Have you ever heard the story behind the very popular hymn "Amazing Grace"? I had heard the story behind the hymn But this song, "Amazing Grace" is also very interesting. A man named John Newton who lived in England during the late 18th-century was a slave trader. He captured unsuspecting men, women and children and sold them into slavery. The conditions on these slave ships were extremely inhumane, and John was tormented most of his life remembering his treatment of these people. When he was around 45 years of age his ship almost went down in a storm. He prayed to God and asked to have his life spared, promising to repent of his sins. He was spared and devoted his life to serving God as a preacher. He also wrote the very well known and often used hymn "Amazing Grace". An amazing story and a little side note about this movie.
The movie's main character is William Wilberforce commonly referred to as Wilber throughout the movie. As the Netflix movie jacket explains:
Based on a true story, this historical drama starring Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) tells the story of William Wilberforce, an 18th-century English politician who fought for the abolition of slavery: Despite staunch opposition, Wilberforce waged an aggressive campaign using boycotts, petitions and slogans. Director Michael Apted's (Coal Miner's Daughter) powerful film also stars Albert Finney, Michael Gambon and Rufus Sewell.
Rated PG 1hr. 51 min. 2007
See trailer here:
YouTube "Amazing Grace (trailer)"
The movie explains in the opening the situation in England:
By the late 18th-century, over eleven million African men, women and children had been taken from Africa to be used as slaves in the West Indies and the American colonies.
Great Britain was the mightiest superpower on earth and its empire was built on the backs of slaves.
The slave trade was considered acceptable by all but a few.
Of these, even fewer were brave enough to speak against it.
That's where Wilber steps in. He and a few others work very hard to do what seemed impossible. I found this true story to be very inspiring to do what you know is right even when the whole world seems to be against you. William Wilberforce was a man of conviction and had a calling on his life by the Lord Jesus. I believe we all have a calling on our lives even if it is to raise our children and be a good wife. William Wilberforce is an amazing example we can read about in our history books. The portrayal of his life was so well done in this movie. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good movie with a little education and a huge dose of inspiration.
Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way...
...but you can never say again that you did not know.
-William Wilberforce 1759-1833
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November 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Good job on your review Janet, thanks for sharing it with me. Love, mom
November 25th, 2007 at 4:52 am
I loved and highly recommend the movie too. I think the story about the shipwreck was “It is well with my soul”, though… http://schaefer-family.com/hymns.htm
November 25th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Thank you so much Mike. You are so right and we will correct that mistake. God bless you.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:04 am
After checking out the website posted above in comment number two I see that the author of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” actually did not lose his entire family. His wife actually survived.
Also I see the information I gathered about John Newton from the movie is a little different than the explanation given on this website concerning his actual conversion. Thanks again to mikec for his comment and the informative website.
October 13th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Don’t have money to buy a building? Worry no more, just because this is real to take the business loans to solve all the problems. Hence take a collateral loan to buy everything you require.