Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

John Piper (Author), Wayne Shepherd (Reader), Jonathan Aitken (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2007

John Piper's biography of William Wilberforce takes readers beyondWilberforce's battle against slavery and explores the beliefs andmotivations of this influential evangelical politician. Unabridgedon 1 CD (1 hour 11 minutes).

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Crossway Audio; Unabridged edition (January 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581349181
• ISBN-13: 978-1581349184
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Books on CD > History > Europe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just a Glimpse of Wilberforce Through Piper's Eyes, May 26, 2007

By 

David R. Bess (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce (Paperback)

I have the greatest respect for William Wilberforce and for John Piper, but I'm not sure if this book is one that really needed to be written. Piper offers his own brief perspective on the life of William Wilberforce, a perspective easily obtained by reading a good biography of the British statesman. For readers familiar with Wilberforce and with Piper, there is nothing new here. For readers unfamiliar with Wilberforce, this title doesn't do justice to his magnificent life. A more detailed biography such as the one by Metexas is necessary to get the full impact. For readers unfamiliar with Piper, this book just hints at his views that are so eloquently stated elsewhere. I recommend passing on this title -- I give it two stars only from admiration for both Wilberforce and Piper.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Today's Generation of Christians and Politicians, January 30, 2007

By 

Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce (Paperback)

In just over 50 pages, John Piper gives a biographical study of William Wilberforce's life that I believe reveals the true heart behind the member of Parliament who fought for 46 years (1787-1833) to abolish the slave trade and then slavery in the British Empire. Piper shows us not only what he accomplished during his remarkable life, but seeks to go "behind the scenes" to what drove the man: A steadfast joy in God rooted in the Gospel. John Piper quotes often from Wilberforce's own book, A Practical View of Christianity, to give motives behind the actions. Piper reveals the the true Wilberforce, a view that you likely won't get from textbooks and that will be minimized in secular biographies. The great turning point for William Wilberforce was when God saved him as a young self-centered member of Parliament in 1785; that same grace that saved him sustained him and drove him toward incredible perseverance and accomplishment in many varied causes of social good.

This book is needed today. Toward making Christianity practical and relevant to today's culture and today's needs, many are quickly moving to jettison doctrine and even truth. Seeing so many professing Christians do so little to help the poor, sick, the voiceless in the world (an inexcusable omission that the Church must work to remedy), many say that we need a more Christian morals and less Christian doctrine. Here's what Wilberforce would have to say to that:

"From the neglect of these peculiar doctrines (human depravity, divine judgment, justification by faith alone, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the practical necessity of fruit and devotion to good deeds - p. 22) arise the main practical errors of the bulk of professed Christians. These gigantic truths retained in view would put to shame the littleness of their dwarfish morality." (p. 71)

"It is a fatal habit to consider Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines." p. 72

Wilberforce took on a large number of initiatives for social good, but behind them all he realized that if one is to have a lasting influence for good he must deal with the root of the problems. Therefore, he attacked sin in himself and his nation not first and foremost as a societal problem. He commented that most of the Christians in England estimated the guilt of an action "not by the proportion in which, according to scripture, [actions] are offensive to God, but by that in which they are injurious to society" (p. 23). Likewise, the greatest good in his aims was the salvation of souls, not just the meeting of needs and the application of justice here on earth.

William Wilberforce accomplished many social goods, it could be argued that in human history he was one of those who accomplished most. He is one that we should all look to in order to emulate him in his diligence, his joy in God, his love, and his doctrine.

I pray that those, like me, who are dissatisfied with the inactivity of the church against the social ills of today would read this book. There are many liberal "Christians" with a sin-minimizing, self-glorifying, truth-questioning, doctrine-denying "gospel" promising a better morality, a better Christianity. Don't buy the lies. Run to the God of Wilberforce, learn the doctrines that drove him because then and only then will you make a lasting difference. Wilberforce says it well:

"The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight, and as might naturally have been expected, the moral system itself also began to wither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment. (p. 8)

[...]

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Grace, February 26, 2007

By 

Robert W. Kellemen "Doc. K." (Crown Point, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce (Paperback)

Just in time for the debut of the movie by the same title, "Amazing Grace" is John Piper's snapshot of the life, faith, and practice of William Wilberforce. Piper, a leading Evangelical pastor and author, succinctly (75 pages) outlines the spiritual forces that motivated Wilberforce's lifelong battle to end slavery in the British Kingdom. Unlike the flurry of other books recently released on Wilberforce, here readers will find the theology behind the man. Further, readers will be engaged to ponder how theology should impact practice today, especially in the area of how a lay person relates biblical truth to social action in today's world.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.