A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity
(A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Pr...)
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity. is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William Wilberforce is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of William Wilberforce then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.
A Practical View of Christianity (Hendrickson Christian Classics)
(This book is concerned with convincing those who call the...)
This book is concerned with convincing those who call themselves Christans to pursue "the real nature and principles of the religion which they profess.
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Higher and Middle Classes, Contrasted With Real Christianity (Classic Reprint)
William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner
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From William Hague comes a major biography of abolition...)
From William Hague comes a major biography of abolitionist William Wilberforce, the man who fought for twenty years to abolish the Atlantic slave trade.
Wilberforce, born to a prosperous family, chose a life of public service and adherence to Evangelical values over the comfortable merchant existence that was laid out for him. Of a conservative bent, Wilberforce was actively hostile to radicals and revolutionaries, but championed one of the great liberal causes of all timethe abolition of slaveryand was an invaluable contributor to its ultimate success. When Parliament finally outlawed the slave trade in 1807, Wilberforce did not rest on his laurels but took part in the campaign for the abolition of slavery itself. He never held or desired a cabinet post, but became an expert in any subject he addressed as a member of Parliament. And although his convictions were informed by deep religious fervor, he never hesitated to change his mind upon reflection. Hague captures all of these nuances and complexities in this clear-eyed, humane, and moving biography.
(The 29th Pure Gold Classic, William Wilberforce presents ...)
The 29th Pure Gold Classic, William Wilberforce presents the very best of this great mans life and work. It includes his Practical View of Christianity, historic papers, and a wonderful biography of the man who became the conscience of the world and helped bring an end to the practice of slavery in the civilized world. William Wilberforce, the son of a wealthy merchant, was born in Hull in 1759.Williams father died when he was young, and for a time William was brought up by an uncle and aunt. William came under the influence of his aunt, who was a strong supporter of John Wesley and the Methodist movement. Disturbed by these developments, Mrs. Wilberforce brought her son back to the family home. In 1784 Wilberforce converted to Evangelical Christianity. He joined the Clapham Set, a group of evangelical members of the Anglican Church, centered around John Venn, rector of Clapham Church in London. As a result of this conversion, Wilberforce became interested in social reform and was eventually approached by Lady Middleton and was asked to use his power as an MP to bring an end to the slave trade. As a member of the evangelical movement, Wilberforce was sympathetic to Mrs. Middletons request. In his letter of reply, Wilberforce wrote: I feel the great importance of the subject and I think myself unequal to the task allotted to me. Despite these doubts, Wilberforce agreed to Mrs. Middletons request, but soon afterwards, he became very ill and it was not until 12th May, 1789, that he made his first speech against the slave trade.
(Just in time for the release of Amazing Grace, the movie ...)
Just in time for the release of Amazing Grace, the movie about the life of William Wilberforce. This edition of his classic book from 1797, Real Christianity, is paraphrased in modern language and made more accessible to contemporary readers. This is the book that helped abolish the slave trade in the United Kingdom and called Christians to live a more authentic life of faith more than two hundred years ago. The timeless truths it contains will speak to readers in fresh ways today. Christians who eschew cultural Christianity in favor of a real faith in Christ, will find the principles here thought-provoking and applicable. The social justice orientation will appeal to readers of Jim Wallis, Os Guinness, Charles Colson, Shane Claiborne, John Perkins, Bono, and Nancy Pearcey. Readers will also find the book is a good litmus test of the authenticity of their own faith.
William Wilberforce was one of Britain’s great social reformers involved in campaigns against slavery, the promotion of education, Christianity, strict morality and animal welfare. Wilberforce saw his life’s mission to end slavery and is remembered for his active participation in getting Parliament to outlaw the slave trade.
Background
He was born at Hull on the 24th of August 1759 and was the only son of Robert Wilberforce, member of a commercial house at Hull, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Bird of Barton, Oxon. He was descended from a Yorkshire family which possessed the manor of Wilberfoss in the East Riding from the time of Ilenry II till the middle of the 18th century.
It was from his mother that he inherited both his feeble frame and his many rich mental endowments.
Before he had completed his tenth year he lost his father and was transferred to the care of a paternal uncle at Wimbledon; but in his twelfth year he returned to Hull, and soon afterwards was placed under the care of the master of the endowed school of Pocklington.
Education
It was from his mother that he inherited both his feeble frame and his many rich mental endowments. In 1767 he began attending Hull Grammar School. He was not a diligent scholar, but at the grammar school of Hull his skill in elocution attracted the attention of the master. He attended an "indifferent" boarding school in Putney for two years.
His family opposed a return to Hull Grammar School because the headmaster had become a Methodist; Wilberforce therefore continued his education at nearby Pocklington School from 1771 to 1776.
Before he had completed his tenth year he lost his father and was transferred to the care of a paternal uncle at Wimbledon; but in his twelfth year he returned to Hull, and soon afterwards was placed under the care of the master of the endowed school of Pocklington. Here his love of social pleasures made him neglectful of his studies, but he entered St John's College, Cambridge, in October 1766.
Despite his lifestyle and lack of interest in studying he managed to pass his examinations and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in 1781 and an Masters of Arts in 1788.
In 1780 he was elected to the House of Commons for his native town, his success being due to his personal popularity and his lavish expenditure. He soon found his way into the fast political society of London, and at the club at Goosctrces renewed an acquaintance begun at Cambridge with Pitt, which ripened into a friendship of the closest kind.
In the autumn of 1783 he set out with Pitt on a tour in France; and after his return his eloquence proved of great assistance to Pitt in his struggle against the majority of the House of Commons.
In 1784 Wilberforce was elected for both Hull and Yorkshire, and took his seat for the latter constituency. The change had a marked effect on his public conduct.
In the beginning of 1787 he busied himself with the establishment of a society for the reformation of manners. Pitt entered heartily into their plans, and recommended Wilberforce to undertake the guidance of the project as a subject suited to his character and talents.
While Clarkson conducted the agitation throughout the country, Wilberforce took every opportunity in the House of Commons of exposing the evils and horrors of the trade.
In 1788, however, a serious illness compelled him to retire for some months from public life, and the introduction of the subject in parliament therefore devolved on Pitt, whose representations were so far successful that an act was passed providing that the number of slaves carried in ships should be in proportion to the tonnage.
On the 12th of May of the following year Wilberforce, in co-operation with Pitt, brought the subject of abolition again before the House of Commons; but the friends of the planters succeeded in getting the matter deferred.
On the 27th of January following Wilberforce carried a motion for referring to a special committee the further examination of witnesses, but after full inquiry the motion for abolition in April 1791 was lost by 163 votes to 88. In the following April he carried a motion for gradual abolition by 238 to 85 votes; but in the House of Lords the discussion was finally postponed till the following session.
Notwithstanding his unremitting labours in educating public opinion and annual motions in the House of Commons, it was not till 1807, the year following Pitt's death, that the first great step towards the abolition of slavery was accomplished. When the anti-slavery society was formed in 1823, Wilberforce and Clarkson became vice-presidents; but before their aim was accomplished Wilberforce had retired from public life, and the Emancipation Bill was not passed till August 1833, a month after his death.
In 1797 Wilberforce published A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of this Country Contrasted with Real Christianity, which within half a year went through five editions and was afterwards translated into French, Italian, Dutch and German.
In 1804, Clarkson resumed his work and the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade began meeting again.
In 1812, on account of failing health, he exchanged the representation of Yorkshire for that of a constituency which would make less demands on his time, and was returned for Bramber, Sussex.
In 1825 he retired from the House of Commons, and the following year settled at Highwood Hill, near Mill Hill, 44 just beyond the disk of the metropolis.
He died at London on the 29th of July 1833, and was buried in Westminster Abbey close to Pitt, Fox and Canning.
In Westminster Abbey a statue was erected to his memory, and in Yorkshire a county asylum for the blind was founded in his honour. The column was also erected to him by his townsmen of Hull.
Achievements
In 1823 he aided in organizing and became a vice president of the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions—again, more commonly called the Anti-Slavery Society.
In the House of Commons, he was a tireless sponsor of antislavery legislation, and in 1789 he introduced 12 resolutions against the slave trade. In 1807, he finally achieved success.
He was a founding member of the Church Missionary Society (since renamed the Church Mission Society) and was involved, with other members of the Clapham Sect, in numerous other evangelical and charitable organisations.
He also interested himself in a variety of schemes for the advancement of the social and religious welfare of the community, including the establishment of the Association for the Better Observance of Sunday, the foundation, with Hannah More, of schools at Cheddar, Somersetshire, a project for opening a school in every parish for the religious instruction of children, a plan for the education of the children of the lower classes, a bill for securing better salaries to curates, and a method for disseminating, by government help, Christianity in India.
William Wilberforce’s abolitionism was derived in part from evangelical Christianity, to which he was converted in 1784–85. He became interested in evangelical Christianity because of their influence, especially that of his aunt Hannah, sister of the wealthy Christian merchant John Thornton, a philanthropist and a supporter of the leading Methodist preacher George Whitefield.
A supporter of the evangelical wing of the Church of England, Wilberforce believed that the revitalisation of the Church and individual Christian observance would lead to a harmonious, moral society. He sought to elevate the status of religion in public and private life, making piety fashionable in both the upper- and middle-classes of society.
In 1797 he took a house at Clapham, where he became one of the leaders of what was known as the Clapham Sect of Evangelicals, including Henry Thornton, Charles Grant, E. J. Eliot, Zacchary Macaulay and James Stephen. It was in connexion with this group that he then occupied himself with a plan for a religious periodical which should admit "a moderate degree of political and common intelligence," the result being the appearance in January 1801 of the Christian Observer.
He took orders in the English Church, but in 1850 became a Roman Catholic.
Politics
Criticised at times for inconsistency, he supported both Tory and Whig governments according to his conscience, working closely with the party in power, and voting on specific measures according to their merits.
Views
Wilberforce was deeply conservative when it came to challenges to the existing political and social order. He advocated change in society through Christianity and improvement in morals, education and religion, fearing and opposing radical causes and revolution.
Critics noted Wilberforce's support of the suspension of habeas corpus in 1795 and his votes for Pitt's "Gagging Bills", which banned meetings of more than 50 people, allowing speakers to be arrested and imposing harsh penalties on those who attacked the constitution.
Wilberforce was opposed to giving workers' rights to organise into unions, in 1799 speaking in favour of the Combination Act, which suppressed trade union activity throughout the United Kingdom, and calling unions "a general disease in our society".
He also opposed an enquiry into the 1819 Peterloo Massacre in which eleven protesters were killed at a political rally demanding reform. Concerned about "bad men who wished to produce anarchy and confusion", he approved of the government's Six Acts, which further limited public meetings and seditious writings. Wilberforce's actions led the essayist William Hazlitt to condemn him as one "who preaches vital Christianity to untutored savages, and tolerates its worst abuses in civilised states. "
More progressively, Wilberforce advocated legislation to improve the working conditions for chimney-sweeps and textile workers, engaged in prison reform, and supported campaigns to restrict capital punishment and the severe punishments meted out under the Game Laws.
He recognised the importance of education in alleviating poverty, and when Hannah More and her sister established Sunday schools for the poor in Somerset and the Mendips, he provided financial and moral support as they faced opposition from landowners and Anglican clergy.
From the late 1780s onward, Wilberforce campaigned for limited parliamentary reform, such as the abolition of rotten boroughs and the redistribution of Commons seats to growing towns and cities, though by 1832, he feared that such measures went too far.
With others, Wilberforce founded the world's first animal welfare organisation, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (later the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
In 1824, Wilberforce was one of over 30 eminent gentlemen who put their names at the inaugural public meeting to the fledgling National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later named the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He was also opposed to duelling, which he described as the "disgrace of a Christian society" and was appalled when his friend Pitt engaged in a duel in 1798, particularly as it occurred on a Sunday, the Christian day of rest.
Quotations:
Wilberforce used his speaking voice to great effect in political speeches; the diarist and author James Boswell witnessed Wilberforce's eloquence in the House of Commons and noted, "I saw what seemed a mere shrimp mount upon the table; but as I listened, he grew, and grew, until the shrimp became a whale. "
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners (morality).”
“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”
“I mean not to accuse any one, but to take the shame upon myself, in common, indeed, with the whole parliament of Great Britain, for having suffered this horrid trade to be carried on under their authority. We are all guilty—we ought all to plead guilty, and not to exculpate ourselves by throwing the blame on others..”
Membership
He was a member of the Church Missionary Society and of the Clapham Sect.
He was also a member the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
Anti-Slavery Society
,
Great Britain
Church Missionary Society
,
Great Britain
Association for the Better Observance of Sunday
,
Great Britain
Personality
Later in life witty and an excellent conversationalist, Wilberforce was a popular figure. Wilberforce was generous with his time and money, believing that those with wealth had a duty to give a significant portion of their income to the needy. He was exceptionally hospitable.
Physical Characteristics:
Wilberforce was a small, sickly and delicate child, with poor eyesight.
Quotes from others about the person
The writer and socialite Madame de Staël described him as the "wittiest man in England".
Connections
In his youth, William Wilberforce showed little interest in women, but when he was in his late thirties his friend Thomas Babington recommended twenty-year-old Barbara Ann Spooner (1777–1847) as a potential bride.
Wilberforce met her two days later on 15 April 1797, and was immediately smitten; following an eight-day whirlwind romance, he proposed.
Despite the urgings of friends to slow down, the couple married at the Church of St Swithin in Bath, Somerset, on 30 May 1797.
They had six children in fewer than ten years: William (b. 1798), Barbara (b. 1799), Elizabeth (b. 1801), Robert Isaac Wilberforce (b. 1802), Samuel Wilberforce (b. 1805) and Henry William Wilberforce (b. 1807).
Wilberforce was an indulgent and adoring father who revelled in his time at home and at play with his children.
A journey to Nice in the autumn of the same year with his friend Dr Isaac Milner (1750 - 1820), who had been a master at Hull grammar school when Wilberforce was there as a boy, and had since made a reputation as a mathematician, and afterwards became president of Queens' College, Cambridge, and dean of Carlisle, led to his conversion to Evangelical Christianity and the adoption of more serious views of life.
Friend:
William Pitt the Younger
He studied at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge, where he became a close friend of the future prime minister William Pitt the Younger and was known as an amiable companion rather than an outstanding student.
