Gospel Prism

I just watched the movie Amazing Grace last night, the story of William Wilberforce. In it, WW meets his mentor John Newton, an old ragged monk-like man, who is obviously joyous and cantankerous. When he urges WW to continue his calling as an MP, he does so out of the incredible guilt he feels over his former life in the slave trade. Guilt drives his passion for abolition. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the depiction of Newton in the movie ruined my enjoyment of the movie. John Newton was a slave trader, a scoundrel, and a terrible wretch. But what made him hate the slave trade was not merely a haunting guilt about his involvement, but rather the grace that saved a wretch like him. This is Jonathan Aitken’s story of John Newton in John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace.

The first part of Aitken’s book reads like a novel, probably because Newton’s life was lurid, exciting, dangerous, disgusting, and fascinating. And Aitken does a great job of telling Newton’s story. Unlike Eric Metaxes’ recounting of William Wilberforce’s life, Aitken stays away from the lair and panache that made Metaxes’ work sometimes difficult to read without some laughter. So the flow of Aitken’s book is smooth and factual. Essentially, Newton lives two lives as most of us do, once before Christ and one after Christ. But there are very few men in history, perhaps with the exception of the apostle Paul, whose two lives are so radically antithetical to each other.

When Newton says he was a wretch, he surely was! He did everything he possibly could to defame the name of God. His life was in shambles, an angry and violent man. Aitken notes: “Newton seethed with indignation toward his captain, so much so that he was filled with furious fantasies about assassinating him.” (p. 48) He and his fellow shipmates would beat the slaves mercilessly, often having their way with the African women on board. He himself, as a captain, had the thumbscrews applied to slaves.
But throughout the story, you realize how God uses sinners for His glory, and Newton is a prime example of this. Despite his wretched state, it was this John Newton whom God would use to end the slave trade. Aitken notes that without John Newton exhorting WW, the young MP would have given up the fight during his most difficult times. It was Newton’s Personal Narrative that told the terrible story of the slave trade. And it was Newton’s personal testimony before Parliament that impacted the MPs, considering the weight of the witness, a man who was an actual eyewitness, participant in the trade, and yet had the tour de force of a Godly man full of integrity.

But what really made Newton vastly different than his slave trading days was his deep love of the Gospel. This drove everything he did. Hence, Newton famously said of himself: “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior,” and Aitken comments that this phrase “clearly demonstrated the depth of John Newton’s gratitude to God for rescuing him from disgrace and redeeming him with amazing grace.” (p. 350).

Jonathan Aitken’s biography is a really good summation of much Newton’s works. But as I read his book, sometimes I did wonder if Aitken truly grabbed hold of Newton’s motives. Newton was driven by the Gospel after his conversion. And yet, sometimes I think Aitken didn’t capture this as well as he could have. However, this is still a first-rate biography and a must read.

Here’s an interview CT did with Jonathan Aitken.