THE HOLY FLESH MOVEMENT
1899 - 1901
William H. Grotheer
April 1973
*All Rights Reserved*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
I
The Loom of the Fabric - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -8
II
Emotional Extravaganza - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -13
III
The Confrontation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18
IV
Threads of the Fabric - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -27
V
The By-Paths - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -35
VI
Lessons and Sidelights - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43
APPENDIX A – Biographical Sketches 50 B – Was the Doctrine of the Incarnation a Real Issue
in the “Holy Flesh” Movement?
53
C – Compiler’s Notes in Selected Messages, bk 11, p. 31
57
D – The Letter in Question
65
-1-
PREFACE
While serving as pastor of the Marion, Indiana, District or the Seventh-
day Adventist Church, the writer had occasion to visit with the late
Jesse E. Dunn, who at the time was residing near Rockford, Indiana. The
course of the Conversation turned to the book – Questions
on Doctrine 1 which had just been
published. A discussion of certain controversial concepts
including the section on the incarnation of Christ led to the
observation by Dunn that a similar teaching had been advocated by the
leaders of the Holy Flesh Movement in Indiana. This
sparked the research which resulted in this present manuscript.
Jesse Dunn, who was the Book Agent [now known as the Publishing
department Secretary] for the Conference at that time, volunteered to
help reconstruct the story of what happened. He, himself,
wrote to, and placed the writer in contact with individuals who could
supply information as to the activities and teachings of the ministers
involved in the Holy Flesh Movement. Before his death, he gave the
writer the complete file of his own correspondence during the time of
the initial research.
Later when this writer was head of the Bible Department of Madison
College, a student who was interested in research was assigned this
subject for further investigation. Circumstances did not permit the
student to finalize ahis findings; however, the material gathered has
been incorporated into the over-all picture which is given in this
manuscript.
While attending Andrews University, following the closing of Madison
College, the writer chose this subject as the topic of his thesis for
this course – Research in Theology. This manuscript is a
revision and modification of that
-2-
research paper.
A debt of gratitude is due Dr. E.K. Vande Vere, who at the time was
Chairman of the History Department of Andrews University, for the
reports which he supplied from the Review and Herald concerning
the work in the Indian Conference which paralleled the letters,
statements, and pamphlets which had been gathered by the writer
involving the Holy Flesh Movement. A copy of this research
paper was sent to Dr. Vande Vere after it was completed in absentia. He
replied:
Yesterday, I read the paper with care. It seems to me that
you have wrung every bit of material possible from your sources. It’s
too bad that the whole episode not have been written in 1905. Hence as
matters stand, it is quite likely that no one else will ever shed more
light on the affair than you have. I hope a copy of your
paper will always be available at the White Estate or in the White
Library - - for those who in the future might be interested enough to
read.
Somehow I wonder if it was not the kind hand of Providence that guided
you into this topic. I’m sure that reviewing this history
of extremism has done something for you and for all of us.2
The writer is grateful to Elder Arthur L. White of the Ellen G. White
Estate for checking either for verification or repudiation in the
records extant in the Document File, certain statements which came from
the memory of the sincere and honest folk who willingly sought to help
the writer reconstruct the picture of what took place in those emotion
filled years during the rise and demise of the Holy Flesh Movement. A
couple of years later in an exchange of correspondence concerning the
subject, Elder White wrote: - “You have probed the subject of the holy
flesh movement more deeply than any one else I know”3
It must be remembered that the basis for the statements presented apart
from the published and written records of the period come from the
memories of those attempting to recall events that took place at least
fifty years before.
-3-
It must also be kept in mind that the statements made as to what
occurred are conditioned by the emotional involvements of the person
making the statements.
The Movement was short lived, covering a period of about two or three
years (1899 – 1901), and therefore, published or written material from
that period relative to the Movement is scarce and difficult to find. One
of its major teachings was not fully developed in the minds of its
advocates at the time it was cut short, so that a full picture of what
might have happened will never be known. Ellen G. White in
a forthright testimony which ended officially the whole affair declared:
If those who speak so freely of perfection in the flesh, could see
things in the true light, they would recoil with horror from their
presumptuous ideas. In showing the fallacy of their assumptions in
regard to holy flesh, the Lord is seeking to prevent men and women from
putting on His words a construction which leads to pollution of body,
soul, and spirit. Let this phase of doctrine be carried a little
further, and it will lead to the claim that its advocates can not sin;
that since they have holy flesh, their actions are all holy. What a door
of temptation would thus be opened!4
We may yet see the gull results of such a development, or the opposite
extreme, in the Church. In the same testimony the servant of the Lord
warned:
Many such movements will arise at this time, when the Lord’s work should
stand elevated, pure, unadulterated with superstition and fables. We
need to be on our guard, to maintain a close connection with Christ,
that we be not deceived by Satan’s devices. 5
The primary assumption upon which the teachings of the Holy Flesh
Movement was based concerned the doctrine of the Incarnation as
understood and taught by the advocates of the Movement. The major
objective of this research manuscript will be to show the underlying
controversy that developed over this primary assumption, and the lesson
that this experience should teach the Church inasmuch as the same
concept relative to the Incarnation of Christ has again been
-4-
introduced into the Church during these last two decades.
___________________________
1 Seventh-day
Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine, Review &
Herald Publishing Association, (Washington D.C.), 1957
2 Dr.
E.K. Vands Vere, Letter to William H. Grotheer from Andrews University,
Barrien Springs, Michigan, undated
3 Arthur
L. White, Letter to William H. Grotheer from Takoma Park, Washington
D.C., dated December 13, 1968.
4 Ellen
G. White, Selected Messages, bk. ii, p.32
5 Ibid,.
p. 35
-5-
I
THE LOOM OF THE FABRIC
The 19th Century was drawing to a close. An air
of expectancy and concern pervaded the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Elder A.F. Ballenger was proclaiming at worker’s meetings, and at camp
meetings, that the time had come to receive the Holy Spirit. In writing
of these meetings, and relating what he had said, Ballenger stated –
“You and I can afford to resist unto blood, striving against sin; but we
cannot afford to sin. It is too late to sin in thought, word or
action; for it is time to receive the Holy Ghost in all of His fulness,
- time to receive the seal of God.” 1
In another report of his camp meeting experiences, Ballenger wrote:
The loudest cry of the loud cry is due today. To the careful observer,
there are signs that show its presence near . . .
At the Indiana meeting, between thirty and forty people from the city
arose for prayer. As I stood there that Sunday afternoon, and called the
people of the world and the other churches to repentance, and saw them
forced to their feet by the power of God, I thought, What power will be
manifested when God’s people are clean!
When I am conscious that I am not clean, I cannot preach with power,
neither can I preach with “unwonted power” when I know that my people
are not clean. Cleanse the Seventh-day Adventist Church of all
uncleanness, and I will promise the loudest cry of the loud cry the same
day. 2
Attending these worker’s meetings and camp meetings in the
Indiana Conference was a forty-three year old man by the name of
S.S. Davis. He had been licensed to preach by the
conference in 1893, 3 and was ordained
two years later in 1895. 4 Following
his ordination, Elder Davis was asked to go to Evansville, Indiana, to
establish the work there. In 1898, an unsigned item appeared in the
“Indiana News Notes” of the Review, noting
that a mission had been established
-6-
in Evansville. It was in need of help and that such items
as clothing an provisions of food would be appreciated. It had been
named the Helping Hand Mission and was located at 914 Main St. Bible
studies were being conducted in addition to the regular services at the
Mission. 5
Under the dateline of August 15, 1898, a report was given by S.S. Davis
of the work in Evansville. It read:
Sabbath and Sunday, August 13, 14, were eventful days in the history of
the work in this place. In the Sabbath meeting the Spirit was present to
impress hearts, and nine persons requested baptism. Among them was a
Baptist minister of considerable prominence, who himself baptized
twenty-eight converts to the Baptist faith at one time not long ago. We
secured the use of the baptistery in the First Baptist church. And at
three o’clock Sunday we administered baptism. Sunday night our meeting
was well attended. The subject was “The Baptism of the Holy Ghost,” and
the Spirit was poured out in a large measure. It seemed that we were
filled to the utmost of our capacity to receive. We have reached the
time of the message, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” and we are actually
having Pentecostal times and apostolic experiences. The message is
rising, and grand and awful times are upon us. This message will close
with power and great glory; and if it is the will of the Lord, I want to
live to see it triumph. 6
The relationship between the doctrinal emphasis of Davis and the
messages of Ballenger is attested in a biographical sketch written by
Davis’ daughter. She recalled:
He [Davis] attended a conference worker’s meeting in ’97 or ’98 where a
special inspirational message was given by Elder Ballenger… The
Laodicean message and a song written by Elder Ballenger and his sister,
entitled, “Receive Ye the Holy Ghost,” were stressed. I never heard of
Elder Ballenger again, but his messages had inspired all the
Indiana Conference workers. 7
It is interesting to observe that while Davis was sent to Evansville in
1895, it was not until 1898 – after listening to Ballenger at a worker’s
meeting that he began to tell of the “power” connected with his
ministry.
Jesse E. Dunn relates an experience he had with Elder Davis, when Davis
was serving as head of the Helping Hand Mission in Evansville, Indiana.
A co-
-7-
ordinated program for evangelism involving welfare ministry through the
Mission and interest created by colporteur work was begun by Davis.
Since Dunn was the State Agent, he was asked to go to Evansville to
assist in the initiation of the plan. The idea was to secure as many
three-months club subscriptions to the Signs of the
Times as possible. Then Davis in the public meetings
would refer to the Signs in his
sermons, and this way it was hoped to encourage home study of the truth
along with the public presentation. 8
After accomplishing the initial objective, Dunn left to care for the
Book work in other parts of the State, bue returned as soon as possible
to appraise this approach to evangelism. In the meantime, Elder S.S.
Davis had come in contact with a group of Pentecostal people. He said to
Dunn, upon the latter’s return to Evansville- “Brother Dunn, they have
the ‘spirit’; and we have the truth; and if we had the ‘spirit’ as they
have, with the truth we could do things.” 9
The interest of S.S. Davis in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is
understandable in the light of what had and what was taking place in the
Church during the last decade of the 19th Century.
At the 1888 General Conference Session, the message of righteousness had
been presented by Elders Waggoner and Jones. 10 In
1892, the servant of the Lord had written:
The time of test is just before us, for the loud cry of the third angel
has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the
sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel
whose glory shall fill the whole earth. 11
It was understood by the Church that the expressions, “loud cry”, and
the “light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth”, were
synonymous with the concept of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the
Latter Rain.
Five years latter came the memorable 1893 General Conference Session.
-8-
(This was the yar that Davis was granted a license to preach.) Of the
1893 Session, L.H. Christian has written:
It was really at the General Conference Session in 1893 that light on
justification by faith seemed to gain its greatest victory, and it was
the though that it is the righteous life of Christ here on earth that is
imputed to us by faith which brought great blessing. 12
But still the fulness of the Holy Spirit was not realized. Then in 1898,
Professor E. A. Sutherland commented on what he had seen of the
manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit at the Illinois and
Indiana camp meetings noting that the church was on the verge of the
reception of the Latter Rain. He then alluded to the 1893 Session of the
General Conference in these words:
The latter rain would have come in 1893 if our people had moved out in
all the truth. In the year 1898 there is no line of truth, so far as I
know, that has not been accepted. We shall see the
manifestations that the Lord has spoken of, that will take
place just before the latter rain. 13
The year 1898 also marked a change in the administration of the Indiana
Conference. Due to the failing health of his wife, it was necessary for
Elder W.B. White to resign and move to Arizona. 14 Until
another conference president could enter upon his duties, Elder I.D. Van
Horn assumed oversight of the work in Indiana. 15 At
the Spring Council in Battle Creek, March 10 to April 3, it
was voted to ask Elder R. S. Donnell of the Upper Columbia Conference to
“take the presidency of the Indiana Conference.” 14 This
he accepted, arriving in Indiana about the middle of the year.
In 1899, a camp meeting and conference session was held at Alexandria,
Indiana. Elder Donnell was confirmed in the presidency by election. In a
report of this meeting, Elder A.J. Breed, Superintendent of District
#3,* com-
*Prior to 1901, several conferences were grouped together as a District
with a Superintendent appointed by the General Conference. Indiana was
in District #3.
-9-
mented that “there were some features of the meeting that I was sorry to
see; but before it closed, a victory was gained, and these were
overcome.” 16 What these features were
is not defined in the report.
In December of 1899, Elder S.S. Davis began his work as
Conference Revivalist. This appointment and date could be considered the
beginning of what came to be called the Holy Flesh Movement. A report of
the results of this work appeared in the Review several
months later. It read:
EVANSVILLE, ELNORA, SALEM, LINTON, FARMERSBURG, TERRE HOUTE, BOGGSTOWN.
– The first of December, in company with Brother Joseph Crary., and his
wife, and Brother John Hickey, and his wife, I started on my work among
the churches. As a rule, we found the churches in a cold, backslidden
condition, and in many places much divided and torn and scattered by the
enemy; but generally they were dissatisfied with their condition, and
desired a better experience. The Lord laid it on my heart to preach the
Laodicean message. He gave power to the word, and I never before saw
such manifestations of the power of God in repentance as I have been
permitted to witness in the pace mentioned above. In all these places
shouts of victory made the churches ring. Perfect union and love
prevail. Sixty-seven persons were added to the believers. Praise the
Lord for His goodness to the children of men. 17
During this time a worker’s meeting was held in the church at
Indianapolis. The Revival Team proclaimed “vigorously” their message of
holiness to the assembled workers. Elder Donnell opposed the
presentation in a public service, outlining what he considered to be the
truth on holiness and sanctification. The doctrinal division, and the
emotional extravaganza accompanying the presentations by the Revival
Team caused a division among the workers, and perplexity among the laity
of the local church who attended and took part in the meetings. As a
result, Donnell is quoted as saying- “I am not going to have any such
gang as Davis’s, Hickeys and Crary’s going over this conference
preaching any such doctrine.” 18 Commenting
further on this experience the same source has written:
-10-
R.S. Donnell at first was bitterly opposed to the Holy Flesh Movement,
which originated with three laymen- Davis, Hickey, Crary. However, he
called them to his office to straighten them out. At the conclusion of
their conference, he made a complete about face and became practically
the leader of the movement. 19
With this turn of events, the Holy Flesh Movement moved toward its
zenith. The camp meetings of 1900 would be a revelation of the workings
and the teachings of the men who were weaving the fabric” of the
doctrine of holy flesh.
At the 1899 Session of the Conference, it was voted to hold several camp
meetings in the State during 1900, making them evangelistic in nature. A
conference session was to be held the following winter in Indianapolis. 20 However,
in counsel with the General Conference President and the District
Superintendent., it was thought best to alter this arraignment, and have
the conference session in connection with the last camp meeting during
1900. Three meetings were scheduled – Sullivan, from July 19-29; La
Fayette, from August 16-26; and Muncies, from September 13-23. 21 Another
four day meeting on th fairgrounds at Kendellville, made four in all for
the year, 1900. 20
In sending out a notice of these camp meetings, Elder Donnell wrote an
article stressing the purpose and need for these meetings. He stated:
These meetings are all announced as local meetings, and it is the desire
of the committee to conduct them in harmony with the instruction given
in a Special Testimony dated Feb. 26, 1900; that is, to present our
faith and its reasons to the people, and to carry on revival work from
the beginning to the end of the meeting. This will make these
camp-meetings of special interest to our own people, and also to those
not of our faith; for while doctrinal subjects will be presented with
earnestness, the real object to be attained is the conversion of every
soul.
In the first-page article of the Review of February 27, 1900, we read
this pointed statement: “The Lord calls upon His people in 1900 to be
converted. The Lord can not purify the soul until the entire begin is
surrendered to the working of the Holy Spirit.” 21
-11-
In a summary of the camp meetings held during 1900, Elder R.S. Donnell
wrote about the meetings in Sullivan, Muncie, and Kendallville, but
omitted any direct reference to the meeting in La Fayette. Of these
meetings, he stated, “The manifestation of the Spirit of God was marked
at all these meetings, but not so fully at Muncie as at the others.”
Follow-up work was being continued at both Sullivan and Muncie. Donnell
concluded his report by declaring – “The Laodicean message, which is the
message for the church to-day, … is being preached in the Conference, in
connection with other points of the faith. 20
The influence of S.S. Davis was strong in the conference. Not only was
he made a member of the conference committee at the Session in 1900, but
one of his associates – J.A. Crary – became a trustee of the legal
Association. J.H. Hickey, the other associate was licensed to preach,
and Hickey’s wife, Julia received a missionary license. 22
These last two members of Davis’ revival team remained in Muncie after
the camp meeting, along with U.S. Anderson another licentiate, to care
for the interest created. The follow-up work was under the direction of
Elder P.G. Stanley, who himself was a member of the conference
committee. Of this work, he had written to Donnell “that the power of
God is wondrously manifest in the presentation of truth, and in the
acceptance of it by the people.” A Sabbath school of fifty members had
been organized, and several had accepted the faith. 20
Certain key expressions were used by the leadership in Indiana: - “the
Laodicean message,” “the reception of the Holy Spirit”. They also
referred to the message they were preaching as the “cleansing message”23
borrowed from the emphasis that Ballenger placed on the necessity of a
cleansed church before the Holy Spirt could be received. 2 These
concepts in themselves were based in the Bible, and the Inspired
Testimonies. In Fact, Donnell refers to one specific
-12-
reference 20 from the very year – 1900 – where the servant of the Lord
stated:-
“The Laodicean message must be proclaimed with power; for not it is
especially applicable.” 24 The error
resulted from men taking truth, perverting it, and mingling with it
their own theories and interpretations, thus weaving a “fabric” – to
borrow Sister White’s figure of speech – in which there was “not a
thread of truth.” 18
___________________________________________
1 A.F. Ballenger, “Camp Meeting Notes,” Review and
Herald, October 18, 1898, p. 671. Emphasis his.
2 Ibid., November 8, 1898, p. 720
3 Review and Herald, September 3, 1893, p. 573
4 Ibid., August 20, 1895, p. 536
5 Ibid., April 26, 1898, p. 272
6 Ibid., August 23, 1898, p. 543
7 Viola Davis Hopper, An undated statement recalling events in the life
of her father, S.S. Davis. Emphasis hers.
8 Jesse E. Dunn, Signed statement recalling events that took place in
connection with the “holy Flesh” Movement. The statement is in the files
of the writer.
9 Ibid.
10 Davis accepted the Advent Message in 1886. He colporterured in
Western Nebraska from 1887 to 1892. Davis’ daughter, Mrs Viola Hopper,
states that her father attended the 1888 General Conference Session. See
Footnote #7
11 Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, November 22,
1892
12 L.H. Christian, The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts,
p. 241
13 E.A. Sutherland, “Illinois and Indiana Camp Meetings,” Review
and Herald, September 27, 1898, p.622
14 Review and Herald, April 19, 1898, p. 255
15 Ibid., April 26, 1898, p. 274
16 A.J. Breed, “The Indiana Camp-Meeting”, Review and
Herald, August 29, 1899, p. 561
17 Review and Herald, April 10, 1900, p. 237
18 G.A. Roberts, Statement date, June 11, 1923, White Estate D.F. #190.
19 G.A. Roberts, Letter to Wm. H. Grotheer dated at Covina, Calif.,
January 23, 1973.
20 R.S. Donnel “Indiana”, Review and Herald, October
23, 1900, p. 686-687.
21 Ibid., July 10, 1900, p,446
22 General Conference Bulletin, 4th Quarter,
1900, p. 207
23 S.N. Haskell, Letter to Ellen G. White dated at Battle Creek,
Michigan, September 25, 1900.
24 Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, September 25,
1900
-13-
II
EMOTIONAL EXTRAVAGANZA
From the very first report signed by S.S. Davis, telling of his work in
Evansville, there was the overtone of religious excitement. He wrote
that in presenting the subject – “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit” – “the
Spirit was poured out in a large measure” and that they were “actually
having Pentecostal times and apostolic experiences.” 1 In
telling of the work of the Revival team which he led, Davis stated that
in all the places where they had been, “shouts of victory made the
churches ring.” 2
How these meetings were conducted is given in an eyewitness account to
be found in the document file of the Ellen G. White Estate. It reads:
The followers of this doctrine would gather in the cleared basement of
the church, and a large number of them would dance in a large circles,
shouting and lifting up their hands. The children would be placed upon
boxes or barrels, and they too would shout and lift up their hands. In
their church services, they would preach and shout and pray until
someone in the congregation would fall unconscious from his seat. One or
two men would be walking up and down the aisles watching for just
this demonstration and would lay hold of the person who had fallen,
literally dragging him up the aisles and placing him on the rostrum.
Then a number, perhaps a dozen, would gather about the prostrate form,
someone shouting, some singing, and some praying, all at the same time.
Finally the individual would
revive, and he was then counted among the faithful who had passed
through the Garden. 3
After the conference president, R.S. Donnell, embraced the teachings of
S.S. Davis, he called the workers together in Indianapolis and announced
that they would remain in study and prayer until the Holy Spirit came
upon them as it did on the disciples at Pentecost. How long they
remained together could not be recalled, but it must have been for a
period of time, for Jesse E. Dunn tells how relieved and delighted he
was, when a day was finally set for the
-14-
meeting to be concluded.” 4
The camp meetings during the year 1900 were marked in a decided manner
with the emotional extravaganza that gripped the movement. At the
Sullivan meeting (July 19 – 29), Donnell’s step-daughter, Nellie, who
was married to a Salvation Army Captain, named Fuller, was present. She
was accomplished in the use of the tambourine. During this meeting she
was asked by her father to lead the music by the use of her tambourine.
In commenting on the musical instruments and type of music used at the
camp meetings, Haskell wrote – “They are as much trained in their
musical line as any Salvation Army Choir that you ever heard. In fact,
their revival effort is simply a complete copy of the Salvation Army
method.” 5
Dunn has testified to the advertising techniques connected with the
second camping held near La Fayette (August 16-26). To advertise these
meetings, trams of the city’s Electric Lines were chartered. The
musicians filled the cars and played their instruments loudly while they
traversed the entire trolley system. 4 Alad, only eleven years of age,
attended this camp meeting with his parents. Years latter he recalled
some things about this camp meeting that remained as vivid memories of
the experience. He wrote:
The first thing I noticed that seemed strange to me was a lady leading
the music playing a tambourine. They also had a band helping with the
music. Then the altar calls, people would get do enthused over these
calls that some would collapse at the altar. These affairs just about
took all the ideas I ever had of becoming an Adventist out of me. In
fact, I did not become an Adventist until about ten years later. One
thing that was done for advertising was to load several street cars with
the band, choir, and workers, and tour the city. The cars [were] all
decorated with banners and emblems. 6
The Muncie camp meeting (September 13-23) was attended by Elder A.J.
Breed and Elder and Sister S.N. Haskell. During the meeting, Sister
Haskell
-15-
wrote two letters describing what was taking place. One was sent to Miss
Sara McInterfer, and other was addressed to Sister White. In the first
letter, Hetty Haskel stated:
They have a big drum, two tambourines, a big bass fiddle, two small
fiddles, a flute and two cornets, and an organ and a few voices.
They have “Garden of Spices” as a song book and play dance tunes to
scared words. They have never used our own hymn books except when Elder
Breed, or Haskell speak, then they open and close with a hymn from our
book, but all the other songs are from the other book. They shout
“Amens” and “Praise the Lord,” “Glory to God”, just like a Salvation
Army service. It is distressing to one’s soul. The doctrines preached
correspond to the rest. The poor sheep are truly confused. 7
In the second letter, Sister Haskell described the Sabbath service. Of
this she wrote:
Last Sabbath they (Indiana ministers) took the early meeting also the
11:00 o’clock hour, and called them front to the altar as they call the
little fence they have around the pulpit. The poor sheep came flocking
up until they were on the ground three rows deep. The ministers kept up
their shouting and, shall I call it yelling. They invited Elder H. and
Elder Breed to come down to the altar and help. They went down, and
Elder Breed got down and tried to talk to some, but he felt so out of
place he got up on his feet and stood and looked on. Elder H. Left the
tent and went to our own tent. Finally they had a season of prayer, then
they got up and
began shouting, “Praise the Lord,” “Glory” etc., falling on one
another’s neck and kissing and shaking hands, keeping their music going
with the noise, until many of them looked almost crazy. 8
Burton Wade, a laymember from Denver, Indiana, was present at this camp
meeting. He has also recalled the nature of the services conducted. In a
letter, he wrote:
They worked themselves up to a high pitch of excitement by the use of
musical instruments, such as: trumpets, flutes, stringed instruments,
tambourines, and organ and a big bass drum. They shouted and sang their
lively songs with the aid of musical instruments until they became
really hysterical. Many times I saw them, after these morning meetings,
as they came to the dining tent fairly shaking as though they had the
palsy. 9
The conference president testified to an unwonted power which
accompanied
-16-
his preaching during these various meetings. G.A. Roberts told of an
occasion when R.S. Donnell, while preaching, held out his hands over the
congregation and his arms became fixed and rigid. After the meeting,
Donnell told Roberts that “he could feel great power course down his
arms passing through his fingers to the congregation.” 3
During the development of the “holy Flesh” Movement, Ellen G. White was
in Australia. She did not return to America until the month that the
climatic camp meeting was held in Muncie. Upon her return, she received
three letters telling of this camp meeting. Hetty Haskell wrote one from
the camp grounds, as noted above, and Elder Haskell wrote two after
returning to Battle Creek. At the end of one of his letters, Haskell
expressed his faith by stating - "I have no doubt, however, that the
Lord will open up the whole scene before you; and for the sake of the
poor sheep in Indiana, I pray God that you may have a Testimony to send
to them." 5
To these letters, Sister White replied on October 10, 1900 from St.
Helena, California, and stated that in January of that year she had
received a revelation from the Lord that "erroneous theories and methods
would be brought into our campmeetings, and that the history of the past
would be repeated." 10 In this letter a clear line
of demarcation is drawn between the evidences of the work of the Holy
Spirit and the Satanic delusion which "works amid the din and confusion"
of music which is perverted into a "carnival". Its effect is "like the
poison sting of the serpent." 10 She charged
that the motivation of this emotional extravaganza was "the itching
desire to originate something new" which results in "strange doctrines
and largely destroys the influence of those who would be a power for
good if they held firm the beginning of their confidence
-17-
in the truth the Lord had given them." 11 In fact,
those who became involved in this movement "were carried away by a
spiritualistic delusion." 12
______________________________
1
See page 6, Footnote #6
-18-
III
THE CONFRONTATION
Six months following the exchange of correspondence between the Haskells
and Sister White, the epochal 1901 General Conference convened in Battle
Creek, Michigan, from April 2nd to the 23rd. Ellen G. White crossed the
continent to bear her testimony to the assembled brethren urging them
todo what the Lord had indicated should have been done ten years
earlier. 1 She called for "a reorganization," declaring, "We
want to begin at the foundation, and to build upon a different
principle." 2 The business resulting from this call for
re-organization became the dominant issue before the delegates.
Other issues - doctrinal issues - were being discussed among the
workers. What had , happened and what was happening in Indiana could not
be contained among just the workers in that conference. Indiana was too
close to Battle Creek.Elder A. J. Breed had given a full report to Elder
G. A. Irwin, the president of the General Conference. 3
The leadership in Indiana had become defensive in their attitude at the
Muncie camp meeting. They indicated that Elders Breed and Haskell had
come to stir up controversy, and this Muncie camp meeting had become
"the Minn. [Minneapolis] Conference over again, and it would have to be
discussed." 4 This discussion reached into the 1901
General Conference Session.
The evening of April 16, Dr. E. J. Waggoner was scheduled to preach at 7
p. m. He chose as his text - a key text of the advocates of the Holy
Flesh doctrine, - Hebrews 10:4-10 - "A body hast thou prepared me." 5
After reading the Scripture, Waggoner indicated that a question
had been given him to answer. It read:
"Was that holy thing which was born of the virgin Mary born in sinful
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flesh, and did that flesh have the same evil tendencies to contend with
that ours does?" 6
Dr. Waggoner told the delegates that in the very question itself was the
idea of the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Then he stated:
We need to settle, every one of us, whether we are out of the church of
Rome or not. There are a great many that have got the marks yet...
Do you not see that the idea that the flesh of Jesus was not like ours
(because we know ours is sinful) necessarily involves the idea of the
immaculate conception of the virgin Mary? Mind you, in Him was no sin,
but the mystery of God manifest in the flesh, ... is the perfect
manifestation of the life of God in its spotless purity in the midst of
sinful flesh. 7
That there would be no question as to what he was talking about, and
speaking
concerning, he plainly stated - "the idea of sinless flesh [in] mankind
is the
deification of the devil." 8 Then he commented:
The flesh will be opposed to the Spirit of God so long as we have it,
but when the time comes that mortality is swallowed up of life then the
conflict will cease. Then we shall no longer have to fight against the
flesh, but that sinless life which we laid hold of by faith and which
was manifest in our sinful bodies, will then by simple faith be
continued throughout all eternity in a sinless body. That is to say,
when God has given this witness to the world of His power to save to the
uttermost, to save sinful beings, and to live a perfect life in sinful
flesh, then He will remove the disabilities and give us better
circumstances in which to live. 9
Dr. Waggoner concluded his sermon by warning - "We must not be
presumptuous. We can never get so much of the life of God that we can
dispense with it, and live
by ourselves alone. Now and in all eternity we do live only by the faith
of the Son of God." 10
The next day - Wednesday, April 17 at the early morning meeting, Dr. J.
Harvey Kellogg took considerable time explaining the health reform
message and the medical missionary work. Criticisms about the sanitarium
and its work were answered. This matter was discussed "among fully three
hundred of the brethren"
-20-
who were present. 11
At the close of this service, Ellen G. White arose and presented her
testimony concerning the Movement in Indiana. She said:
Instruction has been given me in regard to the late experience of
brethren in Indiana and the teaching they have given to the churches.
Through this experience and teaching the enemy has been working to lead
souls astray.
The teaching given in regard to what is termed "holy flesh" is an error.
All may now obtain holy hearts, but it is not correct to claim in this
life to have holy flesh. The apostle Paul declares, "I know that in me
[that is, in my flesh] dwelleth no good thing."
Rom. 7:17. To those who have tried so hard to obtain by faith so called
holy flesh, I would say, You cannot obtain it. Not a soul of you has
holy flesh now. No human being on the earth has holy flesh. It is an
impossibility....
The Scriptures teach us to seek for the sanctification to God of body,
soul, and spirit. In this work we are to be laborers together with God.
Much may be done to restore the moral image of God in man, to improve
the physical, mental, and moral capabilities. Great changes can be made
in the physical system by obeying the laws of God and bringing into the
body nothing that defiles. And while we can not claim perfection of the
flesh, we may have Christian perfection of the soul. Through the
sacrifice made in our behalf, sins may be perfectly forgiven. Our
dependence is not in what man can do; it is in what God can do for man
through Christ. When we surrender ourselves wholly to God, and fully
believe, the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. The conscience can
be freed from condemnation.
Through faith in His blood, all may be made perfect in Christ Jesus.
Thank God we are not dealing with impossibilities. We may claim
sanctification. We may enjoy the favor of God. We are not to be anxious
about what Christ and God think of us, but what God thinks of Christ,
our Substitute. Ye are accepted in the Beloved. The Lord shows, to the
repenting, believing one, that Christ accepts the surrender of
the soul, to be molded and fashioned after His own likeness...
When human beings receive holy flesh, they will not remain on the earth,
but will be taken to heaven. While sin is perfectly forgiven in this
life, its results are not wholly removed. It is at His coming that
Christ is to "change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto
His glorious body." Phil. 3:21. When Christ shall come with a great
sound of a trumpet, and shall call the dead from their prison house,
then the saints will receive holy flesh...
Those who meet Christ in peace at His coming must in this life walk
before Him in humility, meekness, and lowliness of mind. It becomes
-21-
every
human being to walk modestly and circumspectly before God, in harmony
with the great testing truths He has given to the world. But the late
experience of brethren in Indiana has not been in accordance with the
Lord's instruction. I have not during this Conference held conversation
with any one in regard to this matter,
but the Lord has given me a definite testimony that a strange work is
being done in Indiana, the results of which are not after His order.
This phase of religious enthusiasm is a dangerous delusion. The
sentiments and exercises are not prompted by the Holy Spirit. They have
led to very sad results....
Brethren from Indiana, the word of the Lord to you and to all who are
misled by your influence is: "Be not carried about with divers and
strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established
with grace."
When Christ is enshrined in our hearts, we have reached the position
which God desires us to occupy. The example and lessons of Christ are to
be our study: for in Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, we are to
move onward and upward. And who can describe the benefits
of appreciating Him who is invisible? "We all, with open face beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, - from character to character, - even as by the
Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.
We need to contemplate Christ and become assimilated to His image
through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. This is our only
safeguard against being entangled in Satan's delusive snares. 12
Reaction followed swiftly. The next day, April 18, Elder R. S. Donnell,
the Indiana Conference President, gave his confession concerning his
involvement in the Movement. He confessed:
I feel unworthy to stand before this large assembly of my brethren this
morning. Very early in life I was taught to reverence and to love the
word of God; and when reading in it how God used to talk to His people,
correcting their wrongs, and guiding them in all their ways, when a mere
boy I used to say: "Why don't we have a prophet? Why doesn't God talk to
us now as He used to do?"
When I found this people, I was more than glad to know that there was a
prophet among them, and from the first I have been a firm believer in,
and a warm advocate of, the Testimonies and the Spirit of prophecy. It
has been suggested to me at times in the past, that the test on this
point of faith comes when the Testimony comes directly to us. As nearly
all of you know, in the Testimony of yes-
-22-
terday morning the test came to me. But, brethren, I can thank God this
morning that my faith in the Spirit of prophecy remains unshaken. God
has spoken. He says I was wrong, and I answer, God is right, and I am
wrong. Yea, let God be true, and every man a liar. I am very, very sorry
that I have done that which would mar the cause of God, and lead anyone
in the wrong way. I have asked God to forgive me, and I know that He has
done it. As delegates and representatives of the cause of God in the
earth, I now ask you to forgive me for my sins, and I ask your prayers
for strength and wisdom to walk aright in the future. It is my
determination by the help of God, to join glad hands with you in the
kingdom of God. 13
Just before the adjournment of the 22nd Meeting of the Conference the
same
day, Elder S. S. Davis asked to speak to the delegates before returning
to In-
diana that afternoon. 14 He stated:
On account of some matters at home, I shall be compelled to go to my
home this afternoon. Perhaps most of you know, if not all, heard what
the Testimony had to say about the work in Indiana; and with
shamefacedness I have to face this congregation and say today that I had
a part in that work, and, in fact, I was among the first in it. I
thought for a while that I would be the last out of it. But I praise God
now that the victory is won, and inasmuch as the Lord has spoken and
said that the work was wrong, I agree with the Lord today. The work was
wrong. Inasmuch as the Lord has said that the men who were at the head
of that work were led in the wrong direction, I agree with the Lord that
something led me in the wrong direction.
Brethren, while there are a great many things connected with this that I
do not know how much I am guilty of, I do not want to excuse myself at
all. I am just willing that this congregation and this people can just
charge me with all the blame of what was done in Indiana; and when we
get up in the Judgment, God will settle it all; and when the work of the
third angel's message triumphs, I expect by the grace of God to triumph
with it. When you stand on the sea of glass, I hope to stand there and
help you in singing the songs of Moses. 15
On April 19, at the 24th Meeting of the Session, the chairman, G. A. Irwin announced that Brethren Miller, Chew and Stanley felt that they would like to make a statement before the delegates of the Conference. The first to speak was A.L. Miller, who said:
-23-
I would like to state before the brethren and sisters assembled that
what I have to say is in reference to the Testimony that was given
concerning Indiana. As I for one have been connected with the work
there, I felt that I should state to you how I have received the message
from God. I am a firm believer in the Testimonies, and when the Lord
speaks, I say, "Amen." I heartily receive the reproof given, and in the
fear of God will endeavor to walk in harmony with His will, and meet you
all in the kingdom of heaven. 16
Following this testimony, P. G. Stanley confessed:
One of the most honorable things that a man can do when he is overtaken
in a fault or has sinned, is to confess it. Confess it to Jesus, and let
Him bury it in the depths of the sea. This is God's plan and God's way
of getting out of sin. It is the right way, it is a legitimate and
Biblical way, and this is the way that I propose to adopt. I praise the
Lord for the Testimony that He gave us. The happiest days of my life at
this meeting have been since the Testimony came. The Lord has spoken,
and I have heard, and I believe every word of it, and I assure you,
brethren and sisters, that while Satan caught me in his trap this time,
by the help of the Lord I will never be caught in it again, and so I
take my stand with you today upon the principles of truth as taught by
this people. 17
Brother A. L. Chew joined his brethren by stating:
I, too am glad for this opportunity to express myself in regard to the
reproof that has been given us, as I am one that had a very prominent
part in this movement, and when the Testimony was given, I do not think
there was any one who was more ready to receive it than myself, because
I could see that God was in it; and that God was taking away nothing but
that which was error, and was leaving me all the truth. While my heart
was sad to think that I had been doing things that the Lord did not want
me to do, yet I do thank the Lord that He came and corrected me and let
me know it. I can say to my brethren that I heartily accept the
Testimony, and by the Grace of God I expect to profit by it, and in the
future try to stand in the principles of God's truth, the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus. 18
When these brethren had completed their testimonies, Elder F. M.
Roberts, who was not a member of the committee, yet who was convicted of
the part he had played in the Movement, came forward and joined the
members of the conference committee in their confessions. He said:
I belong to this same company that has been speaking to you, and I
-24-
want to add my testimony along this line with them. While I did not
belong to the Conference Committee, I stood by the Committee, and
believed what we were teaching was the truth. When I do anything, I do
it with all my might. That has been my way of doing ever since I can
remember anything of myself. When I quit anything, I quit it just as
hard. When the Lord spoke to me the other morning, I prayed to Him that
I might hear His voice, and I thank the Lord that I did. I love my
Heavenly Father because He loves me; and the fact that He chastens me
proves that He still loves me. I am glad that we are not called upon to
forsake truth, but to forsake error, and I feel like saying, as did
Samuel, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." I am a firm believer in
the Testimonies. I have studied them for years and years, and no small
thing will shake me loose from them. The Spirit of prophecy has been the
salvation of this people. It has kept us together all these years, and
our adherence to the principles taught in them will keep us together to
the end. I have confessed my sin to God and the aged men whose counsel I
once refused, and now I ask any before me, today whom I have injured in
any way to forgive me. I am going through with you to the Kingdom of
God. 19
At the General Conference Session, all the officers and members of the
Indiana Conference committee tendered their resignations. Since this was
a local matter, rather than a General Conference problem,
word was conveyed to the constituency of Indiana and a conference
session was convened in Indianapolis, May 3-5, for the purpose of
electing new officers. Elders A. G. Daniells, W. W. Prescott, A. T.
Jones, P. T. Magan, and W. C. White attended this conference business
meeting. Also Ellen G. White who was returning to the West Coast joined
the brethren in Indianapolis, and remained with them till Sunday noon. 20
In reporting this meeting, A. T. Jones wrote:
The principles and spirit that had characterized the course of the
General Conference just closed were continued in this general meeting
and conference in Indiana. Everything was done openly, with all the
people present. Everything was stated candidly, and made plain to all,
that all the people might know all that was done, and should themselves
be the principals in the doing of it. Since they, the
people of the Indiana Conference, are the Indiana Conference, what was
to be done in this conference, as of the Indiana Conference, must be
done by the people. Therefore, it was essential that everything should
be plainly stated and thoroughly known by the people who were to do what
must be done. 21
-25-
On Sunday afternoon the final business meeting was held and the report
of the nominating committee was accepted. Ira J. Hankins was elected
president, and P. G. Stanley, Enoch Swartz, J. H. Crandall, and R. 0.
Ross, M. D., were designated as members of the Executive Committee. 22
It will be noted that only Elder P. G. Stanley was carried over from the
previous administration. 23
One of the first acts of the new committee was to care for the pastorate
of the Indianapolis church since this headquarters church had been
deeply involved in the "Holy Flesh" exercises. 5
Elder Arthur W. Bartlett was invited to serve in this capacity. An
interesting feature of this decision was the fact that Bartlett himself
"was recovered from a heresy very akin to the holy flesh idea in 1878-79
due to the ministration of the Whites on the Indiana camp grounds at
that time. In short, Bartlett had been reclaimed from this kind of view
by the Whites and now apparently was considered to be the most
appropriate worker in the conference to handle the delicate situation
following 1901." 24
Both Davis and Donnell were relieved of their ministerial
responsibilities. Davis retired to his home in Elnora, Indiana, and
Donnell also went there to live for a few years. In 1905, Elder Donnell
was called to serve the church in Raleigh, Tennessee, near Memphis. Of
all the men involved in the "Holy Flesh" Movement, only S. S. Davis
never returned to the ministry of the church.
_____________________________
1
Ellen G. white, General Conference Bulletin, 1901, p. 23
September 25, 1900 (1), p. 5
-26-
4
Hetty H. Haskell, Letter to Ellen G. White dated at Muncie, Indiana,
September 22, 1900.
ment File #190.
Bulletin,
p. 403.
father-in-law, and he was desirous of being at his wife's side during
her
sorrow. This was affirmed in a letter by Joseph M. Davis to the writer
dated
at Portland, Oregon, June 19, 1965.
1901, pp. 316-317
Springs, Michigan, April 8, 1963. See also "Bogus Sanctification", Review
and Herald,
June 6, 1878.
-27-
IV
THREADS OF THE FABRIC
During the special session in Indianapolis, Ellen G. White bore a
decided testimony to the delegates of the conference concerning the
experience through which they had just passed. At the close of her
discourse she said –"When I am gone from here, none are to pick up any
points of this doctrine and call it truth. There is not a thread of
truth in the whole fabric." 1
Before considering some of the threads of the fabric, we need to look
first a t the fabric as a whole. The objective of the message as given
by the ministers of Indiana was to get "the people ready for
translation." The advocates of this message called it the "cleansing
message." 2 One minister of the conference who opposed the
leadership, referred to the teachings as "the theory of sinless flesh",
or "the sinless flesh doctrine." 3 It was
finally dubbed the "Holy Flesh" Movement, which term was used by the
servant of the Lord in her testimony regarding this Movement at the 1901
General Conference Session.
It must be clearly understood before analyzing the threads of the
fabric, that those who advocated this teaching were not referring to the
physical nature of man, when the term, "sinless flesh," was used.
Donnell in an essay on "The Nature of Christ and Man" stated that'
"man's fallen Physical [sic] nature is not redeemed in this life.
Provision has been made for its health, and cleansing from sin, but
deterioration in size, and in strength, is not to be restored until in
the earth made new, when the redeemed will go forth and grow up as
calves of the stall." 4 To these men of Indiana, “mind"
and "nature" were synonyms and represented the fallen inheritance of man
received as the result of the Fall. In the same essay, Donnell wrote:
"The work in this life is the
-28-
restoring to man his spiritual nature, which is the cleansing from sin.
And what is comprehended in that work? It is taking the mind or nature
which Adam received in the fall, which is the mind of Satan, out of
humanity, and the restoring back to man that nature which Adam had
before he fell, with added power to do right." 5 To these
men, "sinful flesh" meant the nature of Adam since the fall, while
"sinless flesh", or "holy flesh" meant the nature of Adam before he
fell. In teaching this doctrine, they went a step further and stated
that if an individual sinned through yielding from within, it was
evidence that his fallen nature had not been eradicated. Donnell wrote:
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were conformed to the nature of Satan.
That nature was begotten to every son and daughter of Adam, and they
don't have to be tempted in order to cause them to sin. They are born
sinners, and they sin by nature. It is those who have accepted the plan
of salvation, by repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, that they might once more become sons of God, who are tempted to
sin. Satan is striving to get them to fall as he did Adam…
Temptation is that by which we are tested as to whether there is still
lust in our hearts, for the 14th verse [James 1] says: "But every man is
tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." That is when
we yield to temptation there is still lust in our hearts. 6
To the advocates of this doctrine, a truly converted man - a cleansed
man no longer had the fallen nature of Adam. This experience - a
prerequisite for translation - was obtained by coming to the "altar" and
going through "Gethsemane" with their Lord. When this experience was
realized, it meant they had received "translation faith" and would never
die. 7
Elder S. G. Huntington who opposed this movement wrote in reply:
Accompanying the sinless flesh doctrine is another we will now consider,
viz., that at conversion the desires, inclinations, and propensities of
the flesh, and the hereditary tendencies are all taken away; that the warfare with
the flesh ceases and that
-29-
from thenceforth our temptations are all from without – none coming from
within. The work that is accredited to cleansing and conversion is the
work of sanctification, which is a progressive work, the work of a
lifetime. At conversion our sins are forgiven, we are freed from the
curse of the law, the righteousness of Christ is imparted to us and we
stand justified before God. But the work of redemption in us is then
only fairly begun; we are only babes in Christ, and need to be purged
and tried, and to grow up to the stature of men and women in
Christ Jesus. 8
In support of his position, Huntington quoted from a tract issued in
1894, which stated:
The Christian is to realize that he is not his own, but that he has been
bought with a price. His strongest temptations will come from within;
for he must battle against the inclinations of the natural heart. 9
Underlying this doctrine of "sinless flesh", there was a basic-thread of error,
and it concerned the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ - the nature
of that humanity Christ assumed when He became the Son of man.
Immediately fol- lowing the 1888 General Conference
Session, letters came to Sister White "affirming that Christ could not
have had the same nature as man, for if He had, He would have fallen
under similar temptations." 10 On this point
Sister White wrote in 1892, these words Christ’s overcoming and
obedience is that of a true human being. In our conclusions we make many
mistakes because of our erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord.
When we give to His human nature a power that it is not possible for man
to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His
humanity. 11
This was the mistake that the leadership of the Holy Flesh Movement made
–they held erroneous views of the human nature Christ assumed in
becoming a man.
Donnell wrote, after quoting James 1:13:
Now we know why Christ did not sin while He was here on
earth. It was because He was God, and James has told us that God cannot
be tempted with evil. Then He was not in sinful flesh, neither did He
have sinful tendencies in Him. 12
-30-
This position, he then applied to the experience of those who would be
translated by stating:
Christ, according to the Apostle James, could not be tempted, or
persuaded to sin, because being the Son of God He had no lust in Him,
and God the Father said, "In Him I am well pleased." Then you ask: Does
God want to make God's [sic] out of us? Yes that is just what He wants
to do. He wants us to become God's [sic] so that we cannot be tempted to
sin. In the 82nd Psalm, and the 6th verse, He says, "I have said, ye are
God's, and all you are the Children, of the Most High" [sic]. The next
verse says; "But ye shall die like men." And why? Because they will not
become God's [sic] so that they can quit sinning. "Whoever
is born of God, doth not commit sin." I John 3:9. The 144,000 must
attain in this life unto this high estate of perfection in character, as
the sons of God, and the daughters of the Almighty, for they do not go
through the grave, to leave their imperfections there. Like Christ they
must become so related to God that they cannot be even tempted to sin. 13
Donnell explained just what he understood this "Godlike experience" to
mean.
He stated in the same essay:
By His life on earth, He [Jesus] showed what humanity will do when
filled with the divine mind. Then every member of the human race, who
will renounce Satan, and his works, and will permit Christ to clothe
Himself with his humanity, in that act, becomes a member of the family
of heaven. That is just what it will be, if we will let the divine mind
come into us. It will be divinity clothed with humanity, and that is
just what Christ was. And thus clothed He did no sin. 14
What did the advocates of the "Holy Flesh" doctrine actually believe in
regard to the humanity of the Son of God? Haskell in a letter to Ellen
G. White told of his contention with them over this point of doctrine.
He wrote when we stated that we believed that Christ was born in fallen
humanity, they would represent us as believing that Christ sinned,
notwithstanding the fact that we would state our position so clearly
that it would seem as though no one could misunderstand us.
Their point of theology in this particular respect seems to be this:
They believe that Christ took Adam's nature before he fell; so He took
humanity as it was in the garden of Eden, and thus humanity was holy,
and this is the humanity which Christ had; and now, they say, the
particular time has come for us to become holy in that sense, and then
we will have "translation faith" and never die. 15
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The advocates of the sinless flesh doctrine were careful to emphasize
that in His humanity Christ bore the physical likeness of a man; but
that the body He accepted had been redeemed from its fallen spiritual
nature. Donnell stated:
He took a body which showed by its deteriorated condition, that the
effects of sin was shown by it, but His life proved that there was no
sin in it. It was a body which the Father had prepared for Him. Heb.
10:5. Christ's body represented a body redeemed from its fallen
spiritual nature, but not from its fallen, or deteriorated physical
nature. It was a body redeemed from sin, and with that body Christ
clothed His divinity. 16
Along with the text in Hebrews 10:5 - "A body hast thou prepared me" –
the Scripture, "Hebrews 2: 7-14, was used to prove that Christ was born
with flesh like 'my brethren' and 'the church' would have after they
passed through the garden experience," in other words, converted and
cleansed. 1 This was a point strongly emphasized. Huntington in
replying to this point quoted Desire of Ages, page 638, that
Christ "is the Son of man, and thus a brother to every son and daughter
of Adam." Then he commented:
Notice, His brethren are every child of Adam - sinners, men and woman
under the law, and not simply the spiritual seed of Abraham alone. Now
if the spiritual seed of Abraham and the sanctified ones only are those
referred to, and they being redeemed and no longer under the law, and
Jesus was made like unto them, then it would become evident that Jesus
was not made under the law at all. 17
This is exactly what the men leading the Movement in Indiana believed,
that Christ was exempt from the law of heredity that effects every other
child of Adam. In 1903, the president who succeeded Donnell, Elder Ira
J. Hankins, wrote to S. S. Davis in Elnora, asking him some questions
concerning his beliefs. On question asked - "Is every child born into
this world naturally inclined to evil even before it is old enough to
discern between good and evil? To this question, Davis replied - "Yes,
unless preserved from the law of heredity in conception
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by the power of the Holy Ghost." 18
Huntington also warned the Indiana leadership that in advocating the
doc-
trine of "sinless flesh", they were following papal error. He wrote:
In adopting the theory of sinless flesh, though its advocates have ever
been loath to admit it, they are nevertheless, unconsciously led into
the papal error of the Immaculate Conception and other heresies of the
Catholic church. The theory of
sinless flesh is pre-eminently papal - the foundation upon which
the Catholic church stands. Remove this, and the whole structure of the
Papacy, as a religion, falls to the ground. The expression, "sinless
flesh", is nowhere found in the Bible: then why adopt such an
expression... The record says that Christ was "made in the likeness of
sinful flesh,"(Rom. 8:3) "Of the seed of David," (Rom. 1:3) "Of the seed
of Abraham"(Heb. 2:16). Then let us believe that it was
just that way without trying to spiritualize these plain declarations to
suit a perverted fancy, and by so doing entangle ourselves in an
inextricable web of inconsistencies. 19
Sister White had declared plainly that no one was to pick up any of the
points of this doctrine and call it truth, for there was not a thread of
truth in the whole fabric. But sadly - the underlying doctrine of the
"Holy Flesh" Movement - their teaching in regard to the Incarnation of
Christ has been taken up again and preached as truth by various leaders
of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Note carefully the three
questionable concepts in regard to the Incarnation held by the "Holy
Flesh" advocates in Indiana:
1) "Christ
took Adam's nature before he fell." 15
In 1952, F. D. Nichol, then editor of the Review & Herald, wrote:
Adventists believe that Christ, the "last Adam," possessed, on His human
side, a nature like that of the "first man Adam," a nature free of any
defiling taint of sin, but capable of responding to sin, and that that
nature was handicapped by the debilitating effects of four thousand
years of sin's inroads on man's body and nervous system and environment.
20
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In 1956, R. Allan Anderson, editor of the Ministry magazine, and
Secretary of the Ministerial Department of the General Conference
declared:
Christ did indeed partake of our nature, our human nature
with all its physical limitations, but not of our carnal nature
with all its lustful corruptions. When He entered the human family it
was after the race had been greatly weakened by degeneracy. For
thousands of years mankind had been physically deteriorating. Compared
with Adam and his immediate posterity, humanity, when God appeared in
human flesh, was stunted in stature, longevity, and vitality. 21
In 1957, the same minister of the church wrote again in his official
capacity these words:
When the incarnate God broke into human history and became one with the
race, it is our understanding that He possessed the sinlessness of the
nature with which Adam was created in Eden. 22
In the same year, the book - Questions on Doctrine - was released
which stated:
Although born in the flesh, He was nevertheless God, and was exempt from
the inherited passions and pollutions that corrupt the natural
descendants of Adam. He was "without sin," not only in His outward
conduct, but in His very nature. 23
In 1971, Dr. Leroy Edwin Froom in his book, Movement of Destiny,
which was approved officially by Elders Robert H. Pierson, and Neal C.
Wilson, wrote that in an interchange of correspondence with a Dr. E.
Schuyler English, editor of Our Hope, an Evangelical publication,
English had contended:
He [Christ] was perfect in His humanity, but He was none the less God,
and His conception in His incarnation was overshadowed by the Holy
Spirit so that He did not partake of the fallen sinful nature of other
men. 24
To this, Froom placed the postscript - "That, we in turn assured him, is
precisely what we [the Seventh-day Adventist Church] likewise believe." 25
If the E. J. Waggoner of 1901 could this day pick up the book, Movement
of Destiny, and read what Froom has written, would he not again say
- "We need
-34-
to settle, every one of us, whether we are out of the church of Rome or
not.
There are a great many that have got the marks yet." 26.
-35-
V
THE BY-PATHS
Christ came to this world to be the "pattern-man," 1 ' "the
great Exemplar," 2
"He came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser God to a
greater, but
as a man to obey God's Holy Law, and in this way He is our example." 3
To follow this example is "the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 4
"Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His
children. Godliness –godlike- ness - is the goal to be reached." 5
The attainment of this goal is to realize perfection.
In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. "The moral
faculties and the physical powers possessed by man" were received from
his Creator. "All was a sinless transcript of Himself. God endowed man
with holy attributes and placed him in a garden made expressly for him."
6 Man's nature had no "bias toward evil," 7
neither did it possess an "enmity" against sin. 8 Adam and
Eve were created free moral agents in the strictest sense. It was theirs
to choose. While God "did not see fit to place them beyond the power of
disobedience," 9 He limited by the very nature
which they possessed through creation the means by which temptation
could come to them. Adam could be tempted only from without, not
from within. "He stood in the strength of his perfection before God. All
the organs and faculties of his being were equally developed, and
harmoniously balanced." 10 But in the decision to
sin, all was changed. This change has be-
come the inheritance of all the sons and daughters of Adam. "The results
of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every
man's experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which,
unaided, he cannot resist." 11 But "the plan of
redemption contemplates our com-
-36-
plete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the
contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and
He has made provision that the Holy. Spirit shall be imparted to every
repentant soul, to keep him from sinning." 12
This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This is perfection.
The question between the men of Indiana was not the matter of whether
the gospel could preserve men from sin, or whether the power of the Holy
Spirit was sufficient to keep a human being from sinning. The
question that separated them
was the nature of the humanity which Christ assumed in
becoming the Son of man,
and its application to the life of a believer.
The leaders of the "Holy Flesh" Movement taught that Christ took the
nature of Adam before the Fall; that Christ was a stranger to the fallen
nature of man, except in its physical characteristics. He appeared as a
man, yet was fully God, and therefore, Satan did not overcome Him by
temptations from without, and not having assumed man's sinful nature, He
could not be tempted from within. How was such a life to be related to
the present Christian experience?
To this question the men of Indiana addressed themselves by reasoning
that since man had received because of the Fall a sinful nature with
inclinations and weaknesses, the only way, was for these to be
eradicated. So they taught that a man must pass through "the Gethsemane"
experience, and by so doing he would receive a nature like Christ had in
His humanity - the unfallen nature of Adam.
This was the by-path to the right from the narrow way walked by Christ.
This same bypath was followed with variations by Brinsmead in his
doctrine of perfection. In one of his first publications, he wrote:
While it is true that the Christian is married to Christ at conversion,
the union is not fully accomplished until the judgment. When
-37-
his faith reaches to the last supreme act of the atonement, he will be
fully united ("married") to divinity for eternity. Then he will be as
sinless in the flesh as Christ was sinless in the flesh. 13
In a diagram he presented an equation: Christ's Divine Nature + Fallen
Nature received at birth = Perfect, sinless life without bent to sin.
As for man the equation read: Man's Fallen Nature + Divine Nature
received by complete rebirth at final atonement = Perfect, sinless life without
bent to sin. 13
It must be noted, in order for the record to be kept straight, that at
this time (1959), Brinsmead taught the historic Adventist position on
the Incarnation. He wrote in the same book:
Man could not keep the law (cease sinning) because of his fallen nature.
God answered the need by sending His own son to live in the same nature
as fallen humanity. For this reason Christ partook of human nature as it
was since sin entered. 14
Again:
Notwithstanding the fact that Christ appeared on earth possessing the
fallen nature of man, He lived a victorious life, and offered to God on
our behalf the sacrifice of the spotless life. Divinity came to dwell in
humanity, yet did not in the least particular participate in its sin.
This is the mystery of the incarnation. It was our fallen flesh that was
lost through its utter impotency to keep the law of God. It was our
fallen flesh that was in need of power to live in harmony with the
divine will. But Christ, coming to dwell in our fallen flesh, kept
perfectly the law of God. Thus
Jesus condemned sin in the flesh - in our flesh. 15
This position on the Incarnation is incompatible with the doctrine of
perfection which he had set forth, which was a replay of the "holy
flesh" teaching - the eradication of the fallen nature of man. Instead
of changing his teaching in regard to perfection to conform with the
historic Adventist teaching on the Incarnation, he changed the base to
fit the superstructure. By 1968, Brinsmead was teaching in regard to the
incarnation this concept:
"Christ became one flesh with us, ..."
-38-
Yet Christ was not born in sin. His human nature was not sinful at birth
as is that of other infants. His birth was decidedly different than that
of any other children, for He was born of the Holy Spirit. Therefore His
human nature was not severed from God; neither
did Satan implant in His mind the spirit of disobedience. When the
divine Spirit came to dwell in a temple of human flesh, a new human
spirit was created. Through His supernatural birth He escaped from
participation in man's Satanic inheritance. There was no trace of sin in
His human nature. One point about the humanity of Christ should be made
clear. It was the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit, that created
the unique sinlessness of the human nature of Christ. 16 a
With this change, Brinsmead's original equation in regard to Christ
would now read: Christ's Divine Nature + Human Nature free from the
fallen inheritance = Perfect, sinless life without bent to sin. Thus for
man to obtain such a nature, there would have to be the eradication of
the fallen inheritance. The Holy Flesh advocates said this could be done
by going through what they termed "the Gethsemane" experience. Brinsmead
taught that it was by being "married" to divinity at the final
atonement. This teaching, held for ten years, Brinsmead now admits was
error. B
With the admission of error in the area of "perfection" Brinsmead has
not altered the change he made in his position on the Incarnation. A
"Confidential Preliminary Draft for Restricted Group" written by
"R.D.B." states:
_________________________
a -- Compare
this with the "Holy Flesh" teaching in regard to the humanity of our
Lord: "When Adam and Eve sinned, they were conformed to the nature of
Satan. That nature was begotten to every son and daughter of Adam...."
(p. 28, Footnote #6) "He [Christ] took a body which showed by its
deteriorated condition, that the effects of sin was shown by it, but His
life proved that there was no sin in it. It was a body which the Father
had prepared for Him. Heb. 10:5. Christ's body represented
a body redeemed from its fallen spiritual nature, but not from its
fallen, or deteriorated physical nature. It was a body redeemed from
sin, and with that body Christ clothed His divinity." (p. 31, Footnote
#16)
b – “Many
of the arguments surrounding the Awakening finally settled around the
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Consider the vast difference of being conceived in sin by natural human
generation and being conceived by the Holy Ghost in a supernatural
generation. Our humanity was generated from a sinful source: His was
from a sinless source. Some may reason: The Holy Spirit created Christ's
divine nature and Mary created Christ's human nature. But this is
fallacious reasoning. Christ's divine nature was not, could not be
created. He was Himself the uncreated, eternal Word, One in substance
and essence with God the Father. Look carefully at the Scriptural
declarations and it will be seen that the Holy Spirit generated Christ's
human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. We grant that Mary was a
sinner by nature, and that a sinful nature could be transmitted by one
human parent as by two. But the other fact to consider is that the human
nature of Christ was divinely conceived and overshadowed by the Holy
Spirit in the womb of Mary. The Holy Spirit is holiness
personified. He "prepared" (Heb. 10:5) and sanctified the human nature
which was taken in union with divinity in the person of Christ. So the
angel referred to Christ's humanity as "that holy thing" – something
that could never be said of our human nature. 17 y
There is another bypath to the left, based on the same doctrine of the
matter of the perfecting of the saints. Our critics felt that this was
our most vulnerable point. The more vigorously this area was attacked,
the more vigorously we defended it. Consequently, not only those opposed
to the Awakening, but even those who espoused it, inevitably gravitated
to regard this matter of the how, what and when of
perfection as the summon bonum of the awakening. Be that as it
may, this writer is persuaded that our understanding of the perfecting
of the saints through the final atonement has not been altogether
sound." (R. D. Brinsmead, A Review of the Awakening Message, Part
I, p. 2, May, 1972)
y -- Compare
the thoughts herein expressed with Appendix D of An Interpretive
History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day
Adventist
Church,
which quotes from unpublished manuscripts by Dr. Leroy Froom. Note the
following sentences on pp. 104-105: "Jesus' human nature originated
miraculously
in the humanity of His virgin mother by the creative power of the Holy
Spirit." "It is contended by some, being herself sinful, [Mary] would
inevitably convey the taint of her corruption to Jesus - for sinful
tendencies could as verily be conveyed by one parent as definitely as
from two." "We press the point: It is a mistaken notion to
think that Christ received His Deity from a Divine Parent and His
humanity from a human parent." "Christ was Himself Eternal Deity – the
Eternal Word and Son." "The body of Jesus was 'prepared' (Heb. 10:5) by
the Third Person of the Godhead, Who brought to pass the 'mystery' of
God 'manifest in the flesh' (I Tim. 3:16)." "And the Third Person of the
Godhead is, of course, Holiness personified." (The common source of this
teaching is Dr. William G. T. Shedd's Dogmatic Theology. See Ministry,
December, 1957 - "The Theanthropic
Nature of Christ", p. 11 ff.)
-40-
incarnation as taught by the "Holy Flesh" men of Indiana. Since it is
taught that Christ took the nature of Adam prior to the Fall, those who
reject the by-path to the right taken by the "Holy Flesh" advocates, now
teach that man can never reach the example set by Christ until the
change which takes place at the Second Coming of Christ removes from man
the fallen nature received through Adam. d
Thus the gospel is made to center in what has been done by God in
Christ. We are told that all we have to do is acknowledge it, and by an
assent called faith, resign ourselves to live under the "indulgence" of
God, with no hope of "stopping the history of sin" in our present life's
conduct. In other words, when this vile body with its inherited
tendencies toward sin, and the cultivated sins of our experience is
changed at the Second Advent, then we shall demonstrate before
the universe that the Law of God can be kept.
The true gospel is not to be found in a by-path to the right, nor in a
bypath to the left, but is to be found "in the middle of the right side
of the road." The deviations to the right and to the left challenges the
basis upon which Adventism rests. The very objective of the Third
Angel's Message is called into question - "the manifestation of the sons
of God," 18 those steadfast saints
______________________________
d -- For
a full explanation of this position see tract - "Is Perfection
Possible?"
by Dr. Edward Heppenstall, or the same presentation in Signs of the
Times, Dec.,
1963. This position is now declared to be "correct" by Brinsmead. See A
Review
of the Awakening Message,
Part I, p. 5, May, 1972. Compared with brochure, Is
Perfection Possible? versus How Is Perfection Possible?,
published by Dr. Fred
Metz, January 1964. A paragraph of explanation in the introductory
letter by
"Dr Heppenstall's basic contention seems to be this: Since
man has an evil nature, full of propensities and inclinations to sin,
and since as he contends, gospel does not make provision for the
eradication of this evil nature, complete perfection of character is not
possible in this life. Mr. Brinsmead’s basic contention seems to be
this: Since, as he contends, the gospel does make
provision for the eradication of all man's sinful propensities and
inclinations, complete perfection of char acter in this life is not just
a possibility, but a positive necessity for the remnant church" (p. 2)
-41-
"that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 19
It is truth that the "gospel of God" is what God has done for us in
Jesus, "which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." 20
If this were clearly understood - His incarnation - then the life which
He laid down in the flesh, but now takes up again to give to all who
believe, would be better comprehended. For in the resurrection, He
became "the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness,"
to give grace "unto the obedience of faith." (eiV upakohn pistewV). 21 This
then is the "gospel of Christ" - "the power of God unto salvation to
everyone that believeth.... For therein [in the lives of those that
believe] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." 22 What
does it mean - "from faith to faith?" "The righteousness of Christ is
revealed from faith to faith; that is from your present faith to an
increased understanding of faith which works by love and purifies the
soul." 23 Because we are unwilling to come face
to face with the facts of the Incarnation, [It will ever be true that we
shall not be able to understand the how of its mystery] we invent
devious by-paths in regard to the victory over sin which it is God's
purpose for us to experience. "The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to
reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through
faith in God's power to help in every emergency." Because of this - "The
Lord now demands that every son and daughter of
Adam, through faith in Jesus Christ, serve Him in human nature we now
have... Jesus, the world's Redeemer, could only keep the
commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them." 3
Paul stated the pure gospel of Christ in these words - "I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." 24
"Christ came to be our example, and to
-42-
make known to us that we may be partakers of the divine nature...
Christ, by His own example, made it evident that man may stand in
integrity. Men may have power to resist evil - a power that neither
earth, nor death, nor hell can master; a power that will place them
where they may overcome as Christ overcame. Divinity and humanity may be
combined in them." 25
____________________________
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VI
LESSONS AND SIDELIGHTS
The "Holy Flesh" Movement did not take place in a corner as far as the
Indiana Conference was concerned. The entire conference committee and
the majority of the working staff became involved. Jesse Dunn, State
Agent at the time, recalled that by the time of the Muncie Camp Meeting
in 1900, the Conference President, the Executive Committee, and the
entire ministerial staff except five, two ordained ministers, and three
licentiates, were involved. 1 This is no insignificant fact, when
one realizes that even in 1900, the conference had a working staff of
thirteen ordained ministers and fifteen licentiates. 2
Here is a lesson that should speak volumes to us today. A whole
conference - its leadership and committee - can be wrong, deadly wrong!
But more than that, the leadership of the whole church can depart from
God, and place their approval on error and heresy. "God and heaven alone
are infallible." 3 Christ never placed an infallible pope or
committee at the head of His church. He, alone, was to be its head, and
the Holy Spirit, His vicegerent. Neither is the church as a corporate
body infallible. That which involves humanity is prone to error and
apostasy. Therefore, the Scriptures warn - "Put not your trust in
princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation." 4
To place our spiritual welfare in the hands of men results in a false experience.
The servant of the Lord warned:
This message is spoken to our churches in every place. In the false experience that
has been coming in, a decided influence is at work to exalt human
agencies, and to lead some to depend on human judgment, and to follow
the control of human minds. This influence is diverting the mind from
God. God forbid that any such experience should deepen and grow in our
ranks as seventh-day Adventists. Our petitions are to reach higher than
erring
-44-
man - to God. 5
Another interesting sidelight of this Indiana movement and closely
connected with the previous lesson cited is revealed in the confession
of Elder F. M. Roberts. He stated before the delegates at the 1901
General Conference Session: "While I did not belong to the Conference
Committee, I stood with the committee and believed
that what we were teaching was the truth." 6 This is blind
loyalty. This is misplaced loyalty. This is a violation of the first
commandment which declares - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
7 What a different picture might have been painted in Indiana if
the counsel of the servant of the Lord in 1896 had been followed. She
wrote:
We are living in times full of importance to each one. Light is shining
in clear, steady rays around us. If this light is rightly received and
appreciated, it will be a blessing to us and to others; but if we
trust in our wisdom and strength, or in the wisdom and strength
of our fellow men, it will be turned into a poison. In the struggle
for eternal life, we can not lean upon one another. The bread of life
must be eaten by each one. Individually we must partake of it, that
soul, body, and mind may be revived and strengthened by its transforming
power, thus becoming assimilated to the mind and character of Jesus
Christ. God must be made first and last and best in everything. 8 For
men, ministers of the gospel, called of God to be His mouthpieces, to
surrender their responsibility to know for themselves what is truth, and
to go along with a committee is treasonable. But today the leadership of
the church demands of every man on the payroll, one thing above all else
- "loyalty to the hierarchy." Every worker is considered a member of
"the team" with the conference president and/or the committee calling
"the play". One writer has stated it well, when she wrote:
As totalitarianism increases - in a school, or a country, or a church -
the use of the word, loyalty, increases. A strange and frightening word.
The mob's word. The gang's word. A word people shout in unison - while
honor and responsibility and integrity are
-45-
words an individual can speak, and act out. How does one measure the
quality of a man's relationship with a large entity such as a church or
school or government? It is an interesting fact, and one many of us have
observed all our lives, that people demand loyalty of us only when they
are doing something to us (or somebody else) of which we don't approve
and cannot wholeheartedly participate in, and which weakens our love and
admiration. Let's admit it: loyalty is a verbal switch-blade used
by little and big bosses to force us quickly to accept a questionable
situation which our intelligence and conscience should reject. 9
Over and beyond Robert's confession of blindly following the conference
committee was a more tragic confession. He declared - "I am a firm
believer in the Testimonies. I have studied them for years..." 5 Yet
he failed to discern between truth and error. We may give mental assent
to what the Lord has said, and even read widely in the inspired
Testimonies, yet in Laodicean blindness to organization, we may not only
commit error ourselves but lead the church of God into grievous mistakes
in doctrine and practice. This tragic situation results because we have
failed in two vital sectors of our personal experience. One, that which
we have read and studied does not become sufficiently a part of our
lives so that we can detect error even in high places. Two, we are not
willing to accept "the cross", and stand up and be counted in opposition
to that which is clearly proven to be the basest apostasy and heresy.
Many of the ministers of the church, from the General Conference
President on down, are willing to let other men do their thinking for
them, excusing themselves that they are insufficiently schooled to
understand some of the very basic principles involved in theological
questions. Yet in the pious platitudes they write and utter, it is
evident that they have read the Testimonies for
years.
How appropos is the counsel of the Lord's servant. She wrote:
Would that every minister might realize the sacredness of his office and
the holiness of his work, and show the courage that
-46-
Elijah showed! As divinely appointed messengers, ministers are in a
position of awful responsibility. They are to "reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all long-suffering." In Christ's stead they are to labor as
stewards of the mysteries of heaven, encouraging the obedient and
warning the disobedient. With them worldly policy is to have no
weight. Never are they to swerve from the path in which Jesus has
bidden them walk. They are to go forward in faith, remembering that they
are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. They are not to speak their own
words, but words which One greater than the potentates of earth has
bidden them speak. Their message is to be, "Thus saith the Lord." God
calls for men like Elijah, Nathan, and John the Baptist, - men who will
bear His message with faithfulness, regardless of the consequences;
men who will speak the truth bravely, though it call for the
sacrifice of all they have. 10
In Indiana, in the time of the "Holy Flesh" crisis, there were men, a
few, who did sacrifice all that they had. One such was Elder 0. S.
Hadley. In a report of the Indiana Conference, he is listed as a member
of the Executive Committee. 11 At the time of the 1899
conference session, he was removed from the Executive Committee and made
a "trustee" of the Conference Association. From the report, it would
appear that he was serving as pastor of the Indianapolis church at the
time. 12 But in the 1900 conference session report,
he is not only removed as a trustee of the association, but he is
replaced by one of the members of the Davis’s revival team - J. A.
Crary. Further, he is no longer listed among the ministers of the
conference, and another minister who openly advocated the "holy flesh"
doctrine - A. L. Miller - is listed at the Indianapolis address, which
was Hadley's in the 1899 report. 13 We are
told by an eyewitness of the scenes in Indianapolis, what happened to
Elder 0. S. Hadley. This observer wrote - "Elder 0. S. Hadley opposed
this doctrine openly, and taught that it was fanaticism. Because of his
attitude, his credentials were taken from him." 14 Such
tactics reveal the power behind a cause or a movement. "Compelling power
is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are
not of this order." 15 "Any man, be he minister or
laymen, who seeks to compel or con-
-47-
trol the reason of any other man, becomes an agent of Satan, to do his
work, and in the sight of the heavenly universe bears the mark of Cain."
16 What a revelation this should be to our own
insights as to what is taking place today. To what extent this same
procedure which was used in the Holy Flesh Movement has been used today
to force acceptance of the publications of the books, Questions on
Doctrine, and Movement of Destiny, only eternity will reveal.
That it has been done can be documented; and in these actions it has
been revealed to all who are willing to read and see, what power now
possesses men in high places of church responsibility. When the "power
and presence" of God are lacking in the church, it is supplied by human
enactments, programs and projects. 17 Not
being motivated by the Holy Spirit, human rule and control are
substituted. This warning was specifically given:
Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work
under Satan's dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud
and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and the advancement
of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day,
belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced
even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth. 18
The leadership of the Indiana Conference were not without warning as to
the course they were following. At the Camp Meeting in 1899 at
Alexandria, just as the "Holy Flesh" Movement was getting under way,
Elder A. J. Breed reported some features that he did not
consider proper, but commented that these "were overcome."19 Then
at the Muncie Camp Meeting, both Elders Haskell and Breed endeavored to
show the error in the teaching and conduct of the ministers and leaders
involved. But the leadership of Indiana retaliated and took the position
that Elders Haskell and Breed had come down from Battle Creek to stir up
controversy. Elder Donnell claimed that "it was the Minnesota Conference
over again," 20 inferring that the men of
Indiana were preaching the genuine message
-48-
of righteousness by faith, and the brethren from Battle Creek were in
opposition as had occurred at Minneapolis in 1888. It was at the Muncie
Camp Meeting that the conference session was held, and from the report,
Elder Hadley was replaced on the Conference Association, and removed
from his responsibilities in the conference. When warnings are received
by men in authority, and rejected, they start down the track toward
Romanism, which not only imperils their own souls, but which also
introduces false principles into the work, thus corrupting the church.
How carefully we have been warned on this point. It is written:
If men resist the warnings the Lord sends them, they become even leaders
in evil practices; such men assume to exercise the prerogatives of God,
- they presume to do that which God Himself will not do in seeking to
control the minds of men. Thus they follow in the track of Romanism.
They introduce their own methods and
plans, and through their misconceptions of God they weaken the faith of
others in the truth, and bring in false principles that work like leaven
to taint and corrupt institutions and churches.
Anything that lowers man's conception of righteousness and equity and
impartial judgment, any device or precept that brings God's human agents
under the control of human minds, impairs their faith in God, and
separates the soul from Him.
God will not vindicate any device whereby man shall in the slightest
degree rule or oppress his fellow-man. As soon as a man begins to make
an iron rule for other men, he dishonors God and imperils his own soul
and the souls of his brethren. 21
When one surveys some of the lessons to be learned from the sidelights
of the Holy Flesh" Movement, he is led to exclaim, "How true that 'we
have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way
the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.'" 22
_______________________
1 Jesse
E. Dunn, Signed statement recalling events that took place in connection
with the "Holy Flesh" Movement. The statement is in the files of the
writer.
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-50-
APPENDIX – A
Biographical Sketches
S. S. Davis
S. S. Davis was born in 1855 in Bartholomew County, near Columbus,
Indiana. His mother was an "old time" Methodist, while his father was a
Baptist. His father served in the Civil War and was incarcerated in the
infamous Andersonville prison. Soon after his release due to the ravages
of prison life, he died leaving the care of his wife and four younger
children to his eldest son, S. S., who was at the time only thirteen.
This experience cut short Davis’s formal education. Making use of the
opportunities available and wisely applying himself, he became "a
self-educated man." He was early active in religious affairs serving as
a teacher and Sunday school superintendent in a nearby community church.
Soon after his marriage, he and his bride attended a tent meeting held
near Duggar, Indiana in 1886. As a result of these meetings, they
accepted the Truth. From 1887 - 1892, Davis colporteur-ed in western
Nebraska, while staking out a claim to one hundred and sixty acres of
land. He sold The Great Controversy and Bible Readings for the
Home Circle. He also studied these books for himself during these
years. Due to drouth and his mother's final illness, he returned to
Indiana in 1893. 1
At the 21st Annual Session of the Indiana Conference held in
Indianapolis, August 8-13, 1893, Davis was granted a license to preach.
2 Part of his work during this time was in Perry
County, where he pioneered the preaching of the Third Angel's Message. 3
At the 1895 Camp-Meeting held in Anderson, Indiana, he was ordained. 4
Following his ordination, he was sent to Evansville to establish the
work there. This he did. In 1899, he was asked to head up a team of
workers
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for
revivalism in the Conference. His influence grew until in 1900 at the
Muncie Camp Meeting, he was made a member of the Executive Committee. 5
In 1901 at the General Conference Session held in Battle Creek,
Michigan, Ellen G. White read the Testimony regarding the work in
Indiana. As a result the entire conference staff and committee tendered
their resignations. On May 3-5, a special constituency meeting was held
in Indianapolis which altered the entire face of the conference
administration. 6 After the change-over, Davis retired to his
home in Elnora, Indiana. He engaged in farming on rented land near the
town till 1910, when he moved to Lyons, Indiana, where he continued to
farm.
The beginning of the end of the association of S. S. Davis with the
Seventh-day Adventist church came during the final months of his stay in
Elnora. Two ministers, one of whom had been ordained with him in 1895,
held some meetings in the church and stayed in the Davis home. Sometime
following the meetings, a general church meeting was called, and the
church was disbanded. When it was reorganized, S. S. Davis' name was
omitted from the record. Sister Davis, and the oldest son, Arlie,
elected to join their husband and father. 7
In 1920, the Davis family moved to Nebraska, where on September 26,
1926, S. S. Davis was ordained a minister of the General Baptist church.
8 He died two years later in 1928, at the age of
73, and is buried in Gordon, Nebraska.
R. S. Donnell
Robert Sloan Donnell was born in Belfast, Ireland, February 7, 1844. His
parents moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where they both died of cholera
when he was still an infant. Placed in an orphan's home, he later was
adopted by a Presbyterian family by the name of Donnell. 9
No knowledge is available as to
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when he became a Seventh-day Adventist. He was, however, in charge of
the Upper Columbia Conference prior to his coming to Indiana as
president. 10 Following the events of 1901 in
Indiana, he went to Elnora and lived for several years with the Davis
family.
In 1905, Elder Donnell returned to the ministry of the church and
accepted the pastorate of the Raleigh, Tennessee church near Memphis.
Both his wife and step daughter, Nellie, preceded him in death, and were
buried in a cemetery near Memphis. In 1928, a group of self-supporting
workers from Madison felt impressed to start a Health Food program in
Memphis, and went there on faith alone, without means. A contact was
made with Elder Donnell who was retired and subsisting on sustentation.
He had just sold his home reserving only two rooms and a kitchenette.
The funds that he had placed in savings were drawn from the bank and
placed at the disposal of the group of self-supporting workers.
Later when because of failing health, he was unable to care for himself,
one couple of the group who went to Memphis to establish the Health Food
work, Brother and Sister Paul C. Dysinger, took him into their home till
his death. 11
He died th 1937, and was buried in a little cemetery near Old Fountain
Head
school, now Highland Academy.
_______________________________
1 The facts in the foregoing paragraphs were gleaned from brief life
2 sketches provided for the writer by the daughter, Viola, and a son,
Joseph
3 M. Davis.
4 Review and Herald, September 5, 1893, p. 573
6 Ibid., August 20, 1895, p. 536
-53-
9 Review and Herald, December 30,
1937, "Appointments and Notices".
Kentucky, February 22, 1965
APPENDIX - B
Was the Doctrine of the Incarnation a
Real Issue in the "Holy Flesh" Movement?
In studying the Testimony that Sister White read at the General
Conference Session in 1901 concerning the Movement in Indiana, 1 the
absence of any mention of the doctrine of the Incarnation is noted. The
question is raised that if she made no mention of it, why should the
doctrine even be considered in a research study of this particular
experience in our church's history? The answer is simply that
contemporary data indicates that this doctrine was a major point of
conflict between the men who advocated the doctrine of "holy flesh", and
those who opposed it.
In 1903, Elder 1. J. Hankins, then president of the Indiana Conference,
wrote to S. S. Davis at Elnora asking him eight questions in regard to
his belief. Four of the eight questions concerned the doctrine of the
Incarnation. The questions and answers are as follows:
QUESTION NUMBER FOUR
"Please state in a few words your views on the nature of Christ?"
ANSWER. -
Luke 1:35 "that holy thing."
QUESTION NUMBER FIVE
"Did Christ's flesh have in it any weakness or natural tendency to sin
as the result of the fall?"
ANSWER. -
Testimony No. 2 the last three words on page 201, and continued on page
202 says, "was our brother in infirmities, but not possessing like
passions." That is all on that point that I care to say.
QUESTION NUMBER SIX
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"Was Mary the mother of Jesus like all other women, sinful?"
ANSWER. -
I could not say how full of sin she was but I suppose that she had her
share, perhaps not as bad as some, and maybe more than some as there are
degrees in heredity and depravity, and there is no evidence that she had
an immaculate conception.
QUESTION NUMBER SEVEN
"Is every child born into the world naturally inclined to evil, even
before it is old enough to discern between good and evil?"
ANSWER. -
Yes, unless preserved from the law of heredity in conception by the
power of the Holy Ghost. See Ps. 51:5 Shapen in sin, also Eph. 2:3 "by
nature children of wrath." 2
The only extant material written by a minister of the Indiana Conference against
the "Holy Flesh" Movement is a tract primarily on the subject of the
Incarnation and its application to the life of a Christian. Elder S. G.
Huntington's conclusion indicated the emphasis of the whole tract. It
reads:
Now, since we have been studying the humanity of Christ, let none think
that we would detract from or forget His divinity. Although Jesus
"the sinbearer endured the wrath of divine justice, and for our sakes became
SIN ITSELF," [D. of A. p. 907,] yet, through His implicit faith
in His Father, He was fortified so that His divine nature overwhelmingly
triumphed over His sinful nature and hereditary tendencies. Thus from
the cradle to Calvary, His days of trial and probation, He lived a pure,
holy, and sinless life. Thus He met the demands of a broken law, and
became "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth."
Now just as God in Christ, 4,000 years this side of Creation, lived a
perfect, spotless life in sinful flesh, so through faith in Him, He will
cleanse us from all our unrighteousness, impart to us His own
righteousness, take up His abode in our hearts, and live the same kind
of a life in our sinful flesh six thousand years this side of Creation.
Then we can truly say, "as He is [in character] so are we in this
world." I John 4:17. 3
Another primary source is an essay written by R. S. Donnell at Memphis
following the experience in Indiana, entitled, "The Nature of Christ and
Man." This document has been quoted at length in the manuscript
itself. 4
Due consideration should be given to the fact that three of the
strongest statements from the pen of Ellen G. White on the nature of the
humanity that Christ assumed in the Incarnation are dated in 1900, and
in 1901. Just at the
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time of the Indiana camp meetings in 1900, there appeared in the Review
and
Herald this
statement:
Christ did in reality unite the offending nature of man with His own
sinless nature, because by this act of condescension He would be enabled
to pour out His blessings in behalf of the fallen race. Thus He has made
it possible for us to partake of His nature. 5
Then in the Youth's Instructor of the same year is the strongest
statement ever
made by the servant of the Lord on the subject. It read:
Think of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering
human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. He took our sorrows, bearing
our grief and shame. He endured all the temptations wherewith man is
beset. He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a
temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. "The Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us," because by so doing He could associate with
the sinful, sorrowing sons and daughters of Adam. 6
The following year, 1901, a manuscript bearing the number 141 stated:
In Christ were united the divine and the human - the Creator and the
creature. The nature of God, whose law had been transgressed, and the
nature of Adam, the transgressor, meet in Jesus - the Son of God, and
the Son of man. 7
This particular statement was taken from a manuscript written
previously, dated
as Ms. 16, October 1, 1890, which was evidently a sermon delivered at
Lynn,
Massachusetts. It has not been determined to whom or under what
circumstances
the 1901 manuscript was written. It is interesting to note, however,
that this
strong statement in regard to Christ's incarnation was introduced again
at this
particular date - 1901.
From my own experience there is an interesting episode which took place
in 1958. When I was talking to Brother Jesse Dunn who had been State
Agent in Indiana during the period of the "Holy Flesh" agitation, we
discussed the subject of the Incarnation as taught in the book, Questions
on Doctrine. It was this that triggered Brother Dunn's memory in
regard to a similar teaching
-56-
of the "Holy Flesh" advocates. Such an association would not have taken
place
had not the doctrine of the Incarnation been a major issue in the
Indiana Movement. This experience led to the initial research which
forms the basis of
this manuscript.
Why then did Ellen G. White not mention this particular doctrine in her
presentation in 1901 which ended the fanatical movement in Indiana? She
did not need to do so. The presentation of the truth in regard to the
humanity our Lord assumed in the incarnation and its relationship to the
"holy flesh" doctrine had been presented the evening before by Elder E.
J. Waggoner. 8 All she needed to say was -
Brethren from Indiana, the word of the Lord to you and to all who are
misled by your influence is: "Be not carried about with divers and
strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established
with grace." 9
In another manuscript, she recalls the experience in Indiana, and
emphasizes the fact that more than one doctrine was involved. She wrote:
During the General Conference of 1901, instruction was given me in
regard to the experience of some of the brethren in Indiana, and
regarding the doctrines they had been teaching in the churches. I
was shown that through this experience and the doctrines taught,
the enemy has been working to lead souls astray. 10
_____________________________
l
Ellen G. White, General Conference Bulletin, 1901, pp. 419-422
-57-
APPENDIX – C
Compiler's Note in Selected Messages, bk. ii, p. 31
In January, 1968, the editor of the Review wrote a series of
editorials on the subject, "The Church and Heresy". In the second
editorial, he wrote:
In 1900 a fanatical teaching was started in Indiana, termed the doctrine
of holy flesh. Advocates of this heresy taught that during Christ's
agony in Gethsemane He obtained holy flesh comparable to that possessed
by Adam before his fall. They declared that followers of Christ must
obtain this same kind of experience in order to be prepared for
translation. 1
After reading this statement, I wrote a letter to the editor which said
in part:
It would appear that you gathered your concept from a paper written by
Elder G. A. Roberts dated June 11, 1923 (D F 190). But if you read
carefully what he wrote, he didn't say what you wrote...
Since beginning this letter, I have puzzled over how you could read the
material by Elder G. A. Roberts as you did. So I decided to look one
more place to see where you might have obtained the concept you stated.
And so I found in Selected Messages, bk. ii, p. 31, the source of
your statement. It is in the note by the compilers. I am sorry that they
are wrong, and I am sorry that as an editor you did not do more original
research than you seem to have done. This does leave a shadow over other
things written also. In positions of responsibility we must
double check our material. I also know that in the press of the work
load, our human weakness gets the best of us at times. 2
In his reply, he defended the White Estate, and questioned my
scholarship in the
matter. 3 So on February 18, 1968, 1 wrote:
Your letter of the 14th in before me. Inasmuch as you infer that my
scholarship in regard to the Holy Flesh Movement is open to question
rather than your source, please give me the authority for your statement
in the Review, January 25, 1968... If you say, The Compiler's
Note, then since you are a trustee of the White Estate, will you give me
the primary source of this reference that you rely upon. 4
In answering this request, the editor wrote:
As support for my statement, I might present a letter written by Burton
Wade who attended the camp meeting held in Muncie, Indiana,
-58-
in September of 1900. At this camp meeting he witnessed firsthand the
fanatical excitement and activities of the holy flesh group. In a letter
dated January 12, 1962, addressed to Elder Arthur White he says that
those who espoused this heresy "believed that, when Christ suffered in
Gethsemane, he obtained 'Holy Flesh' such as Adam had in the beginning
before the fall, and they maintained that everyone who hoped to be
translated would also have to obtain 'Holy Flesh'."
This position is a bit at variance with those of G. A. Roberts and S. N.
Haskell, but how do we know which of these men was capable of making a
definitive theological statement? 5
This reply raises two very important questions. The Burton Wade letter, and
the relative weight to assign sources on the teaching of the "Holy
Flesh" Movement relative to the doctrine of the Incarnation. Before
considering the Burton Wade letter as a source for either the editor's
statement in the Review, or the Compiler's Note in Selected
Messages, bk. ii, let us note the relative theological background of
each of the men who have made a statement in regard to the teaching of
the Incarnation by the "Holy Flesh" advocates.
Elder S. N. Haskell was a well known writer and scholar in the Adventist
church. He was cited as an example by Sister White as among those who
were capable of making pronouncements of truth in 1888. 6
He was also a participant in the 1900 Muncie, Indiana camp meeting. He
had discussed face to face with the leading men of the "Holy Flesh"
Movement their doctrinal concepts. Within two days following his return
to Battle Creek, he wrote Sister White this analysis:
When we stated that we believed that Christ was born in fallen humanity,
they would represent us as believing that Christ sinned, notwithstanding
the fact that we would state our position so clearly that it would seem
as though no one could misunderstand us.
Their point of theology in this particular respect seems to be this:
They believe that Christ took Adam's nature before he fell; so He took
humanity as it was in the garden of Eden, and thus humanity was holy,
and this was the humanity which Christ had; ... 7
-59-
Elder G. A. Roberts, who later served as President of the Inter-American
Division (1936 - 1941), was an eyewitness of the events that took place during
the time, especially at Indianapolis. He was also a close friend of R.
S. Donnell. In June, 1923, - a lapse of twenty three years from the
events, he wrote his observations. On the doctrine in question, he
stated:
It was taught that Jesus had holy flesh, and that those who followed Him
through this garden experience would likewise have holy flesh; that the
text, "A body hast thou prepared Me," showed that Christ had a specially
prepared holy body. The Scripture, Hebrews 2:7-14, was used to prove
that Christ was born with flesh like "my brethren" and "the church"
would have after they had passed through the garden experience. 8
Burton Wade was a laymember from Denver, Indiana [Jesse Dunn, State
Agent at the time, also resided there, and Dunn understood the doctrine
as taught by the "Holy Flesh" advocates in harmony with Haskell and
Roberts.] and who in 1900 attended the Muncie camp meeting. He was 24
years of age at that time. When he wrote the letter in 1962, he was a
man of 86 years, looking back 62 years upon the experience. It should
not be hard to answer the question as to which of these men was capable
of making "a definitive theological question." and what weight should be
assigned to the statements of each.
Next a far more important question - the relationship of the Burton Wade
letter to the Compiler's Note in Selected Messages, bk. ii, p.
31. When I replied to Elder Wood's letter dated March 13, 1 stated:
There is no doubt from your correspondence that you obtained your
editorial comment from the Compiler's Note in Selected Messages,
bk., ii, p. 31. By now appealing to Wade's letter for your support you
raise a far more serious question. The book was copyrighted in 1958; the
Wade letter was dated 1962. It was written because of meetings
"recently" hold by Elder Arthur White at EMC. This word could
not be construed to antedate the publishing date of the book. What then
in the source of the Compiler's Note? Or worse yet, perish the thought,
were the first two paragraphs of the Wade letter, "planted" to give
substantiation to the basic error in the Compiler's Note? Unless other
proof can be offered to the source
-60-
of the note, this last idea needs to be investigated further, for it
would then have validity. 9
Ten days later I wrote directly to Elder Arthur White for an explanation
of the note. Then on April 14, 1968, 1 wrote about another matter, and
reminded him that the letter written March 25, had not been answered,
and that I wished verification of the note in Selected Messages,
bk. ii. To these two letters, Elder D. A. Delafield, Associate Secretary
of the Ellen G. White Estate, replied:
I am sure that in his exceedingly busy program Elder White means to get
around to provide for you a satisfactory response to your question
concerning the origin of the idea that "the teachers of the Holy Flesh
taught that Christ as a result of the Gethsemane experience received
holy flesh." Perhaps Brother White can put his fingers upon the primary
source on which this observation was based.
Knowing Elder White the way I do, I am sure that he has sound basis for
the ideas as he expressed them in the Compiler's Note. The statement
made by G. A. Roberts, "The Holy Flesh Fanaticism," on June 11, 1923, is
I think interesting. Roberts was an eyewitness observer of the Indiana
fanaticism in 1900, and knew Pastor Donnell personally and conversed
with him about this whole situation. It would be inconceivable that
Roberts did not learn from Donnell what Davis and others were teaching,
which Donnell himself later accepted.
Roberts observes that "the essential feature of the doctrine was that
when Jesus passed through the Garden of Gethsemane, He had an experience
which all must have who follow Him. It was taught that Jesus had holy
flesh, and that those who followed Him through this garden experience
would likewise have holy flesh; that the text, 'A body hast thou
prepared Me,' showed that Christ had a specially prepared holy body."
While it may seem that the above quotation would support the view that
Christ had holy flesh throughout life, it could also be construed to
mean "that when Jesus passed through the Garden of Gethsemane, He had an
experience which all must have who follow Him. It was taught that Jesus
had holy flesh, and that those who followed Him through this garden
experience would likewise have holy flesh." 10
To this letter, I replied:
Thank you for your letter of April 17, and the reference to the
testimony of G. A. Roberts.
-61-
You quote for me a section of his observation of the teachings of the
Holy Flesh advocates in relationship to the Gethsemane experience, and
conclude that this could be interpreted to mean what Elder White wrote
in the Compiler's Note as found in Selected Messages, bk. ii, p. 31.
I would grant this, except that in not all that G. A. Roberts wrote. The
very next sentence following the ones quoted make the suggested
conclusion an absolute impossibility. I shall requote for you, your
quotes, and place the next sentence in italics. Here are the G. A.
Roberts comments in full:
The essential feature of the doctrine was that when Jesus passed through
the Garden of Gethsemane, He had an experience which all must have who
follow Him. It was taught that Jesus had holy flesh, and that those who
followed Him through the garden experience would likewise have holy
flesh; that the text, "A body hast thou prepared Me," showed that Christ
had a specially prepared holy body. The Scripture, Hebrews 2:7-14,
was used to prove that Christ was born with flesh like "my brethren" and
"the church" would have after they had passed through the garden
experience.
The full context of the Roberts statement coincides perfectly with the
Haskell report of the Indiana experience which indicates that the Holy
Flesh men taught that Jesus accepted the nature of Adam before the
fall. 11
Finally, after receiving no further reply, I decided to write up the
whole incident in a thought paper for "Watchman, What of the Night?",
and title it"A Credibility Gap". Before publishing the same, I sent a
copy to Elder Arthur White, and asked for his comments. To this, I
received a five page reply. He said in part:
I wrote the note. At the time I wrote it I believed that it correctly
represented the facts. As it was submitted to the Board of Trustees of
the Ellen G. White Estate for their consideration it was assumed by the
Board that the facts had been correctly presented. Busy as the men are
they could hardly be expected to do research on this point in a little
known and seemingly not too important area. When the editor of the Review
and Herald ten years later had occasion to just mention the Holy
Flesh Movement, he referred to this note and assumed that it correctly
presented the facts in the case.
If the facts are not correctly presented, I am responsible, and if I
erred, I did so ignorantly. Taking into account the use to which the
information was to be put it was a matter of little importance...
-62-
Except as there may be lessons in the experience for us today, it is not
a matter of great interest or consequence to the church now...
As I prepared this note, I turned to the G. A. Roberts statement in our
document files, and accepted my understanding of his explanation of the
basis for the movement...
Now as I prepared the note it seemed clear to me that the Roberts'
statement taught that Jesus, when He passed through the garden "had an
experience." This experience is not defined. It was taught that "those
who followed Him through this garden experience would likewise have holy
flesh." Without thorough, painstaking research (which seemed uncalled
for in this case) in an attempt to prepare a brief historical note, I
concluded from the Roberts presentation that if the followers of Jesus
gained holy flesh by passing through the garden experience, and Jesus
Himself "had an experience in the garden all must have, who follow Him,"
did not the garden experience give Jesus the type of holy flesh that was
being discussed? If this was not so, what was the "experience" Jesus had
in the Garden? At the time I prepared the note, that which followed in
the Roberts statement appeared to be confusing and irrelevant. I did not
have before me in a way to make any impression, the Haskell statement in
our letter file which you later studied very carefully and which is now
in our Document File.
I can almost see you lifting your pen to write:
"If the secretary of the White Estate exercises so little care in
assembling data as this present situation seems to illustrate, how are
we to know that in which we can place dependence?"...
Now back to the matter in question. From the full Roberts statement
which I have just reread I am not sure just what he attempted to convey
as to what the garden experience did for Christ. Elder Haskell saw it
differently than I have reported, and from your research you feel that
the Haskell position is the more accurate one. The Wade testimony is
interesting. I felt it was corroborative. It is not conclusive because
of the time lapse, yet he is not too far from what the Roberts statement
seemed on the surface to say. one is led to say, "So what?"
As far as I am concerned, I shall restudy the whole matter, as I can
find time to do so, and if I am convinced that the note does not
correctly represent the facts, I shall request the Board of Trustees of
the Ellen G. White Estate to approve a rewording which we will ask the
publishers to place in the next printing of the book. 12
So what? The explanatory paragraph remains unchanged though Selected
Messages, bk. ii, has been reprinted since this letter was written
by Elder White.
-63-
There can be no doubt that the Compiler's Note was based primarily on a
misreading of the Roberts statement. But this leaves the Wade letter
still unexplained. A comparison between the Note in Selected Messages,
bk. ii, and the Wade letter is most interesting:
The question still remains - Did Brother Wade copy the Compiler's Note
with variations of sentence structure and wording, or was the Wade
letter dictated to substantiate the Compiler's Note? Why is the matter
of any importance anyway? Why can't we say - "So what?" - and forget the
whole affair? Because of what was taking place in our ranks at the time
the first edition of Selected Messages, bk. ii, was published. We
can only conjecture what might have been if the Compiler's Note had been
written in harmony with the testimony of S. N. Haskell and G. A. Roberts
rightly read. It was in 1956-1957, that the editor of the Ministry,
R. Allan Anderson, wrote his editorials on the humanity of Christ which
stated the same position that Haskell and Roberts said the "Holy Flesh"
men taught. 13 Then in 1957, the same basic
doctrine was similarly stated in the book, Questions on Doctrine.
If the Compiler's Note had been in accord with the source material -
even the Roberts letter correctly read - would this not have dealt a
severe blow to the deviation from basic Adventist doctrine that was
developing in the church which finally culminated in the book, Movement
-64-
of Destiny?
But now it is only what might have been! "So what?"
_______________________
1 Kenneth
H. Wood, Review and Herald, January 25, 1968, p. 12
-65-
APPENDIX – D
The Letter In Question
C 0 P Y
515 College Avenue
Elder Arthur White
Dear Brother White:
While you were here at Emmanuel Missionary College recently, giving your
talks on the Spirit of Prophecy, you referred to the fanatical movement
which took place in Indiana, known as the "Doctrine of Holy Flesh." This
movement reached its height in 1900 when the conference president and
most of the workers were carried away by this fanatical teaching.
They believed that, when Christ suffered in Gethsemane, he obtained
"Holy Flesh" such as Adam had in the beginning before the fall, and they
maintained that everyone who hoped to be translated would also have to
obtain "Holy Flesh. "
I thought you would be interested to know that I attended the camp
meeting in September of 1900, which was held at Muncie, where I
witnessed firsthand the fanatical excitement and activities of these
people. There were numerous groups of people scattered all over the
campground engaged in arguing and, when these fanatics conducted the
services in the large pavilion, they worked themselves up to a high
pitch of excitement by the use of musical instruments, such as:
trumpets, flutes, stringed instruments, tambourines, an organ, and a big
bass drum. They shouted and sang their lively songs with the aid of
musical instruments until they became really hysterical. Many times I
saw them, after these morning meetings, as they came to the dining tent
fairly shaking as though they had palsy.
Elders S. N. Haskell and A. J. Breed were at the camp meeting to meet
this fanaticism, and when they went onto the platform to conduct
services, they announced the songs from Hymns and Tunes, and they
preached the real Adventist message. Members of the fanatical group who
were present at these services plainly showed their disapproval and
almost sneered at times. This fanaticism spread throughout the
conference and caused division in many of the churches, but there were
some who stood firm and were not carried away with the false doctrine.
Our little home church at Denver stood firm and not one of its members
was carried away with this deception.
Very sincerely yours, |