Hosea Ballou

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Portrait of Hosea Ballou at the Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters in Boston
Drawing of the Second Universalist Church in Boston, built in 1817 , where Ballou served as a preacher until his death

Hosea Ballou (born April 30, 1771 in Richmond , New Hampshire Colony , † June 7, 1852 in Boston ) was an American theologian and author . Ballou is seen as one of the defining figures of early North American universalism .

Live and act

Ballou was born in 1771, the eleventh child of Maturin and Lydia Ballou, in Richmond , New Hampshire . His family had Huguenot - Norman roots. His father was a preacher in a Calvinist influenced Baptist church . His mother Lydia died when he was only two years old. Like his father, Ballou saw himself as a Baptist in his youth. That changed, however, when Ballou attended sermons given by the universalist preacher Caleb Rich . In 1789 Ballou finally converted to universalism and between 1801 and 1817 was active as a preacher in various locations in the Central Atlantic states , including Portsmouth in New Hampshire (1807 to 1815) and Salem in Massachusetts (1815 to 1817). In 1817 he was pastor of the second universalist church in Boston ( Second Universalist Church ), where he served until his death in 1852.

In addition to his theological work, Ballou was also active as a journalist. He founded and edited, among others, The Universalist Magazine (from 1819) and The Universalist Expositor (from 1831, later renamed The Universalist Quarterly Review ). He wrote over 10,000 sermons and composed a number of hymns, essays, and polemical theological writings. His book A Treatise on Atonement (German: A Treatise on Atonement ), in which he represented anti-Trinitarian - Unitarian positions, exerted great influence on the universalist movement even years later. Ballou is also often referred to along with John Murray as a co-founder of American universalism. Unlike Murray, Ballou was anti-Calvinist oriented and rejected both legalistic and Trinitarian ideas, which earned him the description as an ultra-universalist. Ballou was married to Ruth Washburn, one of his children (Maturin Murray Ballou) later worked as a well-known newspaper publisher.

Web links

Commons : Hosea Ballou  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Auburn.edu: A short Essay on Universalism (by Hosea Ballou)
  2. ^ Catholicism.org: Hosea Ballou - Son of Richmond - Father of Universalism
personal data
SURNAME Ballou, Hosea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American theologian and author
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1771
PLACE OF BIRTH Richmond , New Hampshire
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 1852
Place of death Boston