Born into a captain's family who traded at the East India Company, John
Newton (July 24, 1725 - December 21, 1807) embarked on sea voyages at the
young age of 11. He soon entered the prosperous slave trade until he nearly
died on a voyage that would change his life forever. He proclaimed, "Only
God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading
sailor and transform him into a child of God." This would influence his
famed hymn Amazing Grace, in which he declared he was once blind but now
could see. Newton wrote the hymn after converting to Christianity in 1748
and abandoning his participation in the slave trade. Newton also wrote of
his experiences in his autobiography An Authentic Narrative published in
1764, the same year he was ordained as a priest in the Church of England.
John Newton went on to write many other hymns as well.
A NOTE FROM doug:
If you have not already seen the movie "Amazing Grace", I would highly
recommend it. My parents, wife and I saw it over the Easter weekend and
thoroughly enjoyed it. You can learn more about the movie at its website:
http://www.amazinggracemovie.com
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