Hosea Ballou was born in 1771, and grew up in a Baptist family who believed that people were sinful, and should live in fear of a punishing God.

But when he was a teenager, Hosea started questioning the beliefs he was raised with. If God loves us, why would God want to punish us?

If God is like a father to us, what father would want his children to be punished for all eternity?

Hosea became a Universalist, and preached the good news that what God wants is for us to be happy, and to build our happiness through being kind to others.

When someone asked Ballou how God could show such grace even to people who were bad, he responded by asking: If your child falls down and gets all filthy, and you wash them and get them clean clothes, do you love your child because they are now clean, or did you clean your child because you love them?

Hosea, and Universalists to come after him, believed in a God of grace who loves everyone just as they are.