Movie Review on "Amazing Grace"

The first half of this year was extremely busy for me. I was pre-occupied with many things, and now that i looked back, it was truly God's grace that brought me through everything. My only Christian works during this period were the two term papers, which i had submitted for my church history module.

What i have below is a movie review for "Amazing Grace". This movie had inspired me in many ways and will continue to remind me of my true calling in Christ. In fact, i firmly believe this is what God wants His people to do in this world:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me
to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

(Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61:1,2)

Praise the Lord!

...

“When people speak of great men, they think about man like Napoleon, man of violence, rarely do they think of peaceful man. The contrast of reception they will receive when they return home from their battle. Napoleon will arrive in prom and in power. A man who has achieved the very summit of their earthly ambitions. And his dreams will be haunted by the oppressions of war. William Wilberforce, however, returned to his family, laid his head on his pillow, and remembered that the slave trade is no more.”

Introduction
The title of this movie is adapted from the familiar Christian hymn "Amazing Grace", which was composed by John Newton (1725-1807), a penitent priest who was haunted by his past as a slave-ship captain. It was with this old hymn and many other Newton's sermons that captivated the heart of a young man named William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This animated biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and politician. Along with other slave trade abolition activists, he took up their cause and became a champion for the abolition of the slave trade. After a long twenty years fight, the British slave trade was finally abolished in 1807.

This movie review is structured in such a way to discuss the life of Wilberforce as portrayed in the show, as well as his hidden life, which was excluded from the movie. The visible portions of Wilberforce’s life include his calling, career, challenge and comeback towards the relentless fight for slave abolition. The hidden parts, on the other hand, touch on issues like his understanding of Christianity and undertaking of social reforms in England.

The Life of Wilberforce
Wilberforce grew up in a well-to-do merchant in the port city of Hull. Since childhood, he had a sickly constitution, suffering from both severe myopia and ulcerative colitis, for which opium was used for decades to ease the pain. Nonetheless, young Wilberforce grew up to possess a good temperament, an extraordinary charisma, an enchanting singing voice and a vigorous mind, as vividly illustrated in the movie.

His Calling
Young Wilberforce studied and grew up with the potential of becoming both a great politician and a strong social reformer. His close friend William Pitt recognized his natural talents and invited him to render his service to the nation together. At almost the same time, however, he also received a certain kind of divine calling to serve God as priest. Torn between politics and the church, he sought the opinion of Newton, who advised him to pursue both in the political arena. Henceforth, the calling of Wilberforce was better articulated in his famous proclamation: “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.”

His Career
In 1784, Wilberforce, then aged 21, was elected to the British House of Commons with a seat from Yorkshire. He remained steadfast to his calling of fighting for the slave trade abolition and social reformation in his country. Several years later, his close friend William Pitt became prime minister, and together they tried to introduce a bill banning slavery before the English legislature. Aided by a small band of radical thinkers, he annually presented a bill for abolition to the Parliament. The impact of his noble ambition could be best seen in the last letter of John Wesley, which was written to encourage Wilberforce to continue his good fight against the slave trade.

His Challenge
Naturally, such a major political agenda would be met with plenty of resistance, especially from those profiteers of the slave trade. But Wilberforce confronted those hurdles with relentless hard work and endless determination. In parliament, their opponents pro-slavery Lord Tarleton and the Duke of Clarence initiated a hard-fought opposition to the legislation. They argued that if the slave trade was abolished, it would be devastating to the wealth of the people. When the war with France generated patriotism in the people that makes opposition to slavery seemed seditious, Wilberforce became disillusioned.

In 1797, Wilberforce left politics due to poor health and a battered spirit. During his recuperation, he became acquainted with Barbara Spooner, a beautiful woman with progressive views. Spooner became deeply infatuated with Wilberforce, and she encouraged him not to give up on his noble goals. With her support, he gained new determination to pursue his dream of abolition and launched a second campaign to persuade England's lawmakers to end the slave trade.

His Comeback
Along with the support of his closest friend, Prime Minister William Pitt and a dedicated group of anti-slavery activists, Wilberforce waged the first modern political campaign, using boycotts, mass meetings, badges, slogans and petitions, of which 3,000 signatories were garnered.. Segmenting the abolition plan in stages, they first targeted the slave trade, in part by communicating its vices to the innocent populace. Their key strategy was to win by the will of the people. Eventually, Wilberforce and his team persuaded those in power to end the inhumane slave trade in 1807, and later secured the Slave Abolition Act in 1833, granting true freedom to the African natives.

The Hidden Life of Wilberforce
Interesting as they might sound, those were not the entire life of Wilberforce. Many other aspects of his life were missing or hidden from the movie. Henceforth, two aspects of his hidden life would be presented to rediscover and reexamine the kind of person Wilberforce was.

His Understanding of Christianity
Along with most wealthy families, Wilberforce's parents practiced Anglicanism, whose Church dogma would not interfere with their social practices. But young William, due to some family unrest, had gone to stay with his uncle for 2 years, where he began to observe and embrace a more active faith in Methodism instead. Upon his return to Hull, Wilberforce’s family was eager to dispose his newfound "enthusiasm". A few years later, however, he experienced a personal conversion which he called "the great change", which had an immense impact on his spiritual life formation. As a matter of fact, he also became the de facto leader of the new ‘Evangelical Party’, of which Newton was also associated with. Being fervent in his study of God's Word, Wilberforce began to anchor his life on solid Christian doctrines.

In one of his books entitled “Real Christianity: Discerning Truth and False Faith” , Wilberforce exposed the depressing generalization of Christianity by both Christians and non-Christians alike, leading to a terrible disparity between Christian’s faith and deed. He mentioned that many people over-simplified the teachings of the Gospel because they did not read deep enough into the Word of God. Such generalization was likened to killing the prophets mentioned in the Bible because their central messages had gone to deaf ears.

In his another book entitled “A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians” , Wilberforce argued for a more practical approach towards Christianity by all professed Christians. Some key issues liked moral standards to be in line with the biblical teachings, striving hard on secular and spiritual aspects of life, clearer understanding on the Word of God, and difference between nominal and real Christians were discussed. The following statement could help summed up his content: “… his desiring to please God in all his thoughts, and words, and actions; to take the revealed word to be the rule of his belief and practice; to ‘let his light shine before men’; and in all things to adorn the doctrine which he professes.”

As can be seen, Wilberforce continued to base his personal and public life on his deep Christian commitment, which filled him with the motivation and perseverance to advance social justice in the face of enormous obstacles. This was well-captured by historian G.M. Trevelyan when he made the following remarks about Wilberforce: “With his talents and position he would probably have been Pitt's successor as Prime Minister if he had preferred party to mankind.”

His Undertaking of Social Reforms
Besides being remembered as the liberator of African slaves, Wilberforce was also a dynamic social reformer. He engaged himself in numerous organizations, no fewer than 69, that were dedicated to improve the conditions of poor and oppressed people in and outside Britain. Amidst his busy schedule, he helped to establish schools for poor children, reform prisons, limit capital punishment, outlaw bull-baiting, reform child labor practices, assist orphans and widows, counteract widespread prostitution and much more. Such great achievements slowly began to attract many other fellow evangelicals to come forward and engage themselves in a high level of public and political discourse. People were more conscious of the society well-being as a whole, rather than their own individualism. All these and more were triggered by the tireless hands of Wilberforce and his team.

Conclusion
Metaxas observed that: “Before Wilberforce, few thought slavery was wrong. After Wilberforce, most societies in the world came to see it as a great moral wrong.” Wilberforce was, without a doubt, the father of our modern conception of social conscience. Convictions about social justice and responsibility that buttress the work of countless churches, religious organizations and nonprofit agencies find their roots in Wilberforce and the moral revolution that he led. Yet, on the other hand, Pollock reminded us that “Wilberforce proved that a man can change his times, but that he cannot do it alone.” Indeed, good social reforms need to take plenty of time and concerted team effort in order to be successful. But we do not lose heart. Let the amazing grace, that is, the life of Wilberforce continues to motivate us in all our visible or hidden aspects, so that we can pursue the greater calling placed in our life.

References
Brown, Ford K. Fathers of the Victorians: The Age of Wilberforce. Cambridge, England: The University Press, 1961.

Metaxas, Eric. Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

Guinness, Os. Character Counts: Leadership Qualities in Washington, Wilberforce, Lincloln, Solzhenitsyn. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 1999.

Hill, Jonathan. The New Lion Handbook: The History of Christianity. Oxford: Lion Hudson 2007.

Hindmarsh, D. Bruce. John Newton and the English Evangelical Tradition: Between the Conversion of Wesley and Wilberforce. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans, 2000.

Wesley, John. “Wesley to Wilberforce,” In Christian History, Issue 2, 1983.

Wilberforce, Robert Isaac and Wilberforce Samuel. The Life of William Wilberforce. Vol. 1 London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1860.

Wilberforce, William. Real Christianity: Discerning Truth and False Faith. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2003.

Wilberforce, William. A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians. London: SCM Press, 1958.


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