Real Christianity

Although the 2006 film, Amazing Grace, has made his name a bit less foreign, most Christians still have no idea who William Wilberforce was. Some may have an inkling that he was involved in politics and did something about the slave trade in England, but this is usually where the knowledge ends. This historic ignorance of such a dynamic personality is a shame, because William Wilberforce was one of those rare individuals who understood that his own Christianity should make some sort of difference to the world around him. He knew that God had given him a sphere of influence and he further knew that not using that influence was just as sinful as using it for personal gain. Wilberforce understood worldviews and their consequences. In 1787, Wilberforce wrote this in his journal: "God Almighty has placed before me two great objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners." He believed that his conversion to Christianity in 1785 came with certain responsibilities. Unlike the emotional conversions that proliferate in our modern "churchianity," the conversion of William Wilberforce produced powerful results and corollaries. In 1797, Wilberforce’s sharp-penned polemic against the current trends (what he called "manners") within the Christianity of his own day was released to the public. Entitled A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country Contrasted with Real Christianity, Wilberforce pulled no punches and spared no one. As the title indicates, Wilberforce was shocked at the blatant disregard for Scripture within the churches and the hypocrisy that only served to weaken the world-transforming power of the Gospel. Finish reading this review here: http://christianreader.typepad.com/christian_reader/2009/02/review-real-christianity.html