylon and such but anyone know exactly what this book contains? Is it a huge part of their faith like the LDS Pearl of Great Price or something like that? I flipped through it and there was pictures of things such as a man tied to a stake in some kind of Inquistition like setting or something. Anyway, anyone read this? I don’t really want to buy it but I think it would help me understand better if I knew what it is about. . .plus I have some family who converted to this faith through marriage to an Adventist so I’m interested. So basically…what is the “controversy?”

THANKS! Brandon
 
EG White,
a young lady that had lots of visions such as this
E.G.White
Written 1905 I think;

Testimonies too the Church Vol. 9-11
9T.012.001

On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify the owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. Those to whom these buildings belonged were not asking themselves: “How can we best glorify God?” The Lord was not in their thoughts.
I thought: “Oh, that those who are thus investing their means could see their course as God sees it! They are piling up magnificent buildings, but how foolish in the sight of the Ruler of the universe is their planning and devising. They are not studying with all the powers of heart and mind how they may glorify God. They have lost sight of this, the first duty of man.”

As these lofty buildings went up, the owners rejoiced with ambitious pride that they had money to use in gratifying self and provoking the envy of their neighbors. Much of the money that they thus invested had been obtained through exaction, through grinding down the poor. They forgot that in heaven an account of every business transaction is kept; every unjust deal, every fraudulent act, is there recorded. The time is coming when in their fraud and insolence men will reach a point that the Lord will not permit them to pass, and they will learn that there is a limit to the forbearance of Jehovah.

The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: “They are perfectly safe.” But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction.

{Resulting in A or The War of Daniel Chapter 11}

Page 14
"But who reads the warnings given by the fast fulfilling signs of the times? What impression is made upon worldlings? …They had heaven sent warnings but they refused to listen. …hurry on to eternal ruin.
The world is stirred with the spirit of war.
The prophecy of the eleventh chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment.

…The sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. …Not all in this world have taken sides with the enemy against God…Soon the battle will be waged fiercely between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. Soon everything that can be shaken will be shaken."

E.G.White .
Click to expand...
you will find the complete text in
"Testimonies to the Church"
Vol 9 page11
or as 9/11
 
The “Great Controversy” is a false and sensationalised version of church history.

I would completely ignore it, and certianly not buy it.

And yes I did try to read it years ago, and burned it when I got about 1/3 through.
 
I have seen this book so many times. The above assessment is spot on. It is also out under the title of “America In Prophecy”. I once took a copy and wrote in the margins all the answers to it’s allegation, but gave up after the 4th chapter and writers cramp set in :rolleyes:
I generally send it staright into a round file when I encounter it now. I would talk to 'em…if they talked…
Just don’t let any of our kids get hold of it…it’s sort of like religious porn to me.
 
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HistoryTeacher:
Anyway, anyone read this? I don’t really want to buy it but I think it would help me understand better if I knew what it is about. . .plus I have some family who converted to this faith through marriage to an Adventist so I’m interested. So basically…what is the “controversy?”
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Hi,
I have read The Great Controversy a couple of times. It is part of a 5 book series that EGW wrote regarding the history of Salvation. The books in order are:
  1. Patriarchs and Prophets
  2. Prophets and Kings
  3. Desire of Ages
  4. Acts of the Apostles
  5. The Great Controversy
Basically, each book deal with a different part of the earths salvation history, as seen by the SDA Church or EGW. * The Great Controversy *is the most popular book for a few reasons, first, it contains “revelations” about how the future end times will play out, second, it deals with basically the time period from the early church (after the apostles) until Christ’s second coming. Finally, it’s “revelations” support or attempt to establish the legitimacy/need of the SDA Church… things such as 1844, Sabbath vs. Sunday, prophetic time lines, the Beast/AntiChrist and how these issues (and the SDA Church) supposedly affect the salvation history of the world.

The biggest thing it will help you understand, IMHO, if you got the book, is why the SDA Church think they are a special or unique people… it’s a record of the “knowledge” they don’t think everyone else has…

Hope this helps you understand the book a bit more… If I wasn’t very clear or you have any other questions… let me know!

Brandon 🙂
 
BTW… the phrase “The Great Controversy” in SDA Circles refers to the controversy between Christ and Satan for the Salvation of man.

brandon
 
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SDA2RC:
BTW… the phrase “The Great Controversy” in SDA Circles refers to the controversy between Christ and Satan for the Salvation of man.

brandon
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How does one get hold of a copy ? Of the unrevised one, that is - not the new edition. 🙂​

 
Gottle of Geer said:
## How does one get hold of a copy ? Of the unrevised one, that is - not the new edition. 🙂 ##
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Hi,
Not quite sure what you mean by the “un-revised” one… there are basically four variants of the book.

First, one of the volumes of the books Spiritual Gifts was a pre-cursor to the book The Great Controversy.

Second, the first main edition was published in 1884.

Third, the next main edition was published in 1888

Fourth, the edition primarily used by SDA’s today (under various titles) is the 1911 edition.

The Latest, 1911 edition, which is what I have read, can be obtained by going to the Adventist Book Center website/store and ordering it, or you can read it online at the EGW Estate website at: egwtext.whiteestate.org/gc/gc.html.

I also found this website, vip.hpnc.com/~eh/prophecy.htm, at which you can supposedly get the book free (under the title, America In Prophecy)

You can usually find it at thrift stores or used books stores too. Just keep in mind, the “history” presented in the book is written with a specific objective in mind, and a lot of EGW’s writings were plagerized from other writers.

Brandon
 
Church Militant:
I have seen this book so many times. The above assessment is spot on. It is also out under the title of “America In Prophecy”. I once took a copy and wrote in the margins all the answers to it’s allegation, but gave up after the 4th chapter and writers cramp set in :rolleyes:
I generally send it staright into a round file when I encounter it now. I would talk to 'em…if they talked…
Just don’t let any of our kids get hold of it…it’s sort of like religious porn to me.
Click to expand...
At the hospital I work at, the lobby is often littered with SDA literature (although none of it is labelled SDA, it’s usually titled “Amazing Facts’ or something like that). I’m almost tempted to buy a stack of CA’s 'Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” tracts and drop 1 or 2 off now and then.
 
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RNRobert:
I’m almost tempted to buy a stack of CA’s 'Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" tracts and drop 1 or 2 off now and then.
Click to expand...
(chanting)… do it! do it! do it! do it!

hehe

brandon
 
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SDA2RC:
Hi,
Not quite sure what you mean by the “un-revised” one… there are basically four variants of the book.
Click to expand...

Many thanks 🙂​

I saw something on the WWW which seemed to imply that there was a newer edition yet of it. Of course, I have lost the link.
First, one of the volumes of the books Spiritual Gifts was a pre-cursor to the book The Great Controversy.

Second, the first main edition was published in 1884.

Third, the next main edition was published in 1888

Fourth, the edition primarily used by SDA’s today (under various titles) is the 1911 edition.

The Latest, 1911 edition, which is what I have read, can be obtained by going to the Adventist Book Center website/store and ordering it, or you can read it online at the EGW Estate website at: egwtext.whiteestate.org/gc/gc.html.

I also found this website, vip.hpnc.com/~eh/prophecy.htm, at which you can supposedly get the book free (under the title, America In Prophecy)

You can usually find it at thrift stores or used books stores too. Just keep in mind, the “history” presented in the book is written with a specific objective in mind, and a lot of EGW’s writings were plagerized from other writers.

Brandon
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that she lifted material from 900 or so authors. I think the context was a discussion of her character as a prophet. I like tracing ideas, and how material is used - which is why I would not mind getting a 680-page book. I like long books 🙂​

I went to Advent Book Center site - it was a strange experience: with half one’s mind one remembers that this is an SDA site, and with the half, one sees nothing to distinguish the books from thousands of other Evangelical Protestant books. This normality, is what really brings home the tragedy of error - the SDAs have so many things right; yet they have some things so sadly wrong. ##
 
Gottle of Geer:

I read somewhere that she lifted material from 900 or so authors. I think the context was a discussion of her character as a prophet. I like tracing ideas, and how material is used - which is why I would not mind getting a 680-page book. I like long books 🙂​

Click to expand...
Yes…she was a very prolific lifter… LOL I read a study, commissioned and completed by SDA’s that showed something like 80-85% of the first 15 chapters of her book Desire of Ages (book on the life of Christ) was copied from other sources with no credit. Amazing!!
Gottle of Geer:
I went to Advent Book Center site - it was a strange experience: with half one’s mind one remembers that this is an SDA site, and with the half, one sees nothing to distinguish the books from thousands of other Evangelical Protestant books. This normality, is what really brings home the tragedy of error - the SDAs have so many things right; yet they have some things so sadly wrong. ##
Click to expand...
True…true!
 
quote=SDA2RC… do it! do it! do it! do it!

hehe

brandon
[/quote]

I think I will… I came to work this morning, and there was SDA literature littered all over the place again (literally- I’ve found some of their pamphlets on the floor in the stairwell :mad: - but whether that was done by the person who left them there, or someone’s editorial comment:D, I don’t know).
 
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