1871 The Crisis at Ballarat J A Hamill's Letter
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Buninyong, Aug. 19,1871

Pear Brother Surber.-Thanks for your kind letter of congratulation on my endeavours to ' keep the Churches pure from the contaminating influence of annihilationists' errors."

Shortly after my second visit, finding that Brother 17. was circulating book after book among the young converts with some such caution as " don't let Brother Hamill see it ! " and that strangers, however much they liked the principles of Primitive Christianity, dreaded D. St. Church, from the report Brother M. gave of his views in a discourse after I left Ballast, I warned him before the "Deacons "and stated that if any Brother would teach " non-eternity of punishment " in the Chapel, I would publicly oppose it, as " everlasting punishment " was not an opinion, but a matter of faith,, being part of the religion of Christ. Brother M. told me he held it as an opinion and would not push it ; knowing however that he was pushing it in every way he could, without publicly teaching it, and seeing little hope, of good being done under the circumstances at D. St., sore against Brother 11's, will I came to Buninyong with a view of planting a Church there ; which would be about half-way between the Mt. Clear Church and the Durham Church, which were chiefly under the control of the Brethren at D. St. About two months after this Brother 1I. so much persisted in. teaching his dogma to some of the members of the Church at Durham, that they sent him word to the effect, that if he would come there again many would not listen to him. "M. and his men" finding that they were not wanted at the Durham again, would not take the leases and refrain from like conduct in future as wise men would have done, but commenced to circulate tracts at the doors of the chapel on their hobby. On the 24th May, while I was engaged in a public discussion with `` Rev." T. Hastie, a leading brother was publicly ; preaching his annihilation theory in the Chapel D. St. And to show you the length to a which these men go in advocating their dogma I will give you an example :-Brother' Martin and another brother pressed a man f or about three hours, the fiery afternoon before he was baptized, to believe with, theca that the wicked would " cease to exist," and when the man told them that "if the Bible was to be the guide, he could not for one moment entertain such an, idea" ; they said it would be "better for him to put off his baptism until he had read more"! !

This went on until the harmony and peace of the Church was so broken that 15 delegates appointed by the 5 Churches, viz :-Mechanics, Cardigan, Durham, 12t. Clear, and Benin•' gong, met at Mt. Clear on 21st July, 1871, and agreed to the following resolutions :­

I. "That Brethren assembled from the different Churches, are unanimously agreed that the doctrine of non-eternity of punishment is anti-scriptural, and the teaching of it is schismatical."

II. "That Brethren Fisher, Davidson, Reid, Latter, Oliver, and Hamill, wait on brethren teaching non-eternity of punishment, to ascertain whether they intend to teach it as hitherto, and if so, admonish them." `

III. " That in the event of their still persisting in teaching it, that this meeting recom­mend to the Churches to adopt Apostolic counsel, which says, ` Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid theta.'"

According to 2nd resolution the teachers of annihilation were admonished, but they re­plied that it real a matter of faith with them ;cud they would teach it ; others mould not answer and ridiculed the idea of our asking theta.

The Delegates met again at Mt. Clear on 4th of August, and unanimously recommended the 3rd resolution to the Churches which they flare acted upon. These erring brethren are confided to Dawson Street. Before I left them (for I have left them not being able to save the church, but bringing out and separating as many of the Disciples as I could) I have them+ discourse on "The State and Home of Departed Spirits from llcatlt to the lticsurrectiuit ;" the Object belllg tll ('11t !lWlty' titt~ll' ill;llll prl~p .'/r1'jUile,•1 Itllil t+lli,~1' flip 1'ht. neae of the spirit,4 uianal had ,i{trt• ~Ic,itli. 'I'hr\ • d~~n't ;u•~~pt I'aitl'e ~I~linit.oni rl as applying to tits sinner. ' four whole spirit, ~ pncunta) and soul, ll»uk~u) ;iud hudv

(soma)." At their request I delivered a discourse on `' Everlasting punishment or the wicked is part of Christianity," which they did not at all like. In this discourse I Mated the mind of the brotherhood on the subject, and showed that brethren had been excluded for teaching non-eternity of punishment, but not for holding it ; also agate u{ the `' evils I Trice spin by its teaching, " I stated as follows ;­

l, "It perverts the 'Word of God, and appeals to tic feelings to justifv it ; instead of judging all things by the spirit's teaching.

2. "It engenders a coarse and hitter spirit, brethren tivlio pu:,sessed a hind ;cud loving disposition before they taught it, afterward hccante posse>scd of the very opposite.

3, It weakens the claims of' h'hrist lay niakiug sin ,ti little ~inlul, hut nut sinful as to demand ` everlasting punishmcnt.'

4, 'It hinders conversions--11 persons wfJrc haptired iii U, fit. during ui\ • tint viiit of two months ; five months a{ttrwards, when the report eI auuiliilatiuu got nbrua( l, 1 Iaburoil for three mouths in the same place, wltett only about 1 9 were hahtized, llchultl 1)r. Thomas' success ! Men riven up to their lusts, who get to believe that lire future punish­ment will be annihilation, will naturally say, ` Let us eat ,tad drink, {or to•uturruw we die.' ;• 5. It proclaims a ;;t•uss falsehood, viz., `'Th:tit evil will cease ti cart in all bud's tWiverea' ; whereas scripture only shows that evil will cease to exist in 'tltitipy which are I31 the earth and things wlticlt are in heaven' jeven 5uppo+iu; their underst~miiing of Qvl. i. 20 to be correctl, but not things in held (yEtvvul, No l the following pas~ages :~huw tb. ati the rejecters of the Gospel, with the `1)eti•il and hiy attgels,' will he ther~; for ~~vcr--­

tt. xxv. 41-46, Rev. xr. 10."

hoping the churches throughout the eeluuiey will follow the court; we loLVc heel1, in ~1ithlulness to the :Ila.ter, compelled to take, l au+, du<<r .13ru., ti'u<<r.~ iii i'luist assn.:,


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