Amazing Grace, John Newton & William Wilberforce
Monday, February 26th, 2007Accompanied by family and friends, Teana and I attended a showing of the new “Amazing Grace” movie. We chose a time that allowed us to be in the theatre at 4:00 am London time when, 200 years ago, Parliment voted to abolish the slave trade throughtout the British Empire. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the movie I do have some concerns.
First let me say that anyone’s enjoyment of the movie will be enhanced by reading John Piper’s new 80-page bio of Wilberforce entitled, “Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce.” You can actually download the book from his website at www.desiringgod.org or buy it for less than ten dollars at Lifeway. It is a quick read and very enjoyable. Along the way, you gain a true picture of Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement. Anyone desiring a more in-depth look at Wilberforce should read read Kevin Belmonte’s ”Hero for Humanity” or Charles Pollock’s “William Wilberforce: A Man Who Changed His Times” (both available through amazon.com). Of course, “Real Christianity” which is Wilberforce’s manifest on what we call Plunge at Heritage, is essential reading for anyone who wants their Christianity to work 24/7.
But to my concern: Amazing Grace was actually written by Newton in 1773, wholly apart from any thought of the abolition of slavery. It was originally called, “Faith’s Review and Expectation,” and sung for the first time on the first Sunday of January 1773 when Newton used David’s I Chronicles 17 confession, ”Who am I?” and gave the message the same title. (You might remember that I preached Newton’s outline on the first Sunday of this year.) Both William Wilberforce and William Pitt were only 14 when Amazing Grace was written. Newton was not thinking of the abolitiion of human slavery but of spiriutal slavery. Amazed by God’s grace, he also asked himsefl, “Who am I?” Amazing Grace did become the theme song for the abolitionist cause in England but only because it was Wilberforce’s favorite song and Newton was called upon to testify before Parliment.
What I am concerned about with regard to the movie and song is that Hollywood (through well meaning Christians in this circumstance) took a spiritual truth and turned it toward a physical malady. In the 70’s-80’s this was called Liberation Theology. Marxist rebels in South America took the preaching of Catholic priests such as “the truth shall set you free” and the Bible’s teaching on the poor and even the doctrine of salvation and turned it toward revolution, the physical liberation/freedom from their governments. The same thing has happened in the Amazing Grace movie.
Although I have a deep respect for both Newton and Wilberforce, the song is not about physical liberation from human slavery but spiritual liberation from sin’s slavery. Newton was certainly grieved about his part in the African slave trade but the song Amazing Grace was mean to describe his conversation experience and the grace tha was indeed amazing to save him, an “old African blasphemer” and “slave trader” as he called himself.
Many Christians and nonbelievers will view this movie and revel in Wilberforce’s amazing endurance. They will applaud the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. But many people will fail to realize that they are still in sin and in need of amazing grace. Christians in general are not historically literate enough or spiritiually discerning enough to recognize what has happened. As such, a spiritual message (in this case, the song Amazing Grace) has once again been hi-jacked and re-directed. Any thought of man’s true spiritual condition, which the song is intended to highlight, and the grace so essential to curing man’s delimma, is altogether lost.
Nonetheless, I throughly enjoyed the move and have loved both Wilberforce, Newton and Cowper (who wrote poetry against slavery and for Wilberforce) for a long time. The movie certainly celebrates one of the most historic events in the history of the world. Great Britain abolished the slave trade in 1803 and slavery itself in 1833, preceding America by exactly three decades. Christians should continue Wilberforce’s vision by a renewed commitment to the eradication of slavery in the world today. But we must also remember that the greatest freedom possessed by anyone is freedom from sin, purchased at Calvary by Jesus Christ and provided through a grace that can only be defined as amazing.