Based on her writings, Ellen G. White held a firm belief in a literal, six-day creation. She viewed the creation week as the foundation for the seven-day weekly cycle and the Sabbath. Her perspective can be summarized in these key points: * **A Literal Week:** She stated that the creation week consisted of seven literal days, identical in length to the days we experience today. * "I was then carried back to the creation, and was shown that the first week, in which God performed the work of creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, was just like every other week." (1SP 85) * "Like the Sabbath, the week originated at creation, and it has been preserved and brought down to us through Bible history. God Himself measured off the first week as a sample for successive weeks to the close of time. Like every other, it consisted of seven literal days." (PP 111.1) * **Rejection of Long Ages:** White directly opposed the idea that the days of creation were long, indefinite periods of time, a view held by some to reconcile the Bible with geology. * "Infidel geologists claim that the world is very much older than the Bible record makes it... These, to free themselves of difficulties thrown in their way by infidel geologists, adopt the view that the six days of creation were six vast, indefinite periods, and the day of God's rest was another indefinite period; making senseless the fourth commandment of God's holy law." (3SG 91.2) * Regarding the creation days, she wrote: "Each of these periods Inspiration declares to have been a day consisting of evening and morning, like every other day since that time." (Ed 129.1) * **The Foundation of the Sabbath:** She saw the literal six-day creation and God's rest on the seventh day as the unchangeable basis for the Sabbath commandment. * "In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God 'rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.'" (PP 47.2) In essence, Ellen White taught that God's power accomplished the work of creation in six literal 24-hour days, and she saw any deviation from this view as undermining the authority of the Bible and the sanctity of the Sabbath.

thought 1. **Identify the core question:** The user is asking if Ellen White was aware of the theory of evolution. 2. **Initial broad search:** The first search for "Ellen White's view on evolution and the development theory" failed because `search` is not a valid tool. This is a good learning point for the model. 3. **Refined search strategy:** The model corrects its course and uses the available tools. * `egwwritingbooks` with the query "Ellen White's awareness of the theory of evolution". * `egwwritingbooks` with a more specific query "Ellen White's writings on the theory of evolution and development theory". This is a good step to narrow down the search. * `egwwritingperiodicals` with "Ellen White's awareness of the theory of evolution". This broadens the search to another category of her writings. * `egwwritingbooks` again with "Ellen White's writings on the development theory and science falsely so called". This is an excellent refinement, connecting "evolution" to the biblical phrase "science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20), which is a common way religious writers of her era would have referred to such theories. 4. **Analyze search results for keywords:** Now, I need to go through the results from the successful tool calls and look for keywords like "evolution," "development theory," "science falsely so called," "geologists," "philosophy," and concepts related to the origin of man. 5. **Synthesize the findings:** * The search results don't contain the specific word "evolution." This is a key finding. * However, they contain very strong conceptual equivalents. The phrase "development theory" is a direct hit. The phrase "science falsely so called" is also present and linked to theories about origins. * The result from `egwwritingbooks` (query: "development theory and science falsely so called") is the most direct and useful. It contains the quote: "The theories and speculations of philosophy would make us believe that man has come by slow degrees, not merely from a savage state, but from the very lowest form of the brute creation. They destroy man's dignity because they will not admit God's miraculous power." (HL 292). This is a clear description of the core concept of evolution without using the word itself. * Another key quote is: "False science is one of the agencies that Satan used in the heavenly courts, and it is used by him today. The false assertions that he made to the angels, his subtle scientific theories, seduced many of them from their loyalty." (8T 290). This shows her view on the origin and danger of such scientific theories. * The search also returned results about "infidel geologists" who "claim that the world is very much older than the Bible record makes it" and who promote the idea that "the six days of creation were six vast, indefinite periods." This directly addresses the geological deep-time concept that underpins evolutionary theory. * The phrase "sciences of satanic origin, through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ" (9T 68.1) further reinforces her position on scientific theories that contradict the biblical account. 6. **Construct the response:** * Start with a direct answer: Yes, she was aware of the concepts, even if she didn't use the specific term "evolution." * Explain the terminology she *did* use. Mention "development theory," "theories and speculations of philosophy," and "science falsely so called." * Provide the most direct quote that describes the evolutionary concept: the one from *Healthful Living* about man coming "by slow degrees... from the very lowest form of the brute creation." (HL 292). This is the smoking gun. * Provide other supporting quotes that show her rejection of these ideas. The quotes about "infidel geologists" and the world being much older than the Bible record are perfect for this. * Include her theological perspective: that these theories are of "satanic origin" and designed to undermine faith in God as the Creator. The quotes from 8T 290 and 9T 68.1 are excellent for this point. * Conclude by summarizing her stance: she saw these emerging scientific theories as a direct contradiction to the biblical account of creation and a threat to faith. 7. **Final review:** Read through the constructed answer. Does it directly address the user's question? Yes. Does it use direct quotes with proper citations? Yes. Does it accurately represent her views based on the provided search results? Yes. It avoids making claims not supported by the text and uses her own terminology to explain her awareness of the concepts.Yes, Ellen White was aware of the scientific theories of her time that proposed a developmental or evolutionary origin for life, and she wrote directly against them. While she did not use the specific term "evolution," she addressed the core concepts of the theory, which she often referred to as "the development theory," "speculations of philosophy," or "science falsely so called." Her writings show a clear understanding and rejection of the idea that humanity evolved from lower forms of life over long ages. Here are some of her key statements on the subject: * **Direct Rejection of Human Evolution:** She directly contradicted the idea that humans evolved from animals. * "The theories and speculations of philosophy would make us believe that man has come by slow degrees, not merely from a savage state, but from the very lowest form of the brute creation. They destroy man's dignity because they will not admit God's miraculous power." (HL 292) * **Critique of "Infidel Geologists":** She challenged the geological theories that proposed a much older earth than the Bible record, a necessary component for the theory of evolution. * "Infidel geologists claim that the world is very much older than the Bible record makes it... These, to free themselves of difficulties thrown in their way by infidel geologists, adopt the view that the six days of creation were six vast, indefinite periods, and the day of God's rest was another indefinite period; making senseless the fourth commandment of God's holy law." (3SG 91.2) * **Labeling as "False Science":** She identified these theories as a form of "false science" that originated with Satan to create unbelief. * "False science is one of the agencies that Satan used in the heavenly courts, and it is used by him today. The false assertions that he made to the angels, his subtle scientific theories, seduced many of them from their loyalty." (8T 290) * "Again and again we shall be called to meet the influence of men who are studying sciences of satanic origin, through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ." (9T 68.1) In summary, Ellen White was not only aware of the emerging development theories of the 19th century but also saw them as a direct assault on the biblical account of creation and the dignity of humanity. She consistently upheld the literal, six-day creation as the true origin of life and warned against the acceptance of scientific speculations that contradicted it.