What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Ellen White and alcohol: what did she say about alcohol, wine, abstinence, temperance, and their effects on health and the family?"
Answer
Ellen White strongly condemned the consumption of alcohol, wine, and intoxicating beverages, presenting it as a destructive path leading to loss of reason, crime, and the ruin of families. She maintained that true biblical wine (the kind used at Cana) was unfermented grape juice and insisted that the gospel calls for total abstinence as a nonnegotiable moral stance for Christians. She also taught that temperance, including avoiding tobacco, is essential to health, moral balance, and family happiness, and that the church should promote these principles as a central element of health and spiritual reform.
Warning against alcohol use and its devastating effects on the family
»When alcohol enters, reason goes out. It is the hour and power of darkness, when every crime becomes possible, and the whole human machinery is controlled by a lower power, when soul and body are subject to passion. And what can stop this passion? What can prevent it? These souls have no secure anchor. Holidays lead them into temptation; for many think it is their privilege, because it is a holiday, to do as they please.—. Millions for the Devil’s Treasury—Look at those who drink wine, beer, and strong drink. Let them count how much money they spend on it. How many thousands and millions of dollars have gone into the devil’s treasury to perpetuate wickedness and encourage dissipation, corruption, and crime.—. Moderate Drinking—Moderate drinking is the school in which men receive an education for the drunkard’s career.—. God’s Blessings Turned into a Curse—Our Creator has bestowed His blessings on humanity with generosity. If all these gifts of Providence were used wisely and moderately, poverty, disease, and distress would be almost banished from the earth. But alas, we see everywhere the blessings of God turned into a curse by human wickedness. There is no class more guilty of perverting and abusing His precious gifts than those who use the products of the earth to manufacture intoxicating liquors. Nutritious grains and wholesome, delicious fruits are transformed into drinks that pervert the senses and whip the brain into excitement. As a result of using these poisons, thousands of families are deprived of the comforts and even the necessities of life, acts of violence and crime are multiplied, and disease and death hasten myriads of victims to a drunkard’s grave.—.«
The wine at Cana was unfermented; the Bible does not support intoxicating wine
»Many who read this will laugh at the warning of danger. They will say, “Surely the little wine or cider I use cannot harm me.” Satan has marked such people as his prey; he leads them step by step, and they do not realize it until the chains of habit and appetite are too strong to be broken. We see the power that the appetite for strong drink has over men; we see how many people of all professions and weighty responsibilities, of exalted station, eminent talents, great abilities, fine feelings, strong nerves, and great powers of reasoning sacrifice everything to satisfy appetite until they are reduced to the level of brute beasts; and in many cases their descent began with the use of wine or cider. Knowing this, I take a resolute stand against the manufacture of wine or cider for use as a beverage.... If all were watchful and faithful in closing the little breaches made by the moderate use of supposedly harmless wine and cider, the road to drunkenness would be closed.—. The Wine at Cana Was Unfermented—The Bible nowhere sanctions the use of intoxicating wine. The wine that Christ made from water at the marriage in Cana was the pure juice of the grape. It is the “new wine ... found in the cluster,” of which Scripture says, “Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it.” . It was Christ who in the Old Testament gave Israel the warning: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” . He Himself provided no such beverage. Satan tempts people to indulgence that clouds reason and dulls spiritual perception, but Christ teaches us to bring the lower nature under control. He never places before people what would be a temptation. His whole life was an example of self-denial. It was to break the power of appetite that, during the forty days of fasting in the wilderness, He suffered on our behalf the severest test a human being could endure. It was Christ who ordained that John the Baptist should drink neither wine nor strong drink. It was He who imposed a similar abstinence on the wife of Manoah. Christ did not contradict His own teaching. The unfermented wine He provided for the wedding guests was a wholesome and refreshing drink. It was the wine that our Savior and His disciples used at the first Communion. It is the wine that should always be used at the Communion table as a symbol of the Savior’s blood. The sacramental service is intended to refresh the soul and invigorate life. It must not be associated with anything that could serve evil.—. The Wine Recommended in the Bible Is Not Intoxicating—The Bible nowhere teaches the use of intoxicating wine, either as a beverage or as a symbol of the blood of Christ. We appeal to natural reason to determine whether the blood of Christ is better represented by pure grape juice in its natural state, or after it has been transformed into fermented, intoxicating wine.... We maintain that the latter should never be placed on the Lord’s table.... We protest that Christ never made intoxicating wine; such an act would have been contrary to all the teachings and examples of His life.... The wine that Christ made from water by a miracle of His power was the pure juice of the grape.—.«
Total abstinence is the Christian platform for temperance and the good of the family
»Total Abstinence Our Platform—When temperance is presented as a part of the gospel, many will see their need of reform. They will see the evil of intoxicating liquors and that total abstinence is the only platform on which God’s people can conscientiously stand.—. A Living and Active Element in the Church—In the family circle and in the church, we must place Christian temperance on a high platform. It should be a living and active element, reforming habits, dispositions, and characters. Intemperance lies at the foundation of all the evil in our world.—. Those We Cannot Admit into the Church—May God make us watchful against this terrible evil. May He help us to work with all our power to save men, women, and young people from this effort of the enemy to ensnare them. We do not admit into the church those who use alcohol or tobacco. We cannot admit such individuals. But we can try to help them overcome. We can tell them that by giving up these harmful practices, they will make their families and themselves happier. Those whose hearts are filled with the Spirit of God will not feel the need for stimulants.—.«
Health reform emphasizes total abstinence and the dangers of tobacco and alcohol
»Health Schools to Follow Public Meetings—There is a great work to be done in bringing the principles of health reform to the attention of the people. Public meetings should be held to introduce the subject, and schools should be organized for those who are interested, to tell them more particularly about our wholesome foods and how a healthy, nourishing, and appetizing diet can be provided without the use of meat, tea, or coffee.... Emphasize the subject of temperance with all the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Show the need for total abstinence from all intoxicating liquor. Show the terrible damage caused to the human system by the use of tobacco and alcohol.—. Showing Why We Have Changed Our Eating Habits—Lectures should be given to explain why dietary reforms are essential, and to show that the use of highly seasoned foods causes inflammation of the delicate lining of the digestive organs. Show why we, as a people, have changed our habits of eating and drinking. Show why we reject tobacco and all intoxicating liquor. State the principles of health reform clearly and simply, and along with this, put an abundance of wholesome, appetizingly prepared food on the table; and the Lord will help you impress upon the people the urgency of reform, and lead them to see that this reform is for their greatest good.—.«
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.
