UNIVERSALISM. 



723 



known as "Rellyism," he was then urged to become a 

 preacher of the new faith, but declined. After the 

 death of his wife he emigrated, hoping that he might 

 bury himself in the wilderness. But after resisting l>y 

 every means the solicitations of Mr. Potter, he con- 

 sented to preach in the house which the latter had 

 built in the confident expectation of a preacher whose 

 views corresponded with his own. Murray at first 

 thought he would spend his days as a kind of private 

 chaplain to his new-found friend and his iuimediate 

 neighbors. But people flocked to hear him from miles 

 around. He says: " Solicitations, earnest solicitations, 

 poured in from the Jerseys, from Philadelphia and 

 from New York; and it became impossible to with- 

 stand their repeated and imposing energy." He en- 

 tered upon a series of missionary journeys which car- 

 ried him as far north as Portsmouth, N. II. As early 

 as 1773 he had made several visits to Rhode Island, 

 preaching to large congregations' in Newport. East 

 Greenwich, and Providence. He formed life-long 

 friendships with Gen. Nathaniel Greene and other 

 distinguished Rhode Island patriots. 



Mr. llelly held that the atonement was complete. 

 All men had fallen in Adam, through "union" with 

 him had actually participated in his transgression, and 

 therefore merited damnation. But in like manner all, 

 through "union" with Christ, the second Adam, had 

 entered into the atonement. Their redemption, though 

 not their salvation, was complete. Murray accepted 

 this doctrine without qualification. Supposing him- 

 self to be entirely alone in his views on this continent, 

 lie did not make formal announcement of them, but 

 confined his expression entirely to the language of the 

 Boriptoraa, Hence his deviation from orthodoxy for 

 some time was not suspected, and churches of the 

 standing order were freely opened to him. But as 

 men came to have a clearer understanding of his 

 opinions he encountered opposition. While preach- 

 ing in Boston in 1774 his life was threatened. Visit- 

 ing Gloucester, Nov. 3, 1774, he found several persons 

 Who had read Relly's Union, and were thoroughly in 

 accord with its teachings. Being invited to settle in 

 Gloucester, he accepted, and barring the term of his 

 chaplaincy in the army, resided here until his removal 

 to Boston, in 17'Ji!, where he remained until his death. 

 Through Murray's influence a number of societies were 

 established in different parts of the country. Amoni: 

 his associates in the work of the ministry may be men- 

 tioned Adams Strccter, Caleb Rich. Edward Mitchcl, 

 George Richards, a man of lofty eloquence and literary 

 power; Walter Ferris, Elhanan Winchester, and Hosea 

 Ballou. 



Mr. Ballou exerted a greater influence than Murray 

 upon the Universalist denomination and theology. 

 He was born in Richmond, N. II., April 30, 1771, of 

 Baptist parentage, but before he was 18 years old he 

 had become persuaded that the Scriptures taught that 

 the grace of God is universal, and a few years later he had 

 east aside the commonly received notions of the Trinity, 

 and the atonement. After being ordained to the min- 

 istry in 17'J4 his settlements were Dana, Mass. ; Bar- 

 nard, Vt. ; Portsmouth, N. II. ; Salem, and Boston. 

 In the autumn of 1798 he supplied Mr. Murray's pul- 

 pit for ten weeks. "On the last day of his minis- 

 tration he gave a very frank and clear explanation 

 of his new views touching Christ arid the atonement." 

 The occasion is historic. It marks a new departure 

 in the Universalist theology of the period. From that 

 time every vestige of Calvinism was swept out of the 

 Universalist faith. In 1 804 Ballou published Nntex 

 on the J'anilj/i's of the. New Testament, and in 1805 

 his Treatise on the. Atonement. Horace Greeley and 

 others have called this the most remarkable book of 

 the century. It was remarkable, if it be remembered, 

 that a voung man without formal education, unac- 

 quainted with the literature of theology, without com- 

 mentaries, with nothing but the English Bible, had 

 substituted the moral for the legal view of the atone- 



ment, and produced a system of theology, with Christ 

 as the mediatorial agent for bringing the moral uni- 

 verse into voluntary subjection to the power and love 

 of God. His theology, however, has never been 

 wholly acceptable to the Universalist body. He held 

 an extreme view of the Divine sovereignty which gave 

 an Antinomian tinge to his teaching. His theory 

 that "the Scriptures begin and end the history of sin 

 in flesh and blood, and that beyond this mortal exist- 

 ence the Bible teaches no other sentient state but 

 that which is called by the blessed name of life and im- 

 mortality," gave rise to the Restorationist movement, 

 and led many to feel that the Universalist view of sin 

 is superficial and frivolous. Yet, under his influence, 

 the denomination had a phenomenal growth. People 

 flocked in multitudes to hear his messages, and he 

 drew into co-operation with him men whose intellect- 

 ual gifts were only inferior to his own. Mention 

 should be made of Walter Balfour, whose examina- 

 tion of the meaning of the terms Sheol, Hades, Tar- 

 tarus, and Gehenna, led to interpretations which have 

 now been accepted by the foremost scholars and Bib- 

 lical critics of the Protestant world ; Thomas Whit- 

 tlemore, an unrivalled controversialist, and Lucius R. 

 Paige, known by his books, Selections from Emiiifiit 

 Commentators, and Commentary of the New Testa- 

 ment. The historical outline of Universalism would 

 not be complete without reference to two other men, 

 who, though belonging to a later generation, were con- 

 temporaries of Hosea Ballou in the formative period 

 of the denomination. The first is Hosea Ballou, sec- 

 ond editor of the Unieenalilt Quarterly Magazine, 

 from 1844 to ISO I, and the first president of Tufts 

 College; a scholar of the first rank. The second is 

 Thomas J. Sawyer, the dean of Tufts Divinity School. 

 To these two men the denomination is indebted for 

 the shaping of its theology, and for the educational 

 impulse which has been a conspicuous feature of its 

 later history. 



The General Convention, at its session in Winchester, 

 N. H.. in 1803, adopted the following : 



I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old 

 and New Testaments contain a revelation of the 

 character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final 

 destination of mankind. 



II. We believe that there is one God. whose nature 

 is love ; revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one 

 li'jly Spirit of graee. who will finally restore the 

 whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness. 



III. We believe that holiness and true happiness 

 are inseparably connected, and that bejievers ought to 

 be careful to maintain order and practice good works, 

 for these things are good and profitable unto men. 



This profession has remained the only test of fellow- 

 ship until the present time. There is, however, a 

 large and increasing minority who object to it on the 

 ground, first, that the last clause of the second article 

 seems to imply the doctrine of the fall of the race 

 through the transgression of Adam ; and secondly, 

 that the third article is utilitarian in its philosophy. 

 A committee has been appointed by the General Con- 

 vention to consider (lie matter of revision. 



lliiiti/. Universalists originally for the most part, 

 were drawn from the Congregationalists. Accord- 

 ingly the polity of the church has Congregational feat- 

 ures. In the individual churches the people have the 

 controlling voice in settling ministers and directing 

 parish affairs. The parishes are organized into con- 

 ventions confined to the limits of the several States, 

 the General Convention being over all. The State con- 

 ventions are composed of the clergymen in fellowship, 

 and of lay delegates chosen by the parishes. Discip- 

 line is in the hands of a committee of fellowship, ap- 

 pointed by each convention. The General Convention 

 is a delegate body, meeting, after 1889, biennially. 

 Delegates, clerical and lay, in certain definite propor- 

 tions, are chosen by the State conventions. It is also 

 a corporate body, having a board of trustees, who 



