BOTH VOLUMES NOW IN PAPERBACK!! SEE "VOLUMES" FOR LINKS.
Much has been published in recent years about the life of William Wilberforce, as a quick Google search will reveal. In an effort to provide a brief introduction to his life, I chose the following two resources for their brevity, accessibility, and accuracy. Either biography takes about eleven minutes to read or watch, respectively.
Written bio: Click Here
Video bio: Click Here
All quotes contained in the spiritual reflections posts are taken directly from Wilberforce’s five volume biography, The Life of William Wilberforce, authored by his sons Robert and Samuel, published in 1838 (now in the public domain). The volume and page numbers correspond to the edition published that same year by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London. (I am presently using facsimile copies published by Forgotten Books.) Original spelling, grammar, etc. have been retained. Dates are those best ascertained from the citations therein, most of which come from Wilberforce’s journals. “MSM” refers to MS. Memoranda, or “notes dictated late in life by Mr. Wilberforce” (Volume 1, page viii).
My first encounter with William Wilberforce was entirely accidental.
It was, understandably, my interest in John Newton that excited me when I first heard of the film Amazing Grace. Little did I know, Amazing Grace was not – at least not primarily – about John Newton. Rather, it was about someone named William Wilberforce… William Wilberforce. The great abolitionist.
Sometime after seeing the movie, I read Eric Metaxas’s biography of Wilberforce (a gift from my wife). And sometime after that, I got my hands on his sons’ five-volume biography of his life. As I began reading, I was increasingly struck by Wilberforce’s spiritual life. I thought: If anyone even knows the name Wilberforce anymore, it is for his titan efforts in bringing an end to the Atlantic slave trade… A very good thing indeed, and one of the most significant feats in modern history. But how many people know that it was his faith in God that formed the foundation of who he was and how he was able to fight for decades for abolition and so many other important causes?
As I read, my conviction grew that Wilberforce’s spiritual reflections in particular had to be unearthed for the masses. That is the primary purpose of this website, to share with all the treasure contained in this man’s life and words. As I am sure Wilberforce would affirm, it is only by God’s Amazing Grace that such treasure may be found – and only for God’s glory that it ought to be considered.
I hope you are encouraged by what you find here. May it inspire and strengthen you to follow Christ more completely, loving Him and loving others for the sake of His glory.
-J.D. Thomas
Curator of Content