"WILBERFORCE AND THE 'NECESSARY EVIL' - THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH ... AND ENCURANCE"- by Eric Metaxas and Stan Guthrie, Breakpoint.org, July 26, 2018; http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/07/breakpoint-wilberforce-and-the-necessary-evil/ [AS I SEE IT: Unfortunately, today as in Wilberforce's time, anything having to do with politics is looked down on as simply dirty and not worth the time of "true" Christians. Too many do not even bother to follow what's going on "politically" in our country such that they make themselves ignorant of the issues of the day and as Christians forfeit their calling to be salt and light in the darkness that so often envelopes our society. THAT is why I started and continue this blog, to help inform Christians especially of what a Biblical worldview has to say to the issues of the darkness. If Christians don't get involved (with Wilberforce as our ultimate example - if but by being informed and through their prayers for God to intervene in "dirty politics" - then what difference are they to our world?- Stan]
[Last Thursday, July 26, was] the 185th anniversary of a monumental achievement brought about by a great man of faith. In fact, Chuck Colson called him his hero, and he’s mine too.
In late 18th and early 19th century, slavery was considered a “necessary evil.” As Historian Christopher D. Hancock wrote, the slave trade “involved thousands of slaves, hundreds of ships, and millions of pounds [sterling]; upon it depended the economies of Britain and much of Europe. “Some Englishmen,” he continued, “including John Wesley and Thomas Clarkson, had taken steps to mitigate the evil. Yet few in England shared the abolitionists’ sense that slavery was a great social evil.” Another historian, Richard Pierard, said that abolitionists were viewed as dangerous radicals, akin to the revolutionaries wreaking havoc in France.
Into this dark milieu stepped the English parliamentarian William Wilberforce, a true giant of the faith, who lived from 1759 to 1833. After his dramatic conversion to Jesus Christ in 1785, the heretofore unfocused Wilberforce made three consequential decisions that ended up changing the world: first, stay in politics, at a time when conventional wisdom held that politics was too dirty a business for Christians; second, work for the abolition of the slave trade in Britain; and, third, work for moral reformation in society. Wilberforce was a moral revolutionary in a nation that was, morally speaking, scraping bottom.
These decisions went against the grain and would cost the sometimes-sickly man his health and his good, aristocratic name. But rather than retreat to the seclusion of the cloister or the security of an obscure pulpit, Wilberforce decided that God had called him to apply his Christian worldview and principles “for such a time as this.”
“My walk is a public one,” he wrote in his private journal. “My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.” Foreseeing the trouble he would face, Wilberforce later wrote, “A man who acts from the principles I profess reflects that he is to give an account of his political conduct at the judgment seat of Christ.”
Initially confident of a quick victory, Wilberforce soon learned that the forces keeping the slave trade alive—material and spiritual—would not give up their captives without a long and bitter fight. Antislavery bills sponsored by Wilberforce and his band of dauntless crusaders known as the Clapham Sect were defeated in Parliament eleven straight years.
“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the trade’s wickedness appear,” Wilberforce wrote, “that my own mind was completely made up… Let the consequences be what they would; I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”
Finally, an act abolishing the slave trade was passed in 1807. Wilberforce wept for joy. But the work wasn’t finished. It had only just begun. He and his comrades would have to toil another 26 years to see slavery itself abolished.
So it was, exactly 185 years ago ... on July 26, 1833 that the Emancipation Act passed its third reading in the House of Commons, ensuring the end of slavery in the British Empire, some three decades before the bloody Civil War would end it in America. When an aged Wilberforce heard the news, he said, “Thank God I have lived to witness [this] Day.” He died three days later.
Faith, passion, and endurance were so powerfully embodied in the life of William Wilberforce. A life we would do well to emulate as we confront the so-called “necessary evils” of our day.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES - Read more of the story of William Wilberforce and his campaign against the “necessary evil” by checking out the links in our Resources section. You can also pick up Eric’s biography of Wilberforce, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery,” at the online bookstore.
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery- Eric Metaxas | HarperOne | 2008 - https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/amazing-william-wilberforce-heroic-campaign-slavery
"William Wilberforce and the Abolition of the Slave Trade: Did You Know?" - Richard Pierard | Christianity Today International - https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-53/william-wilberforce-and-abolition-of-slave-trade-did-you.html
"The Light of William Wilberforce: Get to Know Him Again for the First Time" - Eric Metaxas | BreakPoint.org | August 24, 2017; http://www.breakpoint.org/2017/08/breakpoint-light-william-wilberforce/
"The 'Shrimp' Who Stopped Slavery" - Christopher D. Hancock | Christianity Today International; https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-53/shrimp-who-stopped-slavery.html
In late 18th and early 19th century, slavery was considered a “necessary evil.” As Historian Christopher D. Hancock wrote, the slave trade “involved thousands of slaves, hundreds of ships, and millions of pounds [sterling]; upon it depended the economies of Britain and much of Europe. “Some Englishmen,” he continued, “including John Wesley and Thomas Clarkson, had taken steps to mitigate the evil. Yet few in England shared the abolitionists’ sense that slavery was a great social evil.” Another historian, Richard Pierard, said that abolitionists were viewed as dangerous radicals, akin to the revolutionaries wreaking havoc in France.
Into this dark milieu stepped the English parliamentarian William Wilberforce, a true giant of the faith, who lived from 1759 to 1833. After his dramatic conversion to Jesus Christ in 1785, the heretofore unfocused Wilberforce made three consequential decisions that ended up changing the world: first, stay in politics, at a time when conventional wisdom held that politics was too dirty a business for Christians; second, work for the abolition of the slave trade in Britain; and, third, work for moral reformation in society. Wilberforce was a moral revolutionary in a nation that was, morally speaking, scraping bottom.
These decisions went against the grain and would cost the sometimes-sickly man his health and his good, aristocratic name. But rather than retreat to the seclusion of the cloister or the security of an obscure pulpit, Wilberforce decided that God had called him to apply his Christian worldview and principles “for such a time as this.”
“My walk is a public one,” he wrote in his private journal. “My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.” Foreseeing the trouble he would face, Wilberforce later wrote, “A man who acts from the principles I profess reflects that he is to give an account of his political conduct at the judgment seat of Christ.”
Initially confident of a quick victory, Wilberforce soon learned that the forces keeping the slave trade alive—material and spiritual—would not give up their captives without a long and bitter fight. Antislavery bills sponsored by Wilberforce and his band of dauntless crusaders known as the Clapham Sect were defeated in Parliament eleven straight years.
“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the trade’s wickedness appear,” Wilberforce wrote, “that my own mind was completely made up… Let the consequences be what they would; I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”
Finally, an act abolishing the slave trade was passed in 1807. Wilberforce wept for joy. But the work wasn’t finished. It had only just begun. He and his comrades would have to toil another 26 years to see slavery itself abolished.
So it was, exactly 185 years ago ... on July 26, 1833 that the Emancipation Act passed its third reading in the House of Commons, ensuring the end of slavery in the British Empire, some three decades before the bloody Civil War would end it in America. When an aged Wilberforce heard the news, he said, “Thank God I have lived to witness [this] Day.” He died three days later.
Faith, passion, and endurance were so powerfully embodied in the life of William Wilberforce. A life we would do well to emulate as we confront the so-called “necessary evils” of our day.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES - Read more of the story of William Wilberforce and his campaign against the “necessary evil” by checking out the links in our Resources section. You can also pick up Eric’s biography of Wilberforce, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery,” at the online bookstore.
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery- Eric Metaxas | HarperOne | 2008 - https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/amazing-william-wilberforce-heroic-campaign-slavery
"William Wilberforce and the Abolition of the Slave Trade: Did You Know?" - Richard Pierard | Christianity Today International - https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-53/william-wilberforce-and-abolition-of-slave-trade-did-you.html
"The Light of William Wilberforce: Get to Know Him Again for the First Time" - Eric Metaxas | BreakPoint.org | August 24, 2017; http://www.breakpoint.org/2017/08/breakpoint-light-william-wilberforce/
"The 'Shrimp' Who Stopped Slavery" - Christopher D. Hancock | Christianity Today International; https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-53/shrimp-who-stopped-slavery.html
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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
Praying for Central Asia- In countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan And Kyrgyzstan, a Bible is a treasured gift—and in some places, a hard thing to come by. These believers rely on the Word of God to help them face increasing persecution. Throughout August, we’ll be focusing on bringing Scripture to this part of the world, and we ask you to join us.
August 1 | TAJIKISTAN - Aslan* and Mahmad* faithfully shared the gospel with people in their area; some even accepted Jesus. As a result, officials summoned them to the police station, where they were brutally beaten and fined. Please pray for their safety and emotional/
physical state.
*Names changed to protect identities.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan And Kyrgyzstan, a Bible is a treasured gift—and in some places, a hard thing to come by. These believers rely on the Word of God to help them face increasing persecution. Throughout August, we’ll be focusing on bringing Scripture to this part of the world, and we ask you to join us.
August 1 | TAJIKISTAN - Aslan* and Mahmad* faithfully shared the gospel with people in their area; some even accepted Jesus. As a result, officials summoned them to the police station, where they were brutally beaten and fined. Please pray for their safety and emotional/
physical state.
*Names changed to protect identities.
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