Testimony of Dr. Stratemeyer

A leading educator in mid-twentieth century is Dr. Florence Stratemeyer, for years professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University. A Seventh-day Adventist teacher, securing advanced education at Columbia University, discovered that Dr. Stratemeyer had in her reference library a copy of Mrs. White’s book Education, and that she referred to it at times as a source of authoritative teaching. The result was that he persuaded her to give a talk to a convention of Adventist teachers in Washington, D.C. On that occasion she stood before them with the book Education open in one hand, expounding basic concepts of true education and referring to Mrs. White’s statements in confirmation. She repeatedly interspersed comments about the remarkable book and the remarkable author. The story of this meeting appeared in the The Review and Herald, August 6, 1959. In a box in that article is a statement that Dr. Stratemeyer herself made concerning Mrs. White and the book Education. We quote:WBEGW 61.3

“Recently the book Education by Ellen G. White has been brought to my attention. Written at the turn of the century, this volume was more than fifty years ahead of its times. And I was surprised to learn that it was written by a woman with but three years of schooling.WBEGW 62.1

“The breadth and depth of its philosophy amazed me. Its concept of balanced education, harmonious development, and of thinking and acting on principle are advanced educational concepts.WBEGW 62.2

“The objective of restoring in man the image of God, parental responsibility, and the emphasis on self-control in the child are ideals the world desperately needs.”WBEGW 62.3

We may presume that Dr. Stratemeyer would be well versed in the history of education and would easily recognize those views set forth in a 1903 book that were current at that time or that had been current before. Thus if Mrs. White’s book on education were nothing but a reshuffling of various ideas that had a vogue in the past, Dr. Stratemeyer would hardly have felt impressed to speak as she did concerning Mrs. White.WBEGW 62.4

Surely it is reasonable for us, looking back over the years, to see in the Seventh-day Adventist educational system, and in the counsels on education that she gave to the church, a further reason for believing in her inspiration. Of course it will never be possible, in the field of spiritual matters, to provide a demonstration so full, so clear, so irrefutable, that no skeptic can harbor a doubt. It is not of the nature of spiritual matters and spiritual claims that they can be proved like mathematical formulas or test-tube experiments in a laboratory. If one desires to doubt, he will always find some basis for doubt. The choicest exhibit of this is with regard to the Bible itself.WBEGW 62.5

We would like to reduce the problem to this question: Is it easier to believe that Mrs. White, as a poorly educated woman, living all her life with people who largely were limited in education, gave the counsels she did simply as the result of ordinary mental effort, good guesses, and borrowings from others, or to believe that she did indeed receive visions from God? When stated in this way, we need have no difficulty in deciding how to answer.WBEGW 63.1