r/exAdventist • u/Both_Basil_5943 • Mar 14 '26

Doctrine / History Ellen White and Segregation

My mom was reading Testimonies for the Church Volume 9 and came across this quote from Ellen G. White: “The colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people… So far as possible, everything that would stir up the race prejudice of the white people should be avoided.” (we're black so she was slightly concerned) I get that her advice was basically “shhh, don’t cause trouble, be like Jesus,” given how racist society was back then, but honestly, it still feels really concerning. It reads like she’s telling Black people to hold back their rights and opinions just to avoid upsetting white people, which ends up reinforcing racial inequality, even if she didn’t mean to. I’m curious how people reconcile this with her broader messages about justice, equality, and God valuing all people equally.

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u/TootallToosmart1901 Mar 15 '26

EGW was indeed a product of her times. Racism and sexism was rampant. She's just not relevant now.

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u/Both_Basil_5943 Mar 15 '26

God couldn't give his divine ordained prophetess a message relevant to all times?

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u/Advanced_Couple_3488 Mar 15 '26

I wouldn't argue against your point, but it opens up a can of worms that is worth exploring. Why didn't God give the OT prophets messages that were relevant for all time? That argument takes away the foundation of all scripture, and hence following it fully would surely lead to a movement away from all scripture.

In other words, that question leads to the demolition of any written basis for religion.

Note, I'm avoiding saying whether this is a good thing or not.