June 3, 2009
Book Review: John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace
If you think you know all about the life of John Newton, you probably want to read Jonathan Aitken's "John Newton, From Disgrace to Amazing Grace". You will most likely discover many new facts about the life of this amazing individual. And even if you don't, Aitken's presentation cannot fail to impress you as he relates how God reached down and took this "wretch" and made him one of the most influential Christian leaders of all time.
Though I had a rough knowledge of Newton, this book opened my eyes to many important details I did not know.
I did not know, for example, that Newton was impressed into the British Navy. And while I knew that he had spent some time in Africa as a slave, consistently mistreated by his African mistress, I did not realize that he later returned to that place as a ship's captain and ate fruit from the very trees that he had planted.
Perhaps the thing that surprised me most was discovering that Newton's stint as the captain of a slave ship came after his dramatic conversion. Only later in life did he renounce the slave trade.
Of course, when he did renounce it, he became one of its most vocal opponents, influencing the great William Wilberforce.
Speaking of Wilberforce, did you know that Newton first met him when he was a child attending the church Newton pastored? I didn't.
Aitken spends a lot of time explaining the background of Newton's most famous work--the hymn Amazing Grace. Once again, I was unaware of the fact that Newton probably never heard it sung to the melody we all know so well. In fact, the hymn, which was part of a collection of hymns Newton wrote in collaboration with William Cowper, was hardly sung at all in Newton's native England. Ironically, it only gained popularity when it was adopted by the African community in America--among them the sons and daughters of slaves Newton had brought over on his ship.
This is just a smattering of the interesting things you will learn if you read this book. Added to his prolific research is the personal "baggage" Aitken carries himself. The story of John Newton is written by a man who himself has known the depths of despair and experienced firsthand God's amazing grace.
If you know nothing of John Newton, or if you think you know something about him, you should make the investment to read this book. You will not be sorry.
Posted by Andrew on June 3, 2009 7:15 PM.
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