What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Dangers of human traditions in the light of the teachings of Ellen G. White"
Answer
Human traditions pose a great danger, as they displace the word of God and can cloud the mind to divine truths. Ellen G. White emphasizes that errors often cling to truth like parasites, so people mistakenly regard human commandments as part of divine revelation. When traditions are placed above the clear “Thus says the Lord,” this inevitably leads to spiritual blindness and a distortion of character according to human rather than divine standards.
The danger of mixing tradition and truth
»Error cannot exist alone and would soon die out if it did not cling to the tree of truth like a parasite. Error draws its life from the truth of God. Human traditions attach themselves like floating germs to the truth of God, and people regard them as part of the truth. Through false teachings Satan gains a firm foothold and captures people's thinking, causing them to espouse theories that have no basis in truth... But age does not make error into truth.«
Traditions as a cause of spiritual blindness
»It is not uncommon for the thinking of the people and even of God's servants to be so blinded by human opinions, traditions, and false teachings that they can only grasp partially the great things He has revealed in His word. This was also the case with the disciples of Christ, even when the Savior was personally among them. Their thinking was so heavily shaped by the popular conception of the Messiah as a worldly prince... that they could not understand the significance of His words, which predicted His suffering and death.«
The fatal subordination of God's word to human inventions
»What should be first is subordinated to human inventions. It is so easy to drift into worldly plans, methods, and customs... There is a constant danger that our educators will tread the same ground as the Jews and adapt to customs, practices, and traditions that God has not given. With stubbornness and determination some cling to old habits... as if their salvation depended on these things. In doing so they turn away from God's special work.«
Human commandments render God's word ineffective
»The commandments of men, the customs of men, and the ways of men made the word of God itself null, as Jesus said: “You have rendered the command of God ineffective by your tradition.” Christ... turned the whole matter around to let people see that what a man or a group of men may say cannot be called lawful... But what God alone says, that alone is lawful.«
Tradition vs. biblical standard
»If tradition is regarded as good as the Bible, if the hearsay of what was taught in past ages must be accepted, then there is no firm standard of truth... While the Bible is the pure word of God, tradition is stained with error and sophistry. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself declares in the above‑cited Scripture that God's command is superior to any human tradition.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
EGW Vision helps you find topics, statements, and quotes faster, especially when many original sources are not yet fully available in your language. The tool searches semantically, groups relevant content by topic, and presents matching results as clearly as possible in your language.
My hope is that this tool supports personal Bible study, strengthens trust in the original sources, and helps more people discover the message of these writings with clarity, depth, and joy.
