AMAZING GRACE

AMAZING GRACE
By Eric Metaxas
HarperSanFrancisco, 2007

Amazing Grace was an easy book to read, and one that should be a definite must read for persons interested in the correlation between Christianity and social justice.

Amazing Grace is a biography William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the British parliamentarian who championed a great many social causes during the reign of King George III. Primary among those causes was the abolition of the slave trade by British merchant ships, and the abolition of slavery itself within all British colonies.

Wilberforce took up these causes after a religious awakening, and Metaxas explains in bright detail the tepid religious convictions of the times and the ridicule and scorn that was often extended to Methodists and Quakers. His history includes more than a brief mention of John Wesley and John Newton, who both influenced Wilberforce, and Granville Sharp and Hannah More, who both worked with Wilberforce on his causes.

Other issues that received Wilberforce’s attention are briefly discussed in the book, including the legalization of sending missionaries to India, human rights issues in India, the establishment of nations governed by freed slaves (Haiti and Sierra Leone), capital punishment, and a broad assortment of issues concerning the poor. Metaxas argues that Wilberforce and his wide association of like-minded friends brought about a permanent change in British culture and philosophy.

One interesting point brought to light by my reading of this book is the democratization of England that occurred in the period after the American Revolution. Metaxas says that the abolitionists, led by Wilberforce, were in part responsible for this. He cites a petition received by Parliament signed by opponents to the slave trade. The petition had one million names, while the entire population of Great Britain was only 14 million.

One can tell from the reading that Metaxas surely enjoyed his work- the writing is filled with humor and irony. It is also slightly romanticized, but nonetheless is insightful with regards to current points of view and how certain portions of history are perceived.

The book makes a great companion on my bookshelf next to Beyond the River (Ann Hagedorn, Simon & Schuster, 2002) which chronicles the American abolitionist movement, primarily through the work of Presbyterian preacher John Rankin (1793–1886). Wilberforce seems a much more likable person than Rankin, but the two books, by chronicling the work of these two significant persons, plus others of their time and place, provide an assortment of examples of how Christians have engaged in Kingdom work.

George R. Pasley
November 5, 2007