John Newton
John Henry Newton, Jr. ( born July 24, 1725 in London, † December 21, 1807 ) was an English composer, who wrote, among other things Amazing Grace. Previously, he had been slavers, but had a conversion experience in 1748 and spoke out against slavery from then.
Life
Newton went up in 1742 with his father at sea. In February 1744 he was forcibly recruited by a press patrol the Admiralty to the Navy. On the warship Harwich he witnessed in September 1744, the hijacking of the French ship Solid. [T 1] Subsequently he served, inter alia, on the slave ship Levant as a steward. [T 2] After a serious illness ( probably malaria) he had in 1745 in the later Sierra Leone set up and there led a sinful life. Subsequently he was a passenger on the Greyhound in front of the coast of Africa. [T 3]
After a threatening crossing in 1748, he converted on 10 May of the same year to Christianity. However, this did not at once to a waiver to work in slavery - ships. He rose to the following slaves trips from the first mate on to captain and took as such three trips before, mainly due to a stroke due to medical advice seafaring and thus the slave trade gave up and up until about 30 years later for the first time for the elimination slavery began. [s 1]
From August 1755 he took a job as Tidensachverständiger at Customs House Liverpool. [T 4] In 1762 he reported in letters to the Baptist pastor John Fawcett of his turn to the Christian faith. On April 29, 1764 he was sworn in as a deacon and ordained priest in June for the Anglican (Church of England ). His widely acclaimed biography was first published in August in 1764. [T 5]
Together with the poet William Cowper Newton wrote a number of hymns. His most famous song is Amazing Grace (German: amazing grace ), was created in December 1772, when Newton gave lectures on the pilgrimage to the blessed eternity of John Bunyan and the New Year sermon prepared in 1773 ( 1 Chr 17:16 NIV ) [t 6. ] In it he describes, inter alia, his salvation from God as a proven grace. In July 1779 Amazing Grace was published in the 428 -page Olney Hymns, their songs are all from Newton and Cowper. [T 7]
1763 Newton wrote the book A Review of Ecclesiastical History, in which he critically commented on the colonialism:
" We are taught from childhood to admire those who are in the language of the world called great captains and conquerors because they were eager to carry murder and terror in every part of the globe and through the depopulation of countries their own name to glorify, while the spirit of generosity of St. Paul almost at all is not considered. "
Newton's biography is an important impetus for William Wilberforce, whose life is depicted in the film Amazing Grace by 2006. William Wilberforce's great achievement is his major contribution to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.