Amazing Grace the movie

I finally watched the movie Amazing Grace last night. It is the biographical story of William Wilberforce who led the abolition movement in Great Britain in the late 18th century.

It is a great story of faith, perseverance, and fulfilling God's calling for your life. I would encourage you to check it out. Since the movie came out earlier this year, Wilberforce's book is on the shelves again. Real Christianity is a revised and updated version of his original 1797 work titled A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in This Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity. They didn't believe in short, catchy titles in those days.

One of the characters in the movie is John Newton, a former slave ship captain who later, after his conversion, wrote the song Amazing Grace. The movie has many powerful lines in it. Very quotable. As I watched it, I found myself thinking that I should watch it again just to write down some quotes. Here are a few that I found online:

John Newton (when he was old and blind): Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly. I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

Newton asked Wilberforce if he had found religion. Wilberforce replied that he had seen no bolts of lightning. Newton said, "God sometimes does his work with gentle drizzle, not storms."

Pitt the Younger: Why is it you only feel the thorns when you stop running?

William Wilberforce: Is that some sort of heavy metaphorical advice?

Richard the Butler (quoting Sir Francis Bacon): Great changes are easier than small ones.

One other tidbit about this movie. Patricia Heaton (Debra of Everybody Loves Raymond and currently starring in Back To You) was one of the producers of Amazing Grace.