A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity. - Softcover

Wilberforce, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1494784238 ISBN 13: 9781494784232

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

Synopsis

This book by Wilberforce comes highly recommended to anyone who has an interest in living a true Christian life. Wilberforce, who was elected to the British Parliament at age 21 and was instrumental in the abolition of slavery in Great Britain, was not called "the wittiest man in England" for nothing. His arguments are clear and logically impeccable; his writing is not obscure, but it is somewhat difficult, with long, involved sequences. The vocabulary is reminiscent of Jane Austen's novels, being not a story but a treatise. As he explains in his Introduction, his purpose is, "not to convince the Sceptic, or to answer the arguments of persons who avowedly oppose the fundamental doctrines of our Religion; but to point out the scanty and erroneous system of the bulk of those who belong to the class of orthodox Christians, and to contrast their defective scheme with a representation of what the Author apprehends to be real Christianity." He does exactly that, deploring the state of Christianity among his fellow middle- and higher-class countrymen, most of whom thought it was enough to go to church and to be called Christians. Nor does he merely bewail the state of things, but carefully explains the thinking of these people and respectfully contrasts their mistaken suppositions with Scripture truth; and although his words are addressed to his countrymen of the 19th century, it is surprising how often they hit home in 21st-century America. You merely have to replace some of the styles and pastimes of 19th-century England with their modern counterparts. Wilberforce was a member of the Anglican Church, and his writing reflects that, but nearly all of the book deals with the principles of Christian living, not with the details of initial salvation. There is a section in the middle of the last chapter addressing those who wish to become true Christians. Though somewhat lengthy, many readers find this book to be challenging, convicting, and helpful. William Wilberforce was brilliant, industrious, compassionate, and rigorously self-examining. He understood the dedication of the life of real Christianity, and he was a great man because of it.

About this title

About the Author

William Wilberforce (1759–1833) was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire. In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave-trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially repressive legislation, and resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad. In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to his friend William Pitt.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1494784238
• ISBN 13: 9781494784232
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 254