Walter T. Rea
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Walter T. Rea is a former Seventh-day Adventist known for his criticisms of the inspiration of Ellen G. White (who was a co-founder of the church who is believed by the church to have exhibited the spiritual gift of prophecy).
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[edit] Biography
Rea was the pastor of a church in Long Beach.
[edit] Ellen White
In 1980, the Ellen G. White Estate and the Biblical Research Institute decided to begin a study of White's inspiration and other topics. A scholarly committee met at the Glendale Adventist Hospital in January 28 and 29 to discuss Rea's studies into White's use of sources. The committee members and its conclusions are reported in a letter by Rea. Church president Neal Wilson reported,
- "The initial report from this very competent committee indicates that in her writing Ellen White used sources more extensively than we have heretofore been aware of or recognized."[1]
Rea published The White Lie in 1982.[2] which documents literary parallels with other authors of her times, following several years of discussion with church leaders and scholars. The book has been described as bitter and caustic. Even when errors in his book were shown to him, he refused to correct them saying, "The Bible has problems. Why should people get bent out of shape if my book has problems too?"[citation needed] He claimed to be sick of waiting for his views to be heard. Various responses were written, many appearing even before Rea's book was published. In 1981, The White Truth was published. See also The Truth About the White Lie by the Ellen G. White Estate with cooperation from the Biblical Research Institute and the Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; revised in January 1999. See also the review by the Christian Research Institute.
Rea's employment by the church was terminated.
His claims sparked a heated discussion which influenced the position of the church.
He claimed that up to 80 or 90% of White's writings were plagiarized.[3]
Rea was the first to document such large scales of borrowing, citing 75 books White depended on.[4] He was one of the key figures who introduced new views of White to the church.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "This I believe about Ellen G. White"DjVu by Neal Wilson. Adventist Review March 20, 1980, p.8-10
- ^ Rea, Walter T. (1982). The White Lie. Turlock, CA: M & R Publications. ISBN 0-9607424-1-7 (paperback edn.) ISBN 0-9607424-0-9 (hardback edn.).
- ^ From Controversy to Crisis: An Updated Assessment of Seventh-day Adventism by Kenneth Samples. Christian Research Journal 11:1 (Summer 1988)
- ^ Ostling, Richard N.; Jim Castelli, Dick Thompson (1982-08-02). "The Church of Liberal Borrowings". Time. Time Inc.. ISSN 0040-781X.
- ^ Seeking a Sanctuary, 33
[edit] External links
- Autobiography, reprinted from the prologue of The White Lie
- The White Lie, largely available online
Reviews:
- Thompson, Alden (June 1982). "The Imperfect Speech of Inspiration" ([dead link] – Scholar search). Spectrum 12 (4): 48–55. Association of Adventist Forums. ISSN 0890-0264.
- "Prophet or Plagiarist: A False Dichotomy" by Jonathan Butler
- Review by the Christian Research Institute
Other:
- Artices by or about Rea cataloged in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI)
