Welcome to WalterRea.com
Welcome to the Walter Rea website! Walter T. Rea (June 12, 1922 – August 30, 2014) was a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pastor who served the church for over three decades. Elder Rea was a firm believer in the sect's prophet, Ellen G. White, until he discovered extensive evidence that she had plagiarized heavily from other Christian authors of her day.
Elder Rea's research began when he noticed striking similarities between Ellen White's writings and earlier works by other authors. His investigation eventually revealed systematic copying across her major works. When presented to a General Conference-appointed committee in January 1980, his findings stunned the sect's corporate leadership. Committee members—including General Conference vice presidents, seminary professors, and White Estate officials—acknowledged that "the amount of evident borrowing—including facts, ideas and wording—in the Ellen White writings is much greater than has been generally recognized by the church."
One educator called the evidence "alarming proportions." Despite the evidence, the sect's corporate leaders chose to minimize rather than openly address the plagiarism. The committee agreed "it would be impossible to ignore it or evade it," yet that is precisely what they attempted to do. Elder Rea was fired from his position later that same year.
When SDA corporate leaders concentrated on damage-control rather than a full, transparent release of Elder Rea's findings, he made the difficult decision to publish his findings in a ground-breaking book called The White Lie (1982). Over the years, many have come to appreciate Elder Rea's sharp intellect, thorough research, and his commitment to truth. The resources below by Walter Rea provide detailed documentation regarding his findings of plagiarism and corruption in the Seventh-day Adventist corporation.
