But Now I See
My wife and I had the privilege this past Friday to watch the movie adaptation of William Wilberforce’s crusade to end the slave trade in England, Amazing Grace.
The movie picks up some time after Wilberforce has already been convicted to pursue the the abolitionist movement. Though his faith is briefly touched upon as is that of John Newton, this is a Hollywould film and the faith is actually downplayed rather than portrayed as a true driving factor.
Even with the downplaying of the faith, telling the tale of Wilberforce and John Newton must at some point include reference to the faith which drove them. In one particular scene, Newton is recounting his past deeds and he says “I know one thing, I know that I’m a great sinner but Christ is an even greatest savior.”
While some criticisms focus on the fact it’s a very “white” story, let’s be honest, it focuses on Wilberforce and Newton, so it’s understandable that the brutalities of slavery are not vividly portrayed. For the tale, there was too much cleavage which is always unnecessary but all the moreso in a tale of such stalwart faith.
Even with some of the possible criticisms, it is a powerful story that is told well and is certainly recommended and convicting. The movie was done quite well as opposed to something like One Night With the King which featured forced dialogue and awkward acting and an overdone narrator. Amazing Grace’s characters were believable though quickly developed while One Night With the King features underdone characters in overdone scenes.
While Amazing Grace’s story is certianly uplifting as we see the power of perseverance for what is right, it is also tremendously convicting. Convicting that we so rarely find such stories and that they stand out as so rare when they do come along. I couldn’t help but think of John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life.
The more I think about Christianity in America, the more clever I realize that serpent of old truly is. Rather than being outright attacked, we are being lulled to sleep. Rather than facing direct persecution, we are forgetting discipline. All the while, our grasp of the truly miraculous, truly life-changing message of the Gospel is being lost in the fog of a life of ease.
The portrayal of William Wilberforce (and John Newton) convicted me personally of how little diligence I truly have in the Christian life. I claim allegiance to the kingdom of Christ yet fight so little for it. Instead, I try to smuggle my scraps of contraband sin in through the back door and pretend that they’re really not so bad. I hold my words when I know that I should speak because I don’t feel like a conflict that day or I pretend that sin isn’t really all that bad. At least my sin isn’t. After all, I’m still better than that guy over there.
Wilbeforce represents a life so gripped by the power of the Gospel that there is no choice but to act because even our dreams will convict us when we do not. Modern American Christians often worry about the perceived persecution we believe is coming our way, but we rarely stop to think that it could actually be more dangerous to the church if the persecution doesn’t come. We don’t live radical lives of faith because we feel as though we don’t have to.
Wilberforce stands as a larger-than-life reminder that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14) and a rebuke that so few of us have the discipline or diligence to make a difference for the kingdom. Though we may argue that we don’t face such blatant societal evils as slavery, ceratinly abortion is no less hideous. How is it that so many of us are willing to do so little? Such was the case in Wilberforce’s day and we stand as testimony that there is indeed nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve had a chance to see the movie.
- Watch the movie trailer
- Read Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper
- Listen to Piper’s biographical sketch of Wilberforce
- Read the article You Have Not Labored in Vain from Christian History & Biography
- Read a profile of Wilberforce also from Christian History & Biography
- Read Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
- Watch One Night With the King
I enjoyed the movie last night. My review is posted here
We had a church outing to see it on Saturday and it was enjoyable.
Yeah, far too much cleavage. What’s up with such tomfoolery?
I’m a slacker so I’m probably the only blogging pastor who didn’t comment on it, so I’ll send folks to your place instead.
It was good, not earthshaking or greatness, but I’m glad I went and I found myself convicted and inspired along the way.
In some respects it was a movie about abolition as Remember the Titans is about football.
Could Wilberforce been obsessed with getting the hated designated hitter removed from the game of baseball and had the same effect?
Perhaps not, but I did find it more about him and his dedication at times than about the evils of slavery. That may be an overstatement, and I hope not, but a few scences could have really got our ire up.
I’m not talking about sensationalizing the thing, but even the scene where the one evildoer wanted to wager his coachman was stirring and I could have used more of that so we would feel his pain/passion just a wee bit more.
Good slooge, brother.
I haven’t seen the movie, Pastor, but your post was inspiring.
“Rather than being outright attacked, we are being lulled to sleep. Rather than facing direct persecution, we are forgetting discipline. All the while, our grasp of the truly miraculous, truly life-changing message of the Gospel is being lost in the fog of a life of ease.” - Great little piece of writing there.
So I take it you didn’t like One Night With A King, huh? Ah, well, it was a chick flick to the core that happened to be about a bible story. (Yeah, I liked it.) :)
I haven’t seen this one, haven’t heard of it. But I am interested in it now. I enjoyed Luther a lot, so maybe this one too. Thanks!
We saw it as well. Nothing particularly insightful to add. Certainly inspiring, but Wilberforce’s faith (as well as that of Newton) did not taste robust. It was obvious that the actors had little experiential reality in that regard. But, that was to be expected. The “Christian” dialogue seemed somewhat trite at times.