Movie: Amazing Grace

For your interest: (I got this from a friend)

A new movie came out last week called Amazing Grace. It is based on the life of William Wilberforce, the son of a wealthy businessman and most known for his efforts to end the slave trade in Britain.

William's dad died when he was only 9 years old and he was sent to live with an uncle and aunt who influenced him towards Christianity. Having little interest in returning to the family business, at the age of 21, he was elected to the British Parliament and began a career in politics. At the age of 26, Wilberforce underwent a spiritual encounter and committed his future life and work wholly in the service of God. The impact of this decision was that the course of his nation was changed -- and the world.

William Wilberforce was one of the most amazing figures in British history. He wrote a book on his "Practical View of Real Christianity" in which he set out to contrast the belief system of a specific group of professing Christians in his day to what he considered real Christianity.

200 years later, Bob Belz has "translated" Wilberforce' s classic work out of the linquistic style of the late 18th Century into a book that captures Wilberforce' s message for a twenty-first century audience. His hope and intention is that a new generation of modern readers will discover this wonderful man and the timeless message he delivered -- a set of principles critical in living an authentic Christian life.

As you read his passionate words, you'll find that Wilberforce' s examination of what it means to have authentic faith in a time of cultural Christianity resonates strongly -- even today.

Chuck Colson says "this is a book I highly recommend" and Os Guiness comments "the gap between 'real faith' and 'cultural Christianity' is as wide today as at any time in history, so there is much we can learn from William Wilberforce' s stirring -- and highly successful -- cry for reformation. "