How sweet the sound. But what about the view?


A quick review of Amazing Grace and Reflection on William Wilberforce





Standing among the likes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as an influential Christian whose name/s are unlikely to make it into the 'top ten names in Sunday School' list, William Wilberforce, is an under-acknowledged figure in British history who changed the world through his fervent pursuit of the abolition of the slave trade.


With today's U.S. release of the movie Amazing Grace, things are changing. There was even talk this week of a Republican presidential candidate being referred to as a 'Wilberforce Republican' for the blend of conservative social positions with compassionate foreign policy.

A group of guys from our Bible study went to see the movie tonight. I thought it was quite well done, a little slow in parts but for the most part accurate to Wilberforce's life. It provided a character portrait of Wilberforce in the midst of a narrative about the slave trade. Unlike a biography, it wasn't focused exclusively on him but it gave you a fairly good grasp of his experiences as they rose and fell with the fortunes of his bill to abolish the slave trade. Christianity Today's review is a pretty good overview of the movie - both strengths and weaknesses, complete with discussion questions to think about after the movie (see it here).

I read a biography, God's Politican, a few years ago and pulled out the following quotes to give you a sense of Wilberforce's life and accomplishments.

His signature quote
God Almighty has set before me two great objects - the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners [society's morals]

A wonderful idea to keep our focus
[Wilberforce] would often spend time before a dinner party thinking out what he called "launchers," topics which would naturally lead on into deeper conversation. Among his papers was found a "Friend's Paper," marked "to be looked at each Sunday," listing thirty of his friends. Against each name stood thoughts of how best to help each to take the next steps toward a fully satisfying experience of Christ.

An interesting comment that is still relevant to politician's clamoring for the religious vote
When a profession of Religion opens the road to respect and power there is always a great deal of religious hypocrisy