Ellen White's Hypocrisy on Nude Artwork

By Dirk Anderson, Aug., 2024

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Nineteenth century health reformers feared that any glimpse of nudity would arouse the animal passions which could lead a person to commit forbidden sexual acts such as marital excess or solitary vice. These sexual acts would supposedly drain vital force from the body which would result in physical disease, mental deterioration, moral corruption, and spiritual decline. Therefore, they were hyper-vigilant against anything that might arouse the passions in the very least.

When Mrs. White adopted the teachings of other health reformers, she latched onto their fear of anything that might arouse the passions. For example, she urged her followers to avoid viewing nude females:

Exciting love stories and impure pictures have a corrupting influence. ... In the [train] cars, photographs of females in a state of nudity are frequently circulated for sale. These disgusting pictures are also found in daguerrean saloons, and are hung upon the walls of those who deal in engravings. This is an age when corruption is teeming everywhere. The lust of the eye and corrupt passions are aroused by beholding and by reading. The heart is corrupted through the imagination. The mind takes pleasure in contemplating scenes which awaken the lower and baser passions. These vile images, seen through defiled imagination, corrupt the morals and prepare the deluded, infatuated beings to give loose rein to lustful passions. Then follow sins and crimes which drag beings formed in the image of God down to a level with the beasts, sinking them at last in perdition.¹

Ellen White describes a horrifying downward progression that begins when a person views an artistic expression of the female form. Their passions are aroused causing their morals to become corrupted. This causes lustful passions to be unleashed resulting in sins and crimes. Finally, the soul ends up lost! Believers in Ellen White's gift must have been shocked and horrified to discover that the simple act of viewing nude art pictures could send them on a downward spiral to perdition!

The Nude Ankle!

Mrs. White feared arousing the passions of men so much that she implored her female followers to keep their body entirely covered from men's view. For a while, she even wore pants under her dresses so that men could not observe her naked ankle. She writes in disgust about women who are so immodest as to expose their nude ankles to men:

It is a common thing to see the dress raised one-half of a yard, exposing an almost unclad ankle to the sight of gentlemen, but no one seems to blush at this immodest exposure. No one's sensitive modesty seems shocked for the reason that this is customary. It is fashion, and for this reason it is endured. No outcry of immodesty is heard, although it is so in the fullest sense.²

Ellen White Adds to the Bible to Hide Adam and Eve's Nudity

It is interesting how Mrs. White obfuscated the Biblical truth about God creating Adam and Eve naked: "And they were both naked, the man and his wife" (Gen. 2:25). This was no doubt alarming to Sister White, because if sect members came across this verse in Genesis, or while reading her many commentaries on the Bible, it may trigger them to imagine an unclothed person in their mind. This, in turn, could arouse their animal passions, sending them on a downward progression to perdition. She solved this dilemma by inventing fake "garments of light" to cover Adam and Eve's naked bodies:

The garments of light which had enveloped them disappeared when they sinned against God.³

A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair.⁴

The sinless pair wore no artificial garments; they were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. So long as they lived in obedience to God, this robe of light continued to enshroud them.⁵

In her enhanced versions of the Creation story, Adam and Eve are walking around wearing fake clothing made of light. One can only hope that the garment of light extended down to cover Eve's naked ankle from being visible to Adam in order to keep him from having his unholy animal passions aroused which could lead him to indulge in marital excess!

Close-up of Adam and Eve on the cover of the Teal Family Bible

Engraving of Adam and Eve inside the Teal Family Bible

Thus, after SDAs adopted Ellen White's theory of "garments of light," they were protected from unholy thoughts. For example, when they read the first chapters of Genesis and saw the word "naked," instead of imagining a beautiful naked young couple which would cause their animal passions to ignite, their minds would instead imagine a couple modestly clothed with holy light. She solved the problem with a simple addition to the Bible! But where did she get this idea? Perhaps from the footnotes in her parent's Teal Family Bible, which stated:

It is the Opinion of St. Chrysostom and others, that the bodies of Adam and Eve were arrayed in a luminous garment, that they needed no covering of artificial robes...so with regard to his body, it was arrayed in light, after the similitude of him who in scripture is said to dwell in light, and to clothe himself with light as with a garment.⁶

Thus, the personal opinion of Catholic Saint Chrysostom became a fact when Mrs. White incorporated it into her supposedly inspired writings.

Ellen White on Provocative Art

Fearing for the souls of her followers and desiring to protect their vital force, Mrs. White made many restrictions that modern generations find odd or extreme. For example, in 1890, Mrs. White warned her followers about the dangers of nude art, seemingly fearful of its corrupting influence:

Exciting love stories and the specimens of nude art displayed in art galleries, have a corrupting influence. The imagination becomes defiled. Then follow sins and crimes which drag beings formed in the image of God down below the level of the brutes, and sink them at last in perdition.⁷

One problem with this statement is that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that viewing nudity in fine art leads to corruption, crime, or any other negative outcome. Nude art has been prominent in nearly every human culture since the dawn of humanity. Throughout history, it has been appreciated for its aesthetic, symbolic, and emotional qualities. While some individuals may find it uncomfortable or repulsive, there is no scientific evidence it leads to corruption and crime.

SDA physician J.H. Kellogg, a firm believer in vital force, agreed with Mrs. White. He also warned against any behaviors that might stimulate sexual passion. He wrote against the "vile pictures...which hang in many of our art galleries" that are a "means of evil."⁸

Curiously, on the front of the popular "family" Bible used by Ellen White while in vision is a picture of Adam and Even naked, as can be seen in the picture on the right.⁹ Inside the book is yet another engraving showing Adam and Eve naked with no "garment of light." Hopefully, the Bible did not fall open to this page when Ellen White supposedly lofted it one of her early visions! Otherwise, it could have corrupted the Advent believers in that room and led them into a life of crime!

Interestingly, she never criticized the Teal Family Bible, or other similar family Bibles of that era, for having nude pictures of Bible characters. Family Bibles with artistic pictures of Bible characters were very popular, owned and cherished by countless Christians in 19th century America. The practice of including engravings in Bibles became particularly prominent during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, roughly from the 16th to the 18th centuries. These engravings often depicted biblical scenes with a focus on the human form, including elements of nudity, especially in depictions of Adam and Eve, the Last Judgment, and other significant biblical narratives. These engravings sometimes included nudity as a way to convey innocence, vulnerability, or divine beauty.

Nude pictures appeared in family Bibles—including the Teal Family Bible Ellen White used—for over three centuries. Neither publishers nor readers regarded this to be immodest or corrupting. It was considered normative behavior. It was not until the nineteenth century that health reformers like Ellen White decided these types of pictures were dangerous because they could arouse animal passions leading to sexual activities that would drain vital force from the body. Ellen White, other health reformers, and hyper-moral clerics stirred up such fear against these pictures that Christians stopped buying these Bibles to protect their children from corruption. As sales fell throughout America and parts of England, publishers eventually stopped putting nude pictures into Bibles. Thus, the practice quietly ended, never to return.

Ellen White Bans Sensual Reading - Quotes Song of Solomon

Ellen White was gravely concerned that "corrupt passions" could be aroused by reading. Interestingly, she writes to SDAs and quotes from Song of Solomon, a fine piece of erotic literature involving various highly sensual encounters between a betrothed (but unmarried) couple. Often, the characters are portrayed as though they are in a state of partial or full nudity. Several times in her writings she quotes from Song of Solomon 2:3. Below she instructs teachers and children with this verse:

Happy will it be for the children of our homes and the students of our schools when parents and teachers shall learn in their own lives the precious experience pictured in these words from the Song of Songs: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, So is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste."¹⁰

"His fruit was sweet to my taste"

In this passage, the young woman is pictured underneath the man "with great delight." The woman speaks of her lover, saying "his fruit was sweet to my taste." The fruit "apples" is not the best translation of the Hebrew. Hebrew scholar Robert Alter notes that it is more likely to be fruit from an apricot or quince tree. He goes on to explain that "fruit" in the Song of Solomon is "associated with sexual gratification."¹¹ Any adult reader can figure out that something akin to animal passion was happening in this verse.

Hopefully none of Mrs. White's readers caught on to the actual meaning of this passage and got corrupted. Although quoting over 80 times from Song of Solomon, she never quotes from the passages that picture the courting man and woman in various states of undress, nor from the other passages that describe various sensual activity in graphic and picturesque words. For those SDAs who read her writing rather than the Bible, they were most likely shielded from the animal passion on display in Song of Solomon. One can only wonder what horrifying downward progression would have happened if any of her followers actually read the inspired words of this book. According to Ellen White's theory, it could have corrupted their imagination, the mind taking pleasure in contemplating scenes which awakens the lower and baser passions, thus defiling the imagination, corrupting the morals and preparing the deluded, infatuated beings to give loose rein to lustful passions, ultimately sinking them at last in perdition!

Hypocrisy on Nudity?

Milan Cathedral, Italy

Since Ellen White regarded "nude art displayed in art galleries" as having "a corrupting influence," and since she believed that pictures of "females in a state of nudity" hung upon walls arouse "corrupt passions," one would think she would do everything in her power to keep this corrupting influence away from herself and her children. However, when she went to Europe, supposedly to do "missionary" work in nations that were already entirely Christian, she visited multiple museums and cathedrals displaying fine art. For example, in 1886 she visited the Grand Cathedral in Milan. Her biographer and grandson, Arthur White, writes that she was...

...favorably impressed by 'the windows and walls ... adorned with high-colored pictures, painted by the finest Italian artists. These paintings represent scenes in Bible history and in traditional church history. It seemed to me that I never saw such a gorgeous combination of colors.'¹²

She was accompanied on this visit by her son Willie and his wife. In the SDA sect's magazine, the Review, she wrote about seeing all of the "exterior with three thousand marble statues" and remarked that she was "impressed with its grandeur and immensity, and the artistic skill displayed in its design and execution."¹³

What kind of statues were present that she found so impressive? What kind of paintings did this gallery display? As can be seen in the one example on the right, a good number of those marble statues that she found so impressive contain partial or full nudity—including nude ankles! The same is true of some of the paintings inside the cathedral. One can only hope that the "nude art displayed in art galleries" that she and her family attended did not corrupt her son and his wife or influence them to engage in marital excess!

Museum in Nimes, France

Later that same year, Mrs. White and her family were visiting more European museums. She and her family travelled to Nimes, France, once again on mission work in this Christian nation. She visited the famous art museum in Nimes. What did she find in this museum? In a private letter to her grandniece Addie (not released by the White Estate until 2014), she wrote of seeing the "statuaries in marble" and mentions being in the "museum which is of the finest work of art."¹⁴ What exactly are those statues?

As it turns out, many of the statues in the city and the museum are fully nude! Some, such as the nude male shown on the left, do not even have any strategically placed fig leaves to cover their visible secret parts.

Since she wrote that "nude art displayed in art galleries" has "a corrupting influence," was she corrupted? Did she cause her son and his wife to become corrupted? Do her writings reflect that corruption? Why did she tell her followers to shun "nude art displayed in art galleries" while she and her family were soaking up and obviously enjoying "nude art displayed in art galleries" while on their European vacation/mission trip? Why did she write private letters to family members about the experience being so wonderful and enthralling, while publicly she was warning others against doing what she did?

In October of 1886, while yet again on a mission trip, she reported about her trip to explore the Louvre in Paris, France, with her son Willie. The Louvre is one of the world's largest and most famous art museums, located in Paris, France. It is renowned for its vast collection of art and historical artifacts spanning thousands of years and representing a wide range of cultures and periods. In this collection one can find numerous examples of nude art:

• Venus de Milo: This famous ancient Greek nude statue depicts Aphrodite
• The Borghese Gladiator: A dynamic Roman statue representing a nude warrior in combat
• Michelangelo’s Rebellious Slave: This marble sculpture depicts a partially nude figure
• The Bathers by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: This painting depicts a group of women bathing, with several figures nude
• Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova: A neoclassical sculpture depicting the mythological figures of Cupid and Psyche in a nude embrace
• The Three Graces: Depicting three nude female figures representing charm, beauty, and creativity

Countless more could be mentioned. She wrote of visiting the museum:

"...through the long galleries of art. And those are the scenes, thought I, that charm and fascinate the senses of men and women in this age. Pictures were displayed that the eyes of children and youth and no human eye should rest upon; they were earthly, sensual, devilish, traced by pencil and brush of a hand with a corrupt soul."¹⁵

Her comments appear to be targeting nude artwork which she observed at the Louvre. She does not explain what was so devilish about the art. Perhaps it was the naked ankles of women that were exposed. If this artwork was "devilish" and unfit for the "human eye," then why was she at the Louvre viewing it with her family? Did she take seriously her own testimonies?

Doctors and Secret Parts

Ellen White seems to be horrified by the thought of male doctors treating unclothed female patients. She was no doubt highly concerned that viewing an unclothed ill person of the opposite sex might inflame the animal passions of SDA physicians. She writes:

Women should be educated and qualified just as thoroughly as possible to become practitioners in the delicate diseases which afflict women, that their secret parts should not be exposed to the notice of men. There should be a much larger number of lady physicians, educated not only to act as trained nurses, but also as physicians. It is a most horrible practice, this revealing the secret parts of women to men, or men being treated by women. Women physicians should utterly refuse to look upon the secret parts of men. Women should be thoroughly educated to work for women, and men to work for men. Let men know that they must go to their own sex, and not apply to lady physicians. It is an insult to women, and God looks upon these things of commonness with abhorrence. While physicians are called upon to teach social purity, let them practice that delicacy which is a constant lesson in practical purity. Women may do a noble work as practicing physicians; but when men ask a lady physician to give them examinations and treatments which demand the exposure of private parts, let her refuse decidedly to do this work.¹⁶

Ellen White proposes that if a man requests treatment from a female physician regarding his "private parts," she should refuse to treat him. Do SDA medical schools and hospitals follow this hyper-moral testimony? Thankfully, no. They ignore it, as they ignore most of her testimonies regarding how sanitariums were to be run. Why? It would be grossly unethical for a female doctor to refuse to treat a male patient, or a male doctor to refuse to treat a female patient for such an absurd reason.

She said it was a "horrible practice" for female patients to reveal their "secret parts" to men, but what did Ellen White do? Being sickly most of her life, she visited physicians with some regularity. She had male physicians for most of her life. In fact, when she went to Our Home on the Hillside, it was Dr. Caleb Jackson who examined her (and declared her to be a victim of hysteria), not the sanitarium's female physician, Harriet Austin. One can only hope she did not reveal her "secret parts...to the "notice of" these doctors.

Conclusion

In her personal life, Ellen White failed to adhere to the hyper-moral restrictions she burdened her followers with. She warned others to avoid nude art while she and her family enjoyed it immensely when in Europe. How many SDAs have missed out on the opportunity to go to a museum and view fine art out of terror that they might get aroused and end up in a downward progression to perdition?

Ellen White warned others about the "horrible" practice of being treated for private problems by a doctor of the opposite sex, and yet she visited doctors of the opposite sex. Today, SDA obstetricians, urologists, and gynecologists, along with most SDA patients, routinely ignore her antiquated advice because it is both unethical and impractical. I personally know many SDAs who go to obstetricians and gynecologists of the opposite sex, many of whom are SDA doctors. They discard these testimonies as the nonsense they are, and yet, how can they still insist her misguided writings are inspired? How can they still insist she was the Spirit of Prophecy?

Since Mrs. White routinely ignored her own testimonies, this is evidence that she did not regard them as inspired. In all likelihood, she realized she was just repeating the uninspired rants of other health reformers. If she did not have enough confidence in her testimonies to follow them in her own life, why should anyone else accept that heavy burden?

"They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them for they do not practice what they preach." (Matt. 23:4,3 NIV)

See also

• Animal Passions
• Marital Excess
• Secret Vice

Citations

1. Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church vol. 2, (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1885), 410.

2. Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church vol. 2, 410.

3. Ellen White, Signs of the Times, Feb. 13, 1896. See also Manuscript 7a, 1896.

4. Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1900), 310.

5. Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1890), 45. After the fall, the Teal Family Bible explains how the couple became naked: "they were stripped of that robe of glory with which their bodies were adorned as a badge of their innocence and immortality" (note on Gen. 3:7).

6. Teal Family Bible note on Genesis 2:25. See Ronald D. Graybill, PDF of Joseph Teal, The Columbian Family and Pulpit Bible, 1822. Published in PDF form 2021, Ronald D. Graybill.

7. Ellen White, Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, (Battle Creek, MI: Good Health Publishing Co., 1890), 137.

8. John Harvey Kellogg, Plain Facts for Old and Young, (Burlington, Iowa: Segner & Condit, 1881), 465.

9. Teal Family Bible. In addition to these, engravings of "Noah" and "The Finding of Moses" include nudity.

10. Ellen White, Education, (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1903), 261. See also Manuscript 128 (1897) and Letter 79, 1902, to Elder Franke. Notice that Ellen White capitalizes "Beloved" and "His" even though they are not capitalized in the KJV Bible, and this verse is talking about the male partner of the young woman, not Jesus.

11. Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. The Writings, (NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009), 591.

12. Arthur White, Ellen G. White: The Lonely Years: 1876-1891 vol. 3, (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1984), 175.

13. Ellen White, Review and Herald, June 1, 1886.

14. Ellen White, Letter 109, 1886.

15. Ellen White, Manuscript 75, 1886.

16. Ellen White, Letters from Ellen G. White to Sanitarium Workers (1911), 13-14.