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The Spirit Of The Pharisses
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August 21 - The Spirit Of The Pharisees

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It is honorable to refrain from strife. Prov. 20:3, NRSV.

Ellen White "discerned at the very commencement of the meeting [at Minneapolis] a spirit that burdened" her, an attitude that she had never seen previously among her fellow leaders and ministers. It bothered her that it was "so unlike the spirit of Jesus, so contrary to the spirit that should be exercised toward each other"(MS 24, 1888). She would come to think of that hostility as the "spirit of Minneapolis" or the "spirit of the Pharisees." An understanding of the attitude displayed at Minneapolis is essential if we are to grasp the dynamics of the 1888 meetings and subsequent Adventist history.

A composite description of the spirit of Minneapolis, as Mrs. White portrayed it, would have the following characteristics. First, it displyed sarcasm and jesting toward the denomination's reform element. Some, for example, referred to Waggoner as "Sister White's pet." Second, it led to criticism. Third, many manifested evil survmisings, hatred, and jealousy. Fifth, its possessors were "intoxicated with the spirit of resistance" to the voice of the Spirit. Sixth, it drove those having it to speak in a manner calculated to inflame one another regarding those who held opposing doctrinal views. Seventh, it bread contention and doctrinal debate in place of the spirit of Jesus. Eighth, it generated an attitude that led to "playing upon words" and "quibbling upon words" in doctrinal discussions. In short, the spirit manifested "was uncourteous, ungentlemanly, and not Christlike."

One of the most noteworthy things about the Minneapolis spirit is that it resulted from a deisre to protect Adventism's old doctrinal "landmarks." Ellen White deplored the fact that "a difference in the application of some few scriptural passages makes men forget their religious principles"(MS 30, 1889). "God deliver me from your ideas. . .," she declared, "if the receiving of these ideas would make me so unchristian in my spirit, words, and works"(MS 55, 1890).

The tradedy of Minneapolis was that in seeking to preserve Adventism's doctrinal purity and its traditional scriptural interpretations, the Battle Creek leadership had lost its Christianity.

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Save us, O Lord, from the spirit of the Pharisees. Fill us with the spirit of Jesus in all that we do this day.
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