And the School Dog Is Not the School Dog: The Dilemma of Writing Religious Biography as Illustrated by Seventh-Day Adventist Literature

Abstract

Analysing the life and work of members of religious groups presents predicaments not always encountered in other biographical endeavours. Some of the problems faced by religious biographers can be illustrated by assessing the work of those authors who have analysed the writings and life of Ellen White (1827-1915), a Seventh-day Adventist pioneer. For more than a century the Seventh-day Adventist membership, particularly in the U.S.A. and the Pacific, have been taught explicitly or implicitly that the central core of White's writings were received through visions or dreams given by God.