QUESTION#1. "WHAT DOES 'INFALLIBLE SOURCE OF TRUTH' MEAN?"

The question we will answer in this series is just one of the 11 questions sent to Former Adventist Philippines, which we will refer to as "Bro. Ben," a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church for 11 years from Pampanga.

According to Bro. Ben:

"Honestly, I prefer to be open-minded about information rather than doubt immediately. If I doubt right away, I will become biased. I just want to be open-minded—not a defender of the SDA nor an attacker. I know there are many recorded pieces of information that I have yet to explore. My focus right now is on all the controversial books that contain the secrets of the SDA. I believe that the only way to truly understand this church is to read the writings of people who have no hidden secrets they wish to conceal. Personally, I believe there are no perfect infallible doctrines found in any church. The only infallible source is Scripture alone. So, I want to thank you now because you seem to be able to help broaden my knowledge. I will take advantage of this opportunity while you are still strong. It's rare for me to meet someone like you who has extensive studies and has read many different resources that are hard to obtain. I also pray for you, Bro., that you may have a long life. Because of you, I have many things I want to read now. You are the one who opened up these controversies."

I also asked him if it was okay to share our upcoming Bible study on this blog, and by God's grace, he agreed on one condition: that I do not reveal his real name. I pray to the Lord that our Bible study will be an instrument to reach many Seventh-day Adventists who remain open-minded and continue to seek the truth, like Bro. Ben.

To begin this Bible study, let’s start with Question #1:

Question#1. "What does 'infallible source of truth mean?"

Answer:

The "infallible source of truth" refers to a source of truth that is without error. This means it is a reliable source of information or knowledge that is considered always correct and never wrong. For conservative evangelical Christians, the Holy Scriptures or the Bible, regarded as the one Spirit-inspired Word of God, is the infallible source of truth. There is no other need because, for them, the Bible is sufficient as the final arbiter of truth.

Thus, it is unnecessary for anyone to read the writings of the recognized messenger of God and prophet of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Ellen G. White, to determine what is right and wrong for our salvation. Although the SDA leadership does not officially admit that her writings can be considered an infallible source of truth, they indirectly believe that Ellen G. White's writings are infallible based on their explanations in their readings. As a result, the authority of Ellen G. White is seen as equal to the authority of the Bible for the following reasons:

The SDA church believes that Ellen G. White's writings are inspired by the Holy Spirit just as the Bible is inspired.

According to the SDA statement of belief #17 (1983) and #18 (2005), "The Gift of Prophecy," it is believed that this was fulfilled in the ministry of Ellen G. White, and for SDAs, she is "the Lord's messenger; her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth."

Since the SDA church believes that Ellen G. White's inspiration is akin to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that guided the apostles and prophets who wrote the 66 books of the Bible, Ellen G. White's authority is therefore also equal to the authority of the Bible because their processes of inspiration are the same. If the product of the inspiration of the apostles and prophets resulted in the infallible Word of God, in the same way, the product of Ellen G. White's inspiration would also produce infallible writings outside the Bible.

SDA theologians argue that while both Ellen G. White's writings and the Bible are supposedly inspired, they are not equal because Ellen G. White's writings are not included in the canon (official list) of Scriptures. They refer to these as "non-canonical" inspired writings. However, I believe this is not a sufficient reason for the SDAs to defend the view that Ellen G. White's writings have lesser authority than the Bible for the following reasons:

1.) If the SDA believes that Ellen G. White's writings are equally inspired as the Bible, why were they not included in the Bible? I believe that all inspired writings that make up our Bible today were intentionally included by God to be part of the official canon of the Scriptures. If, for example, the Apostle Paul wrote something that was not included in our New Testament, it is because God did not intend for it to be part of the inspired Scriptures for all people, and most importantly, it was not inspired by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 5:9; Col. 4:16).

2.) How can the SDAs claim that Ellen G. White's writings, which they say are inspired, are a "continuing authoritative source of truth" if they were not intended to be included in the canon of Scriptures? If the SDAs continue to believe that Ellen G. White's writings are a "continuing authoritative source of truth," despite the fact that they are not included in the canon of Scriptures, does that not mean they will have two authoritative and inspired sources of truth? Does this not indirectly admit that the SDA church believes that the Bible alone is not sufficient?

This is why, in their statements of belief about the Bible, we do not read that they believe in the "sufficiency of the Scriptures," which has been upheld by Reformed Christians since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. For this reason, the Seventh-day Adventist Church should not be included in the legacy of the Protestant Reformation, even though they claim this in their publications. First, they are opposed to Sola Scriptura, for them, the Bible is not sufficient and is not the only final authority on faith and practice.

We can also say that although the SDAs vehemently deny that they believe Ellen G. White's writings are infallible, this contradicts their teaching that her writings are also "inspired" like the Bible. If the SDAs believe the Bible is infallible because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, they must also accept that Ellen G. White's writings are infallible, because according to them, the process of inspiration of these is the same as that of the Bible. Therefore, if Ellen G. White's writings are not infallible, then neither will the Bible be infallible, because according to them, the source and process of inspiration of the Bible and Ellen G. White's writings are the same! Since Ellen G. White's writings are inspired by the Holy Spirit, then they can also be considered an infallible source of truth, alongside the inspired writings already in the Bible.

In conclusion, in response to the question, "What does an infallible source of truth mean?" from an SDA member who is earnestly seeking the truth, we should recognize that only the Bible is the infallible source of truth. It is the only authoritative work inspired by the Holy Spirit, making it infallible and never wrong or misleading in the truths it teaches, especially regarding the salvation of our souls. The Bible is called the "Word of God" because what is written therein is the product of God's breath (theopneustos, God-breathed), according to 2 Timothy 3:16, thus making it sufficient for the salvation of anyone. We do not need the so-called inspired writings of Ellen G. White or anyone claiming to be a messenger of God.