1 ELLEN WHITE’S LIFE OF CHRIST: A FORGOTTEN CHAPTER OF ADVENTIST HISTORY Denis Kaiser (Paper presented at the 5th Annual Seminary Scholarship Symposium, Andrews University, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Berrien Springs, Mich., February 6, 2009) Introduction All through her life, Ellen White spoke and wrote extensively about Christ’s life and death in many sermons, manuscripts, letters, and articles in diverse periodicals. She wrote and published several books on the Life of Christ theme as well. The well-known chronology goes like this: 1858 Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1 1877 Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2 (or The Great Controversy, vol. 2) 1878 Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3 (or The Great Controversy, vol. 3) [1896 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing] 1898 The Desire of Ages [1900 Christ’s Object Lessons] However, some people who belong to the modern antitrinitarian wing of Adventism refer to a German book with Ellen White as its author called Das Leben Jesu Christi (The Life of Jesus Christ). That book was published in Europe as well as in North America in several editions from 1887 to appr. 1893. Editions in other languages were published as well during those years, as e.g. in French, Swedish, and Danish-Norwegian. (a) These people claim that since Ellen White knew only English there has to be an English original for these editions. (b) Further, they say, this book is THE evidence that Desire of Ages is a fake for the Life of Christ does not contain any Trinitarian statements. The problem is that there exists almost no information on those editions. The Literary Relationships of the Life of Christ A comparison of the Life of Christ with Spirit of Prophecy, vols. 2 and 3, shows that the two Spirit of Prophecy volumes form apparently the textual basis for the Life of Christ, except for differences in two areas: (a) The first four chapters of Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2 are replaced by eight chapters in the