Against great obstacles, William Wilberforce, an evangelical parliamentarian, fought for the abolition of the African slave trade and against slavery itself until both were illegal in the British Empire.
The battle consumed nearly forty-six years of his life (from 1787 to 1833). Defeats and setbacks along the way would have led a common politician to embrace a more popular cause, though he never lost a parliamentary election of twenty-one to seventy. -four, the cause of the abolition of slavery was defeated eleven times before its approval in 1807, and the battle for the abolition of slavery did not win decisively until three days before his death in 1833. perseverance in the cause of public justice?
- Wilberforce was born on August 24.
- 1759 in Hull.
- Inglaterra.
- De boy admired George Whitefield.
- John Wesley and John Newton.
- But soon abandoned all the influence of evangelicals.
- As for his later years of school.
- He said.
- “I have achieved nothing.
- “This lifestyle continued during his years at St.
- Louis.
- John’s College.
- Cambridge.
- He lost interest in the biblical religion and enjoyed circulating among society.
- Elite.
For fun, Wilberforce ran for a seat in the House of Commons in his hometown of Hull in 1780, when he was twenty-one and spent $8,000 in the election. Money and his incredible talent for speaking have triumphed over his opponents. Wilberforce began his 50-year political career as a disbeliever first-class man who loved night parties.
On the long vacation when Parliament was not in session, Wilberforce sometimes traveled with friends or family. In the winter of 1784, at the age of twenty-five, by impulse, he invited Isaac Milner, a former schoolteacher and high school friend ”Who was now a private teacher at Queens College, Cambridge?” to go with him, his mother and sister on the French Riviera. Surprisingly, Milner had become a convinced Christian, without any of the stereotypes Wilberforce had designed against evangelicals. hours about the Christian faith.
The following summer, Wilberforce traveled again with Milner and discussed the Greek New Testament for hours. Gradually, his intellectual nod became a deep conviction (William Wilberforce, p. 37). One of the first manifestations of what he called: the great change ??Conversion was the contempt he felt for his wealth and the luxury in which he lived, especially during these trips between parliamentary sessions, it seems that seeds were sown, almost immediately, at the beginning of his Christian life, of what would later become his passion. to help the poor and turn all their inherited wealth and naturally elevated position into a way to bless the oppressed.
A year after his conversion, God’s apparent call in his life became clear to him. On October 28, 1787, he wrote in his journal: “Did the Almighty God set two main goals for me, the suppression of the slave trade and the reform of manners?(The Life of William Wilberforce, p. 69).
Shortly after Christmas 1787, a few days before the parliamentary recess, Wilberforce informed the House of Commons that at the beginning of the new session he would file a motion to abolish the slave trade. It would be 20 years before I could get the House of Commons. Commons and the House of Lores to make abolition a law, but the more he studied the subject and the more he listened about atrocities, the more determined he became.
In May 1789 he spoke to the House of how he came to his condemnation: “I confess to you, so enormous, so terrible, so irrecoverable is the evil of this trade that my mind was totally in favor of abolition. “Consequences, from which moment am I determined not to rest until this abolition comes into force?(The Life of William Wilberforce, p. 56).
Of course, the opposition that lasted twenty years was due to the financial advantages of slavery for traders and the British economy, who could not conceive of another way to produce without forced labour, meaning that Wilberforce’s life has been threatened more than once. Even without physical harm, there was a painful loss of friends; some simply no longer spoke to him and remained alienated; then there was enormous political pressure to withdraw due to international political developments. Such financial and political arguments have kept Parliament captive for decades.
But the victory took place in 1807. La moral vision and the political will to abolish finally became overwhelming. At one point, almost the whole chamber stood up and turned to Wilberforce in an explosion of parliamentary applause. Suddenly, above the roar of? Look, listen, and completely out of order, three “resonated as I sat with my head bowed, tears ran down his face” (William Wilberforce’s Life, p. 211).
At 4:00 p. m. on February 24, 1807, was the house divided?283 Yes (yes), 16 No (no). A majority of 267 votes to abolish trafficking and on 25 March 1807 the Royal Assent was pronounced. One of Wilberforce’s friends wrote, “[Wilberforce] attributes this to Providence’s immediate interposition. Earlier this time, Wilberforce looked for his best friend and colleague, Henry Thornton, and said, “Well, Henry, what are we going to abolish next?(The Life of William Wilberforce, p. 212).
Of course, the battle isn’t over. And Wilberforce fought until his death twenty-six years later, in 1833. The implementation of the abolition law was not only controversial and difficult, but all it did was abolish the slave trade, not slavery itself, and that became the next great cause.
In 1821 Wilberforce recruited Thomas Fowell Buxton to continue the fight, but even on the margins, old and fragile, he supported him. Three months before his death in 1833, Wilberforce was persuaded to propose a final petition against slavery. “I never thought of going out again, but will it ever be said that William Wilberforce remained silent while the slaves needed your help?(William Wilberforce, p. 90).
The vote of the decisive victory took place on July 26, 1833, just three days before Wilberforce’s death. Slavery itself was banned in British colonies. “Is it a singular fact,” Buxton says, “that the same night we achieved the House of Commons, approving the clause of the Emancipation Act?one of the most important clauses ever enacted . . . the spirit of our friend has left the world. Was it the day of the end of your work on the day of the end of your life?(William Wilberforce, 91).
What prompted Wilberforce to act?What prompted him to persevere in the cause of public justice for decades of failure, defamation, and threats?
Of course, we must respect the power of camaraderie in the cause of justice. Many people associate Wilberforce’s name with the term “Clapham Sect. “The group to which this term refers was “labeled”. How? The saints in Parliament?pronounced by some with contempt, while for others with deep admiration?(Number of characters, p. 72). Together, they achieved more than anyone could have done alone. “William Wilberforce is proof that a man can change his time, even if he cannot do it alone” (William Wilberforce, 88).
But Wilberforce’s resistance has a deeper root than mere company. It is the root of the joy of self-denial in Christ. There are many proofs and proofs of this in Wilberforce’s selfless life. A certain Miss Sullivan wrote to a friend about Wilberforce around 1815: “By the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, she showed that joy was the predominant feature of her mind, the joy that came from the integrity of trust in the merits of the Savior and the love of God and man . . . Was your joy penetrating enough? (William Wilberforce, 87).
Another of his contemporaries, James Stephen, recalled after Wilberforce’s death: “He was funny and interested in everything, everything he said became fun or interesting. . . His presence was as fatal to stupidity as it was to immorality. Was your joy as irresistible as your first childhood laugh?(William Wilberforce, 185).
Here is a great key to your perseverance and efficiency. His presence was fatal to lethargy . . . [and] immorality?. In other words, his indomitable joy led others to be happy and good. In his book A Practical Vision of Christianity, he noted, “Is the path of virtue also of real interest and solid pleasure?(P. 12). In other words, is it more blessed to give than to receive?(AT 20. 35). He supported himself and influenced others with his joy. If a man can steal his joy, he can steal his usefulness. Wilberforce’s joy was undoful, and as a result he was a convincing Christian and politician throughout his life, he was the strong root of his resistance.
If your almost childish, indomitable and selfless joy was the vital root of your perseverance in the struggle for abolition throughout life, what would be, we might ask ourselves, the root of the root?, or what was the continent where this root was planted?
The main purpose of Wilberforce’s book, A Practical View of Christianity, is to show that true Christianity, which consists of new and indomitable spiritual affections for Christ, is rooted in the great biblical doctrines of sin, Christ, and faith. grow and abound in these Christian principles, do you know well the great doctrines of the gospel?(p. 170). From the neglect of these particular doctrines arise the main practical errors of most so-called Christians. shame the smallness of your dwarf morality . . . Is the whole superstructure of Christian morality based on its deep and broad foundations?(p. 166-167).
There is a “perfect harmony between the main doctrines and practical precepts of Christianity”. And so it’s a “fatal habit”?as common at the time as ours?Consider Christian morality other than Christian doctrines? (p. 198).
More specifically, it is the conquest of God through the death of Christ that is at the heart of these “gigantic truths”, which lead to personal and political reform of morality. The indomitable joy that leads to victory in times of temptation and trial is rooted in the cross of Christ. If we want to fight for joy and endure to the end in our fight against sin, we must know and embrace the full meaning of the cross.
From the beginning of his Christian life in 1785, until his death in 1833, Wilberforce lived “great doctrines of the gospel,” especially the doctrine of justification for faith based solely on the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. That’s where he fed his joy. Because of these truths, “When everything around you was dark and stormy, can you look to heaven, radiant with hope and gratitude?(A practical vision of Christianity, p. 173). The joy of the Lord became his strength (Nehemiah). 8:10) . And in this force, he insisted on the cause of the abolition of the slave trade until he gained victory.
Therefore, in all our zeal today for racial harmony, or for the sanctity of human life, or for building a moral culture, let us never forget these lessons: Let us never minimize the central place of God-based doctrine and exalt Christ. be infallibly joyful in all that God is to us in Christ, trusting in his great work accomplished; and never be idle in doing good, that men may see our good works and give glory to Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16).