De corpo, alma e espírito: apontamentos históricos e teológicos acerca do tema santificação na obra holística de Ellen White

Abstract

The present research addresses historically the construction and development of practical and theoretical holistic theology of Ellen White bequeathed to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Ellen White lived at the time in which her country, the United States of America, were firmed while nation and died precisely when it sought the world hegemony. Thus, passing through turbulent years of Secession and incorporating the spirit pragmatic American she grew and lean on with her homeland. Self-taught, she helped to found one of the original churches of this country, the fruit of the union of heterogeneous thought of various protestant congregations. Her work stands for affirmation and experience of biblical beliefs that comprise the Adventist brazen faith. However, her compendium, extracted from thousands of pages produced over the course of seven decades devoted to church, stands out clearly the inseparable intercorrelation between body and spirit. From this paradigm, for her, these two bodies form the soul, that having body portion is deadly. This is then what is the human being: a mortal soul in search of immortality, only achieved by redeemed after the coming of Jesus, a literal event to be soon perceived - the greatest hope of the Adventist still today. In Ellen White, as should be perceived along the work, since the serene and balanced relationship between body and spirit, there is a fervent defense and at the same time thrilled attack to those who unlike this perspective taken by her Christian, call for classical philosophy. It is in the scope of this carnal theology dictated by her biblical that it must be the human being aligned. Thus, to maintain a healthy diet, doing regular physical exercises, ensure the integral education and experience the nature, configure exercises in search of full spirituality which allied to the life of piety and prayer lead to sanctification - central theme of her writings. The first chapter of the thesis analyzes historically the United States and Europe at the time of Ellen White; the second deals with the historical and social construction of the belief in the mortality of the soul - center of this work, while the third and last is the holistic whitean approach of body and spirit with views to the fullness of soul.