Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou

He was, of course, trained up by the father in the belief of Calvinism ; but he had the blessing common to all the sons, that of a sound mind. When he was about twenty years of age, living at home with his father, the subject of Universalism began to attract pub- lic attention in that vicinity. Elder Caleb Rich, him- self at first a member of a Baptist church, had been brought to the knowledge of universal grace, and had planted himself in Warwick, Mass.

He raised up a band of fellow-believers in the last-named town. The Univer- salists in this and the adjoining towns came to the reso- lution to set up church discipline, and hold regular meetings. Thomas Barnes, who afterwards became a somewhat successful preacher, was converted about this time, and assisted Elder Rich in his labors.

It was finally resolved that the latter should be ordained as a preacher of the universal goodness of God, and the final holiness and happiness of all men. They had heard that a certain Mr. Murray, an Englishman, had arrived in this country, and was preaching the same doctrine at Cape Ann, and occasionally at Boston ; but they had never seen him, and they were Universalists before they had heard of him.

He was present ; and on that great occasion for it was a truly great occa- sion to the little band of which we speak he was the harbinger of good tidings. This event stirred the country all round about. Not less than three hundred persons were present at the service ; and these related the events of the day. Elder Rich con- tinued to preach in Richmond and the neighboring towns.

Is it reasonable to suppose these events could have trans- pired in the immediate vicinity of David Ballou. True, he was a member of i the church of which his father was pastor ; but it was the custom in those days for Baptists to plead that men had the right to hear and judge for themselves. He un- doubtedly read his Bible much, and pondered upon the arguments he heard from time to time. New thoughts would occasionally occur to him, no doubt ; and the result was.

A man with a mind like his never does anything in haste. He looks carefully before he advances: Such was the case with David Ballou, who, at the age of thirty-one years , avowed himself a Universalist, and commenced to preach the doctrine. After continuing in this vocation for several years, dispensing the word of truth in Richmond and the coun- try round about, Mr.

Ballou, at the age of forty, removed to a small, rough, and thinly-settled town, near the north- western corner of Massachusetts, now known by the name of Monroe ; and here he remained through his long life ; and here he died, and was buried. For many years he had so many pressing calls for his services, that he could have spent his whole time in preaching the word of eter- nal life, which would have been very agreeable to his feelings, had not the wants of a large family required his labors in a different capacity.

He received but a very small amount for his services, owing partly to his own reluctance to receive pay for his labors in the gospel, and partly to the straitened circumstances of the people to whom he preached. The brethren were not organized into societies, and the preacher obtained only what indi- viduals were disposed to give. Nevertheless, there was no long period, for thirty years or more, in which every Sabbath, as it came, did not find him before a congregation, gathered in some school-house, barn, or private dwelling, and now and then in some house dedicated to the praise of God, 2.

Frequently did he spend whole weeks together in travelling over mountains and through storms, to answer the calls made for his labors ; and returning to his home, weary in body and mind, he carried nothing to his family as the reward, but the con- sciousness that he had been forth on the Saviour's mis- sion, dispensing light to those in error, and comfort to those who were in affliction. Besides preaching much in Monroe, and in nearly all the adjacent towns, there is scarcely a town in that part of Massachusetts, nor in the southern part of Vermont, which did not occasionally hear his voice.

It was mainly through the influence which he exerted, that during the latter part of his life there was scarcely a family in the town in which he lived that had not embraced the doctrine he preached ; and the principal Universalist societies now in the south part of Vermont owe their origin to his labors ; and sev- eral preachers date their conversion from darkness to light, and their impulse to enter the ministry, to the knowledge and power which he communicated to their minds.

Moses Ballou, a very useful and pop- ular preacher among the Universalists, was his son; and the father lived several years after the son com- menced his public labors in the gospel field. He re- joiced to see the son the preacher of a doctrine that lay so near his own heart, and also to behold him occupying so high a position in the denomination to which he belonged. Nothing seemed to make an impression on his mind, until the name of his son was mentioned.

His countenance lit up with a smile, and he asked, ' ; Do you expect to see him before long? The mind finds no satisfying food here. The soul looks onward and upward for a home, and a good which it seeks in vain in the present life. This world indeed is a good one, viewed as the birth-place and temporary abode of man ; but, having enjoyed the good which God has given the sons of men on earth, I am waiting, almost with impa- tience, for the time to come when I shall exchange this old worn-out frame for the house of God, which I trust I have, eternal in the heavens.

He was a man of rare intellectual powers ; sagacious, cool, quick to see the fal- lacy of an argument, able to state his propositions clear- ly ; in fine, he was what the world would call a close reasoner. But, as a speaker, he was not eloquent. He was pure and eloquent in thought, but not in word. It is said his manner was too closely intellectual to be pop- ular with the multitude. He made as many converts, perhaps, considering the number of persons he addressed, as any other man. In his moral character he was, we had almost said, blameless. And here we may make one remark, which is certainly worthy of mention, namely, that having en- joyed great opportunities to learn the estimate which the world has set on the character of Rev.

David, like the rest, was a pure-minded man. The lines inscribed upon his humble grave-stone are truly indica- tive of his character: At this time the troubles between Great Britain and her North American colonies were fast coming to a crisis ; and this was the subject which, above all others, agitated the public mind. Rich- mond was far removed from the sea-coast, and at no time were the inhabitants put into any fear of an invasion of their town.

It was a quiet place, in which the people supported themselves by hard labor, upon a soil not nat- urally very productive. The predominant religion in New England, at the time of Mr. Ballou's birth, was Calvinism. In the view of the old Calvinistic divines, God was a sovereign, and had a right to do what He would with his own. Adam, the progenitor of our race, had sinned, and had fallen from the favor and communion of God ; and by this act he and all his posterity had become liable to all the mis- eries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

But God, who from his own good pleasure inclined to mercy, determined not to leave all mankind to perish in this state of sin and mis- ery ; and therefore, of his own grace, he selected a por- tion of the fallen race of man, and entered into a cove- nant of grace with them, to deliver them from their state of sin and misery into a state of salvation, by a Redeemer. The rest of mankind, no more guilty than the elect for all were worthy of endless condemnation , he was pleased to pass by, and ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sins, to the praise of his vindictive justice. Why God, if truly benevolent, could not have elected the whole to salvation, under the circumstances we have named, was a question that does not seem to have obtruded itself greatly upon the minds of the clergy of the times of which we speak.

But how were the elect to be saved? In the following manner: God himself assumed flesh, took upon himself the nature of man, and thus became God-man. Je- sus, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, offered himself a sacrifice for sin, and bore the punishment of the sins of the elect in his own body.

Thus the divine law was satisfied ; God could be just, and yet be the justifier of him who believed. This sacrifice, however, was for the elect only. The eternal damnation of the non-elect was just, because it was a deserved pun- ishment. This religion was the source of gloom. Some, per- haps, who believed it, could be occasionally merry, not excepting the clergy; for the horrible decree became familiar to them.

By continually preaching about it, its repulsiveness wore away, as surgeons overcome their first dread of corpses and skeletons by a continued practice of their profession. But, to the great body of those who believed it, Calvinism was, more or less, a religion of gloom. God was looked upon with terror, and even his ministers upon the earth were regarded with awe.

Few were to be saved. By far the larger proportion of man- kind perhaps ninety -nine in a hundred of those who were then on the earth were destined to sink down into irretrievable ruin. Few indeed there were who dared to question the truth of the doctrine of endless damnation. If men were permitted to question one point, they might question others ; and the clergy were more jealous of the doctrine referred to, from the fact, perhaps, that it was more prominently exposed to objections than any other.

It was regarded as an undoubted sign of unreconciliation to God for a man to deny to him the right to do what he would with his own ; and, so far from a man being at liberty to murmur against God for the endless damna- tion of the sinner, even though it were his dearest earthly friend, he was required to be perfectly willing to be damned himself, it it were God's will, for the divine glory. What right had the non-elect to complain? They would not be called to suffer anything they did not deserve ; and a poor reward was it for the elect to render to God for making them the monuments of his grace, to dispute the rectitude of his government.

The mandate of Calvinism was, "Let every mouth be stopped; the whole race of Adam are worthy of endless pains! Arminianism was but little known. The Methodists, after the form of Wesley, had not arisen in this country. The Baptists were of the same faith. They differed from the clergy of the standing order principally in the matter of baptism. There was, here and there, a clergyman of more liberal faith ; but he had to shine very cautiously with his truth. These clergymen were settled principally in the larger towns, where heresy was not so quickly seen ; and the most of them in the vicinity of Boston.

There were one or two clergymen in Boston who undoubtedly rejected the doc- trine of endless misery altogether ; but they seldom, if ever, preached upon the subject. May- hew and Chauncy. He told them that Jesus would reign until he subdued all things unto himself; that where sin aboundeth, grace shall much more abound ; that the same creature which God made subject to vanity shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God; that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive ; ' and that there shall be a restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Charles Chauncy, of Boston, a contemporary with Mayhew, and pastor of the First Church, was undoubt- edly a believer in the final salvation of all mankind. But he seldom, if ever, preached this doctrine. When he had written his large work on that subject, which he chose not to publish until some years after it was ready for the press, he was asked if Dr. Mayhew had seen it. I arn not yet ready or determined to publish it ; but, if he sees it, such is his frankness, that all the world will soon know it. Mayhew, however, preached but little on the sub- ject of the final happiness of all men ; in fact, it is not known that he ever directly declared that sentiment, except on the occasion of the annual Thanksgiving we have named.

By Alden Bradford, LL. Chauncy kept his manu- script work, on the salvation of all men, in his own house, and the secret of it locked up in his own soul with the exception that it was committed to a few literary friends , for several years. In , he sent out a pamphlet, without his name, containing extracts from various European writers of note, in favor of the salvation of all men ; and it was supposed to be a sort of forerunner to his large work, to feel out the public sentiment, and enable its author to determine whether it would be safe for him to publish that work over his own name.

If this was the intent, the doctor did not remain long in doubt.

The pamphlet was attacked, with great severity, by Drs. Eckley and Mather, of Boston, and Dr. Chauncy saw that the public feeling against the doctrine of the salvation of all men was too strong to make it proper for him, the pastor of the First Congregationalist church in Boston, to give publication to his principal work. It was not com- mitted to the flames, but was sent to England, and pub- lished, without the author's name, immediately after the close of the war of the Revolution ; but it was publicly acknowledged as his own within a year or two after it appeared.

Of all places in the United States, Calvinism had the least hold upon the people of Boston. But the country at large did not feel the influence of these clergymen, to any considerable extent, in respect to the matter of which we speak. Calvinism darkened the land. The clergymen preached it, the people supposed it true, and many went on in their sins. As to the moral conduct of men upon the earth, it was not supposed it could affect their eternal salvation in any manner.

If they were of the non-elect, they were to be damned for the sins of Adam ; and if of the elect, they were to be made happy in eternity, not on account of faith, good works, or any condition performed by themselves. As to loving God because he first loved them, or as to being led to repentance for sin by his goodness, how could any such considerations address themselves to men who believed in Calvinism?

Such is a sketch of the the- ology of our country at the time of the birth of Hosea Ballou. Universalists, as a distinct body of men, were then unknown in America. There were, it is true, occasionally individuals who avowed themselves to be believers of the final holiness and happiness of all men. Cer- tain sects of Germans in Pennsylvania, it was said, held that doctrine; and Dr. DeBenneville, a German immigrant, exercised the double vocation of a physician and a preacher, and preached it as an important part of God's message to man. At the time of the birth of Mr.

Ballou, John Murray, who was destined to hold so high a rank as a preacher of Universalism, had been in America about six months, and had not then been east of the Hudson river. There was not a man in all New England who called himself a preacher of Universalism ; and, if we except an edition of Seigvolk's "Everlasting Gospel," published in Germantown, Pa. Universalism had spread more in Pennsylvania than in any other province, but comparatively little was known of it even there.

WE come now to trace the religious education of young Mr. His father, as we have shown, was a Baptist clergyman, and was strictly Calvinistic in his opinions. He was a very affectionate parent, and he fervently desired the conversion of his children. We have no evidence that any of the children were vicious, or even mischievous or giddy ; but there were other things which weighed heavily upon the mind of the pious parent. He saw them exposed to the wrath and curse of God. He desired some evidence that they were of the elect ; he prayed earnestly that they might be con- verted, and thus furnish the assurance that they were the favored of the Lord, whom he had plucked as brands from the burning.

In his devotions at the family altar he would pray fervently for them, and sometimes, on such occasions, would call them by name. It will be recollected that all his sons had received Scripture names, with the exception of that one to whom he had given his own name, Maturin. It was not that they might turn from any habits of evil conduct to which they were addicted that he prayed, for they were addicted to none ; but that they might make their peace with God, be converted from their evil nature, and give evidence that they were not lost forever.

Whether it ever occurred to him that if they were of the elect they would certainly be brought to the knowledge of the truth in due time, we have it not in our power to say ; but it is certain that the reverend father had a very sin- cere desire for their salvation. He did not fail to impress upon their minds the im- portant truths of the gospel, as he understood them. Hosea, many years afterwards, ' ' and which doctrine he preached until near- ly the end of his public labors, my acquaintance with its various tenets while quite a youth was by no means very limited.

Owing to the pious endeavors of a parent whose affections for his children rendered him extremely anxious for their spiritual welfare, and to an early de- J- v sire of my own to understand the doctrine of Christianity correctly, I was well acquainted with the most common arguments which were used in support of predestination, election, reprobation, the fall of man, the penal suffer- ings of Christ for the elect, the justice of reprobation, and many other particulars, such as regard the moral agency of man, and his inability to regenerate himself.

Of books there were but few within his reach. We can readily perceive how a family like that of which we speak should regard the subject of religion. They were all sincere ; they believed that Calvinism was the doctrine of the Scriptures ; they had not been in the habit of hearing this disputed. Books on religious controversy were rare- ly to be met with, and perhaps never found their way into the quiet residence of the Baptist pastor in Rich- mond.

There was a peculiarity in the minds of the family. They were all of a logical cast of intellect. They looked into the reason and the nature of things. Such men generally come out right, but they proceed slowly and cautiously. There was something in Cal- vinism that was true ; there was such an adaptation of certain of its points to other points in the same system ; there was such an agreement of certain points with the well-known attributes of God, that a man of logical mind would be led to acknowledge the truth of the system, if he had not correct views of the infinite benevolence of God.

And how few were there in that day who saw the goodness of God in its fulness! The family of which we speak trusted, therefore, for a time, in Calvinism. Doubt- less the subject was often deeply considered. Hist, of Universalism," first edition, pp. They all desired to know the truth ; they all desired to understand the principles of Christianity. Universalism was but little known. In- deed, Arminianisin had but few defenders; and that system would not find favor in a family accustomed to discuss matters fearlessly and understand them clearly.

He believed sincerely in the dogmas of Calvinistic theology ; and the doctrine, in all its horrific character, he applied to himself. He was as likely as any other person to belong to the unhappy class whom God had been pleased to pass by, and ordain to dishonor and wrath for their sins. He had seen no evidence that he was one of the elect ; he had not been brought, by the influences of God's Spirit, to experience regenerating grace ; and although there was hope while the lamp of life continued to burn, he had great fears in regard to his final salva- tion.

The state of religion was, however, destined to undergo no small change in the hitherto quiet Richmond. There was a man, in the adjoining town of Warwick, Rev. He was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, in August, On arriving at the age of manhood, it became necessary for him to look up a farm in some new country ; for. He always loved religion, and, after settling in that town, he joined the Baptist church. His mind was continually exercised on the subject of religion, and it was but a year or two after he was united to the church, before he was brought to believe in the final holiness and happiness of all man- kind.

He could not conceal the light which God had shed upon his mind. He believed it was his duty to let it shine before men, that they also might be brought to glorify God. He made an open profession of his new faith ; and the consequence was that he was ejected both from the Baptist church and the society.

On the break- ing out of the Revolution, he entered the army and inarched to Cambridge ; but the duties of a soldier being onerous and disagreeable to him, he obtained a substi- tute, was discharged, and returned to Warwick. About the year , he was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry ; but, as these particulars have been described in another place, we pass them over the more slightly here. He preached the doctrine of Universalism, in Warwick, Richmond and the neighboring towns ; and by the blessing of God he was the means of bringing many to the knowledge of the truth.

He was 40 T. Of books on Univcrsalisrn there were none to be obtained ; but that which was not written upon paper was indelibly im- pressed by this man's labors upon the hearts of many of the people. Elder Caleb Rich gave the first impulse to Universalism in the northern section of Massachusetts and the south-western section of Xew Hampshire. At the time Elder Rich was ordained, young Ballou was living in his father's family, at the age of about ten years.

By the Baptists in general, the elder was re- garded as an apostate, and the sentiments which he cher- ished were denounced as the rankest heresy. Ballon, many years after- wards, ' ' how the doctrine o universal salvation affected the common rnind when it was first talked of in the vicinity where my youth was spent.

Danger- ous on account of two certain consequences: The certainty of everlasting con- demnation in the future. At that time, what is now 4 rather seldom hinted even in a low voice. Time and experience have now entirely disproved the first of the above-men- tioned consequences ; for many thousands have come into the belief of Universalism since those days, and now constitute a religious denomination, professing and prac- tising piety towards God, and good- will to mankind.

How blind are mortals to the purposes of the Almighty! How utterly ignorant was young Ballou of the important part he was to act on the stage of human life! He had been taught that God could sentence men to endless damnation, and still be just ; and when Universalism sprung up in the region where he lived, he partook freely of the common prejudices against it. He" felt that there were points in Calvinism that were capable of the fullest defence ; and this fact, perhaps, added to the influence of his father, and the position which the family occupied in the town, inclined him to regard Universalism as a dangerous heresy.

From the remarks just made, the reader will have a tolerable understanding of the state of young Ballou's mind from to Between these dates his father ceased to be the pastor of the church in Richmond, to which heJiad ministered nearly twenty years, and the charge went into the hands of Elder Isaac Kinney.

There had been a division in the church, on some subject not now fully known, and a section had broken off and formed another society, under the pastorship of Elder Artemas Aldrich. But the relations between both the original pastors and their churches were broken, and then the two united again, under the ministry of Elder Kin- ney. To this union succeeded a time of mutual zeal and engagedness ; and, as a consequence, arose what was called in those days a " reformation," but what in later times would be denominated a "revival.

Ma- turin Ballou was ordained their pastor. The next year they joined the Warren Association, and continued in connection with that body a great number of years. This church has passed through a variety of scenes, both prosperous and adverse. For a number of years they were harassed with ministerial taxes. In , they experienced a revival, by which more than forty members were added. In these churches, which had been low and in broken cir- cumstances, were refreshed by a copious shower of divine grace ; and in the course of two years upwards of a hun- dred members were added ; the two churches laid aside their bickerings and united as one ; their two former pastors were dismissed, and Mr.

Isaac Kinney was or- dained to the pastoral care of the united body. Ballou, then in his nineteenth year, found his attention turned in an unusual degree to the subject of religion, and he was one of the ' ' hundred ' ' converts referred to above. He gave a relation of the exercises of his mind before the church, was accepted, and was baptized by Elder Kinney. Ballou' s account of this interesting event of his life, written in , is as follows: At this time I became more specially attentive to the subject of religion, and thought it my duty to become a professor, and to join the church, which I did, in the sincerity of my heart, in the month of January, Universaliem, first edition, p.

He had no tincture of Arminian- ism. He believed in the sovereignty of God; that God had a right to do what he would with his own; ''that he doeth his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and that none can stay his hand, or say unto him why doest thou so: The young man was no bigot. He professed what he thought was the truth, and what he was willing to defend.

If it had not been the truth in his estimation, he would have renounced it willing- ly: He little knew, when he made this profession and joined the Baptist church, that he was to remain a member for a very short time. Let us now advert to the means by which he was brought to believe in the final holiness and happiness of all men. There were certain individuals in Richmond who had been brought to have some little knowledge of Universal- ism, from listening to the discourses of Elder Rich, whom we have mentioned.

Among them was a Mr. The elder James sometimes preached the doctrine of Universalism. Young Hosea was well acquainted with them as his fellow-townsmen ; and on the occasions adverted to they would enter mutually into conversation on the sub- ject of religion, and seek to know the truth or falsity of the points on which the Baptists and TJniversalists differed.

The young convert defended his Calvinistic tenets to the best of his ability ; and there can be little doubt that he manifested some shrewdness in this matter, and gave Calvinism as good a defence as many a man of more years and more learning could have done. There are points in that system which can be successfully defended; but those were not the points in which it differed from Universalism.

These mutual discussions had not con- tinued for any great length of time, before young Ballou saw that his teitets could be so managed by his antagonists in the argument, as to make him either acknowledge the truth of Universalism. If he said God has a right to do what he will o o with his own, they did not object, but replied, " Then of course he has a right to save them.

Why did not infinite mercy save the who],'. This gave him no small inquietude, for he never was able to derive satisfaction from sentiments which he could not defend. But that which contributed more than anything else to turn his thoughts seriously towards the doctrine of Universal Salvation, was the ardent desires he had that sinners might be brought to repentance and salvation. He found it utterly impossible to bring the feelings of his kind and benevolent heart to conform to the doctrine of endless torture ; and he was compelled to allow, either that such feelings were sinful, proceeding from unrecon- ciliation to God, or else that God, in giving them to him, had imparted an evidence in favor of the salvation of all men, the force of which he could not resist.

Ballou's account of these matters we here give in his own words: This we all know is the foundation of Universalism. There were a few in the region where I lived who believed in the doctrine of Universal Salvation, with whom I conversed. They urged, in addition to certain passages of Scripture which they thought favored the doctrine, the fact that all Christian people profess to love all mankind, and are in the constant habit of offering prayers which correspond with the love they profess.

I was unable to meet this and who occasionally heard Br. Caleb Rich hold forth that doctrine. There was also an elderly gentleman by the name of Ballou, a distant relation of my father, who also occasionally preached the same doctrine. These individuals frequently attended the Baptist meetings, and, being of my acquaintance, we often conversed on the question whether all mankind would alike be made partakers of the salvation of God. In those conversations I frequently found that my Calvinistic tenets could be managed either to result in Universal Salvation, or to compel me to acknowledge the partiality of the divine favor.

This gave me no small inquietude of mind, as I was always unable to derive satisfaction from sentiments which I could not defend. That which more than anything else contributed to turn my thoughts seriously towards the belief of Universal Salvation, was the ardent desires, with which I found myself exercised, that sinners might be brought to repentance and salvation. I found it utterly impossible to bring the feelings of my heart to con- form to the. As yet I was, like young converts in general, very little acquainted with the Scriptures.

But the trials which I was then undergoing led me to examine the written word, to satisfy myself on the great question which had such weight on my mind. On reading the Bible, there would now and then, here and there, a passage appear to favor the doctrine of universal and impartial grace. But all the prejudices of my early education, in these things, were arrayed against my making any advances.

But as yet he was like young converts in general, slightly acquainted with the Scriptures. He was led by the conversations we have named to read the Bible, as he says, with intense interest, and with special reference to the question whether it taught the final holiness and happiness of all men. It is to be supposed that he sought aid from his reverend father in these inquiries ; but his mind was so capable of forming its own judgment, that, while he would pay the most respectful deference to what the parent might say, and give it a full degree of considera- tion, he would not believe, nor profess to believe, any alleged truth, unless the evidence satisfied himself.

On reading the Bible, a passage would occasionally strike him which seemed to teach the doctrine of Universalisni ; and other texts, if not seeming to assert the doctrine literally, still gave such descriptions of the character of God, of his tenderness as a Father, of the freeness, ex- tent and enduring quality of his mercy, of his knowledge of the feebleness of man, whose exposure to tempt- ation could not but palliate human guilt in the sight of a just and holy God, - - such texts undoubtedly made an impression upon his mind. Shehane, dated Boston, Sept. Education does, in the nature of things, have a great influence upon a man.

It has formed his mind ; it has established his habits of thinking ; it has supplied the information he possesses. Young Ballou had been educated in Calvinism, under the eye and charge of a preacher of that doctrine, to whose pulpit labors and private instructions he had always listened. He had heard the word of God explained in agreement with it. Those parts which were thought to favor it had been kept uppermost in his mind, and those which teach the doctrine of Universalism were unknown to him until now. Under these circumstances, he could not be in haste to embrace Universalism.

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No man with a mind like his would proceed hastily ; he had much to unlearn ; and he was not unlike a man walking in darkness, with false views of his position and of the objects by which he is surrounded. A beam of light breaks in upon him, shining sufficiently to lead him to suspect that objects do not exist in the precise form in which he had been ac- customed to contemplate them ; but still the light is indistinct, the beams are refracted by the obliquity of his thoughts ; and he is not able to determine precisely where he is, nor what are the circumstances by which he is surrounded.

It was in this state of mind that young Mr. Ballou left his native town, and went a journey, in company with his brother Stephen, to the central part of the State of New York, then almost an utter wilderness, to a town called Westfield. Stephen had joined the Baptist church a short time after Hosca ; and, from what he had seen before leaving home, or from the conversation in the course of the journey, he became quite fearful that Ilosea was inclining towards the doctrine of Universalism.

In the town we have named there was a Baptist congregation, under the pastoral care of a certain Elder Brown, on whose ministry the two brothers attended. Stephen made known to Hosea his fears that he was verging towards Universalism, and urged him to hold a conversation with Elder Brown, in the hope, no doubt, that by the elder's arguments the young man's mind might be diverted from the dangerous doctrine to which he seemed inclined. No objection being made, a conference was appointed after divine service on the Sabbath day, that Hosea might be fully convinced Universalism was not of God.

Whether the conference was private, or whether such members of the congregation as desired were present, we have not the means now of knowing ; but Elder Brown and Hosea met. The elder felt the dignity of his position, and entered upon the work with no lack of confidence. He called upon the young man to bring forward any passage of scripture which he thought proved the doctrine of Universalism, and the folly of applying the passage to such a purpose should be clearly pointed out.

The young man knew where some of the proof-texts were to be found, and he turned at once to Romans 5: The verse referred to is as follows: The elder proved, not that the passage was consistent with partial election and reprobation, for that was impossible ; but he showed that he himself did not appreciate the argument, and that he thought he could supply with strength of voice what he lacked in understanding of the Scriptures.

In the intervals, when young Mr. Ballou could get an opportunity to speak, he would suggest to the elder that the most of what he had said had no relation to the text ; and. This argument evidently confused him, and he became displeased. He could no longer converse in a right spirit, and the conversation was very properly discontinued. Ballou an account of his conversion to Universalism, and the means that led to it. It appeared in , in the work just named. We here give another extract: The effect of this interview must now be traced. Stephen Ballon became still more alarmed.

In this town there was a Baptist church and congregation, enjoying the pastoral labors of Elder Brown, on whose ministry we attended. My brother was apprehensive that my mind was inclined to Universalism; and told me that he had a desire that I should converse with Elder Brown on the subject, by which means he hoped I should become fully convinced that the doctrine was false, and be more settled in the belief in which I had made profession.

It must be here understood that I was, by no means, at that time, settled in my faith. There was, at my brother's request, a conference appointed, after public service, on the Sabbath, for Elder Brown to convince me that I ought to give no heed to the doctrine which labored in my mind. The Elder requested me to turn to some passage of Scripture which appeared to me favorable to Universalism, promising to do his endeavors to show me the error of applying it in favor of such a doctrine.

I well remember the apparent confidence which this man manifested when he took his seat, and called on me to find some scripture that in the least favored BO dangerous an error. I opened to the 5th chapter of Romans. I had read this chapter with much attention, and was tolerably acquainted with its several parts and their relation to each other. I directed him to the 18th verse; and told him that I was unable to understand the pas- sage, if it agreed with the doctrine of the eternal reprobation of any of the human family.

He immediately began, in his way, to speak very loudly, and nothing to the subject. He was probably an undoubting believer in Calvinism at the time. He became more uneasy in consequence of the interview, and confessed to Hosea that he was sorry it had taken place. His reasons were these: Hosea undoubtedly saw, even with more clearness than Stephen, that the Elder could not explain the passage consistently with the doctrine he preached.

He saw, too, no just way in which he himself could interpret it, without allowing the truth of Universalism. Still he was " as he could by no means answer you, and as he manifested anger, you will think you had the best of the argument, and will feel encouraged to indulge favorable thoughts of Universalism. As to this Elder Brown, I ain far from wishing to represent him in an unfavorable light. I believe he was a worthy man. But it is a fact, that he was extremely ignorant of the subject, having had, as I presume, no acquaintance with the views of Universalists, or with their manner of arguing.

I continued my researches with no small solicitude; and, by reading the Scriptures, and by conversing with those who opposed the doctrine, before I returned the next fall to Richmond, my mind was quite settled in the consoling belief that God will finally have mercy on all men. On my return, I found that my brother David Ballou, whose age is some over twelve years advanced of mine, had not only openly professed Universal Sal- vation, but had commenced preaching the doctrine.

I spent most of my time with him until the fall before I was twenty-one, when I began to speak in public, believing and preaching Universal Salvation, on the Calvinistic principles of atonement and imputed righteousness. He continued his researches with no small solicitude, and these researches were solely devoted to ascertain what the Scriptures taught on the great question of the final destiny of man.

The two points presented to his understanding were these: Has God reprobated a part of the human race to endless death? He had in his possession no book on theology except the Bible ; this was his sole guide. There were no other books in that day. He had never heard a sermon upon the subject, if we except one preached by Elder Rich, when Hosea was a boy. He read it with a very strong desire to know the truth. His brother probably mentioned to the neighbors, and perhaps to some of the members of the church, that Hosea was inclining to a belief in Universalism.

Some came to converse with him, and to save him. Nor had I ever heard a sermon on the subject, except when in boyhood I heard Br. Rich; but concerning the sermon I realized nothing. Anything which served to keep Hosea's mind exercised on the subject, would almost inevitably help him along to the conviction that seemed now to be almost inevitable. The passage from the 5th of Romans, which was the subject of consideration between Elder Brown and young Mr. Ballou, is in fact one of the most explicit and positive proof-texts of Universalism found in the Bible.

It is an evidence of the young man's clear perception, that he selected this as one of the texts which it is im- possible to reconcile with the Calvinistic decree of repro- bation to endless death. He soon came to see that it did, beyond any doubt, teach the doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all men ; and from that moment, as long as he lived, he never saw occasion to alter his opinion of the passage in this respect.

Writers of the highest note have allowed its force. The same many that were made sinners, Paul declares shall be made righteous. Macknight is to the same purport, as the reader will see by what follows: Ballou knew nothing about these authors ; for, as we have said, he got no hint in favor of Univcrsalism from any book except the Bible. That was his theological library. He read it more and more. He sought for its true meaning as for hidden treasure. Whatever it taught, he most devoutly held to be truth. Hosea Ballou became not a Universalist from choice.

His religious education was against such a conviction. He had been educated to regard the doctrine as a fatal error. Such, as we have shown, was the general im- pression respecting it in the town in which he lived, especially among those with whom he was most likely to have associated. He could not readily throw off the belief that there was great danger in becoming a Universalist.

No doubt he rejoiced to see evidence accumulating in his mind that all men were the objects of divine favor, and might eventually be saved. There was not a tittle of misanthropy in him. He had no pharisaic spirit which leads men to complain if others are permitted to participate in the joys to which they them- selves aspire. But, such had been his education, he was almost afraid to become a Universalist.

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In closing one of his works, published in , he said, "You have now, kind reader, cast your eye over these pages: The time has been when I believed as little of the doctrine as you now do ; I never adopted the belief of universal holiness and happiness out of choice, but from the force of real or supposed evidence. He had been honest in all his movements in the matter of religion. He was honest when he offered himself a candidate for admission to the Baptist church. His attention had been specially called to the subject of religion; and, like Saul, he asked, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

He determined to be a disciple and servant of Jesus. When he became a Universalist, it was not from any change of determination in this respect. It was not because he lost his interest in religion. He loved his God. He gave himself up to the in- fluences of truth. The great question which he had to settle was, Is the doctrine of Universalism revealed in the Scriptures.? If so, he desired to know it, because he desired to know the true sense of the word of God: In exercises of mind like these, and in close study of the word of God, young Mr.

Ballou spent the summer of It will be seen that the argument by which he was converted to Universalism was, 1st, the scriptural argu- ment. It is true, men differed in their interpretations of the Scriptures ; but what they believed to be the true sense of the sacred writings, was truth above all con- troversy. Ballou saw that the doctrine of the despised Universalists was clearly taught in God? Like Paul, he " conferred not with flesh and blood. When Simon Peter avowed his faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Master said to him, " Blessed art thou, Simon, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

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So Hosea Ballou received the doctrine which he was thus brought to believe, from God. He studied the divine word ; the holy Spirit opened the truth to his understand- ing, and he received it. Like seed sown in good ground, it brought forth abundant fruit in him. The moral argument also had much weight with the young man.

He found himself possessed with very strong desires for the salvation of all his fellow-men. W T ho gave him these desires? Was it wicked for him to entertain them? Surely, it could not be offensive to God for a man to desire the conversion and purification of every sinner. Could a man be god-like who shut his ear to the cry of mercy? It seemed then to Mr. This being settled in his mind, he found it difficult to believe that God had decreed the endless torture of a large portion of the human race. If He had made such a decree, He seemed to stimulate men into unreconciliation to his own will, by planting desires in their hearts for the salvation of all.

Tlje two arguments combined the scriptural and moral expelled from his mind every doubt of Universalism. He came back to Richmond a convert to the new and strange doctrine. We have never heard that his aged and pious father felt any diminution of affection towards him on account of this change in his faith. In some cases parents have disowned their children, and driven them from their presence, for that reason.

But the father of Hosea was a very discreet man, as well as a very affectionate parent. There have been many reports of incivilities showed by the father to the son in conse- quence of his conversion to Universalism. But none of these are true. Whatever the father may have thought concerning this matter, he never made it the cause of alienation. Little did those know him who supposed him capable of rudeness, or of any conduct inconsistent with his character as a kind and faithful parent. Hosea' s brothers and sisters still continued to love him.

It would have been difficult to find a family that excelled this in the warmth of affection which the different members cherished towards one another. But there was one brother who received Hosea on his return with special interest ; we mean David. There was a difference of twelve years in the ages of the two. David was a man of sound mind. He had it in his power to render much assistance to Hosea ; and, on the latter showing a disposition to avail himself of his instruction and advice, he received him to his house. This, was an opportunity for improvement not to be lost.

The young man must have seen this fact too clearly to permit himself to let it pass by, without deriving from it all the advantage in his power to obtain. David had few books.

Catalog Record: Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou | Hathi Trust Digital Library

They were scarce, then, in that region, even in the houses of the rich ; but he had the Bible. He was a man of deep thought and sagacity, a student of the Scriptures: Hosea, as yet, probably had no intention of becoming a preacher. It is possible the thought had never entered his mind. But he was a student of the Scriptures ; he had been brought up in a religious family ; he had had his attention specially turned to the subject of religion, and had made a public profession, received the ordinance of baptism, and united with the church.

He was an ardent lover of mankind. He desired to have them de- livered from their errors and their sins. He loved the truth. He desired to have the eyes of his understanding opened, that he might see the truth in all its harmony, and feel its full influence upon his soul.

His father was a clergyman ; his brother Maturin had been a preacher. Benjamin, the eldest brother, had sometimes preached as a Baptist, and David had commenced to serve his day and genera- tion in the same manner, as a Universalist. Besides these, there was an elderly man in Richmond, a Mr.

James Ballou, who occasionally preached the doctrine of Universalism. What was more natural, under these cir- cumstances, than that it should seem to the young man his duty to enter the ministry, if possessed of the talents requisite to make him useful in his Master's cause 7 If it was the will of God that he should preach the gospel, he would not decline.

He desired to know his duty, and to perform it faithfully. We have said that he returned to Richmond from New York, and entered the family of his brother David ; but yet not having formed the determination to devote his life to the proclamation of the gospel. He had great doubts whether he possessed the requisite ability.

Books on divinity he had scarcely read at all ; books on Uni- versalism he had never seen, if we except the Bible. In fact, there were no such books in that part of the country where he lived. There was only one sense in which he was a student of divinity. He had a natural propensity for investigation. He was never content to look only on the surface of things ; he must know the wherefore. It was impossible for him to throw 7 off this state of mind and these propensities.

He could not believe any doctrine merely because others believed it. He had, perhaps, as much confidence in his father as an honest man, as in any man living ; but he knew that even honest men might be in error ; and he could not believe the doctrines which 68 LIFE OF H'i-i: Such was Hosea Ballou at nineteen years of age. The theological school which he attended was at his brother David's house ; his text-book the Bible, and the Bible only ; but of teachers, if we except his brother, he had none.

He gave himself up wholly to the influence of truth. He opened the windows of his mind, and said, li Shine in upon my soul, thou Sun of righteousness! But, if Gotf had designed him for a preacher, he had no doubt that he should succeed. SOON after it was known that young Mr. Ballon had embraced the doctrine of Universalism, he was excom- municated, in due form, from the Baptist church. It was for his faith, and this only, that he was rejected. To be cast out of a church for such a reason, is no dis- grace.

In our day, the fact of a person believing in the doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all men, would not of itself be regarded a cause for excommunica- tion, unless he should make himself particularly obnoxious by a disputatious spirit, and by attempts to press his opinions upon others.

Catalog Record: Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou | Hathi Trust Digital Library

But, at the time Mr. For, if such a doctrine should prevail, the flood-ir: The great barrier against the flood of wicked- ness, was the public belief in the terrible consequences that awaited the sinner in the eternal world. The church did not excommunicate Mr. Ballou for anything vicious that he had done. They found no fault with his life ; neither could they, for it had been pure.

They had known him from his birth ; and, in notifying him of the act of excision, they assured him it was not done on account of any sins of which he had been guilty, but for the reason, solely, that he believed in the salvation of all men. No church on earth, even though we regard it to be a branch of the church of Christ, has power to eject a member from Christ's church, for which he gave himself a ransom. Ballou, there- fore, did not regard himself as being an excommunicate from the church of the Great Head. He knew he was no less a Christian than before. He had no ill-will towards his brethren of the Baptist church.

Universalism, first edition, p, 43G, note. He knew they were obliged to cut him off from their church, according to their own views of right, and he knew they did it without inflicting any pain upon him which it was pos- sible for them, under these circumstances, to avoid. It was in the month of September, , that young Mr. Ballou made his first visit to the General Convention of Universalists. This body had been organized in , at Oxford, Mass. Its sessions had been annually holden in Oxford, Boston and Milford, to wit: This would bring it to Oxford again in The statements here made rest on conjecture, so far as the years , , and are concerned: Ballou, we have said, was present.

He had not then preached. He was twenty years of age, and went down from Richmond in company with his brother David. It was on this occasion he saw, for the first time, the Rev. In the vast state of New York there was not at the time a single resident preacher of that faith. It is a remarkable fact, that from this meeting Mr. Ballou con- tinued regularly to attend the annual sessions of the Convention, without missing even one, for nearly half a century.

Hosea Ballou

There are no records preserved of the session of It is probable that Mr. Ballou was unknown to all the preachers present, except his brother David. Even to himself, it was not then fully known that he should devote his life to the proclamation of divine truth. He saw that the Bible taught the doctrine of universal grace ; he was willing to devote himself to the cause ; but he had doubts as to his ability to render himself successful and useful in the work. He had no desire to be a cumberer of the ground ; but he was willing to fill any position for which he was competent.

It was in the fall of that he preached his first sermon. His brother David, and Elder Rich, were of the opinion that it would not be improper for him to make the trial. We have not been able to learn that he had made any special preparation for the humble effort. The service was holden at the house of a Deacon Thayer, of Richmond, who was, in all probability, a believer in Universalism. The text was from 1 Cor. J ' Some little interest existed to hear the young man, and his brother David and the elder above named were both present.

The result as to the two last named was, that their minds were about equally balanced on the question whether he would finally be able to succeed as a preacher. This was the only circumstance that the venerable man could remember in his old age concerning his first discourse. The second time, said he, ': Iwas much more unfortunate, if possible. Lydia died when Hosea was two years old.

Hosea's education was meager, his father teaching him the rudiments. He then studied for a short time at a local school formed by the Friends, and later for a few months at the Chesterfield Academy. In his teens, Ballou, a Calvinistic Baptist like his father, was confronted by the challenge of the message of universal salvation, preached in the area by Caleb Rich and others. He found utterly convincing St.

Paul's statement, "Therefore as by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Christ] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life" Romans, 5: Ballou began preaching in , as an itinerant in western Massachusetts and Vermont, which he combined with teaching school to eke out a meager living.

Arguably, Ballou had the most dramatic ordination among Universalists. At the convention held at Oxford, Massachusetts, in , he was in the pulpit with the noted preacher Elhanan Winchester and Joab Young. At the conclusion of his sermon, without warning, Winchester held the Bible against Ballou's chest, crying out, "Brother Ballou, I press to your heart the written Jehovah! Ballou was to receive a more formal ordination, when he began his ministry among the "Sister Societies" in Barnard, Woodstock, Hartland, Bethel, and Bridgewater, Vermont, in They were married in and became the parents of thirteen children, nine of whom survived infancy.

During Ballou's ministry as an itinerant, he was heavily influenced by the radical thinking of Ethan Allen, the Vermont Green Mountain Boy and American Revolutionary hero, who published Reason the Only Oracle of Man , , a rollicking attack on orthodox Christianity. Although not accepting Allen's Deism, Ballou was pleased by his belief in universal salvation, and was persuaded by his argument that the Scriptures must be read in the light of reason. Applying this principle, Ballou, like Allen, rejected the doctrine of the trinity, and, as early as , preached Universalism on a unitarian basis.

In A Treatise on Atonement , , Ballou put great stress on the use of reason in interpreting the Scriptures. The core of the book, as the title implies, was Ballou's reformulation of the doctrine of atonement. As finite creatures, he argued, human beings are incapable of offending an infinite God. Therefore, he rejected the orthodox argument that the death of Jesus Christ was designed to appease an angry God, and replaced it with the idea that God is a being of eternal love who seeks the happiness of his human children.

It is not God who must be reconciled to human beings, but human beings who must be reconciled to God. Ballou was convinced that once people realized this, they would take pleasure in living a moral life and doing good works. To those Calvinists who had modified the orthodox view of atonement as a ransom, replacing it with the notion that Christ died to uphold God's law, or for his glory, Ballou responded that God's reputation needed no such enhancement.

The Treatise was written in the pungent, down-to-earth, homespun style of the hill country from which Ballou came, with many flashes of humor. In rejecting the trinity as unscriptural and against reason, for instance, he likened it to belief in "infinity, multiplied by three. It is notable that it reflects the unitarianism which Ballou was propagating in the young denomination. Ballou took up his first settled ministry, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in His support of President James Madison's embargo in the War of alienated the shipowners in his congregation.

Despite that fact, when the church learned he was contemplating a move to Salem, Massachusetts, it sought to persuade the church there to withdraw its call. Ballou, however, moved on to the Universalist church in Salem in Having earlier resisted the lure of Boston, not wishing to offend John Murray at the First Universalist Society, with the latter's death in , he accepted a call to the newly-formed Second Universalist Society, being installed in its new building on School Street on Christmas day, Aside from A Treatise on Atonement , what established Ballou's strong influence on the young denomination was his publication of a weekly newspaper, the Universalist Magazine , established in His grandnephew, Hosea Ballou 2d , and Thomas Whittemore joined him on the editorial staff in Its columns contained vigorous defenses against the calumnies of the orthodox Congregationalists, Unitarians, Methodists, and other opponents, and provided the denomination a vehicle for ministers and laity alike to express their ideas, to report news of developments, as the movement spread, and, of course, was valuable in the recruitment of new members.

Ballou's newspaper continued until , when it was absorbed into the Trumpet and Universalist Magazine , edited by Thomas Whittemore. His editorial work was not at an end, however, for, in , he and Hosea Ballou 2d created a scholarly journal for the denomination. The Universalist Expositor was short-lived, it ceasing publication after the second volume. Ballou's debate with his friend Edward Turner on the question of future punishment, published in the Gospel Visitant in , caused controversy that continued in the denomination for many years.

The Gospel Visitant , a journal created by Ballou and his ministerial colleagues in in order to discuss theological issues, had been for several years defunct, but was revived in order to air the debate. Turner defended the common understanding among Universalists that there was a limited period of punishment in the afterlife, after which souls would be ushered into heaven.

Appealing to the stories of the patriarchs of the Old Testament as proof, Ballou adopted the radical position that human beings are rewarded for good behavior, or punished for their misdeeds, in this life. At death they are transformed by the power of God's love as they enter eternity. Ballou's interpretation, labeled "Ultra Universalism," or "Death and Glory" by his opponents, was largely responsible for the Restorationist controversy.

This was the occasion for the publication of the second most important of his several books, An Examination of the Doctrine of Future Retribution , During the course of his several ministries, Ballou engaged in controversy, both oral and in print, with many foes. Aside from the Restorationist Controversy, the most notable of his debates during his years in Boston was with the leading Unitarian minister, William Ellery Channing.

1. The war of tears.
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4. Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou: Maturin M. Ballou: www.newyorkethnicfood.com: Books.

Channing first came to his attention with his sermon, "Unitarian Christianity," delivered at the ordination of Jared Sparks in Baltimore in Ballou published long extracts from the sermon in the Universalist Magazine.