I watched the Amazing Grace movie with my family yesterday. That was a fun and meaningful way to spend our Christmas evening.I enjoyed the portrayal of William Wilberforce. The actor and screenwriter captured the spirit of a man who could not let go of a godly obsession, or perhaps it would not let him go. I understand this spirit well. It is the same kind of passion that has guided and empowered me through the past twenty-five years of my life.
The knowledge that something is desperately wrong burns within. It must be voiced until that wrong is made right. It keeps a man awake at night weeping for those being destroyed be the wrong, not allowing him to enjoy any worldly pleasures while others suffer. It causes him to become a "fool" for Christ, acting and speaking in ways that most professing Christians don't understand. In his zeal to destroy the bastions of apathetic religion and powers-that-be, he carries the whip of Jesus and overturns the money-changers' tables and upsets the religious hypocrites of the day.
Yes, I know that spirit well, and I expect the enslavers of today who oppose what I am doing to become louder and more venomous as the days pass. Instead of sneering cries of "seditionist,"as William Wilberforce heard, I expect to hear more cries of "heretic" as I try to break the chains of those enslaved by the church doctrines of today, the falsehoods that keep believers bound in sin. May God help me as I teach Jesus words, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."
16 comments:
It's a lonely road when God calls you to live in the spirit of John the Bapist. A voice crying in the wilderness. Most people can't wrap their minds around it. Still, we must do what God is calling us to do.
For me, I know some things you've shared have embarked our Women's Bible Study group on a study with one of the Puritan writings: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen. It's been a deep, enriching study and one that we're still working through.
In the end, we'll all know the truth ... whether we follow it now or not.
I still haven't seen that movie ... I really want to, though.
Thank you for all that you do, Mr. Davis. You may be a "voice crying in the wilderness", but please remember that I'm listening.
My sister and I just watched that movie yesterday morning as well. It was a good movie.
Standing strong is important, even if everyone else opposes you, you have to do that which God has called you to do.
Mr. Davis, I would like to ask you some question but would rather not do it on the world wide web. Is there any other way I can contact you?
You can send me an email. My address is bryan at dragonsinourmidst dot com. Change "at" to @, change "dot" to a period, and take out the spaces.
I write it that way to prevent Internet spam robots from picking up my email address.
There are people listening, I am! Your books are a great testement to God. You may feel lonely but there are people people who are listening to your every word! I absolutely love this movie. Got a copy of it for Christmas.
I really want to see this movie. One of my favorite songs (Amazing Grace - My Chains Are Gone by Chris Tomlin) is on the soundtrack. I didn't know until I saw the music video for the song, and in the music video they showed clips from the movie.
Mr. Davis, do you have the movie, or did you rent it?
We watched it at my wife's sister's house. She owns it.
It's a great movie. I esp. loved the thing at the end where the bagpipers and everone are playing "Amazing Grace". Oooh, it gives me chills just thinking about it.
~Trav
I thought it would be an okay movie. And it has curse words in it, doesn't it? For those two reasons, I haven't watched it.
Though, it does sound really good! Your post really makes me want to see it.
Does it have the curse words?
Yeah, it has more swearing then almost any of my other movies do, and they were quite a bit more offensive to me then the usual ones that I've encountered before in my movies.
(Actually I think is the movie I have that has the most swearing in it.)
The movie has a few of what most consider the milder expletives. You can find the exact words and count by looking at this link:
http://www.screenit.com/movies/2007/amazing_grace.html#p
14-17 curse words??? I so pass. I try to turn the tv show/movie off with one curse word in it, let alone that many!
The theme of the movie sounds really good. If only it was cleaned up a bit.
Melissa,
It's not a perfect movie. There are troubling aspects other than profanity, including habitual alcohol consumption by one of the "good guys."
I don't like hearing profanity at all. Still, when the "bad guys" in the movie use it, that seems normal. Even then, I don't like it, and I would prefer the movie didn't have it.
Yes, I know. I was just looking forward to seeing it after your post, but *sigh* not anymore. I bet it would be an absolutely awesome movie without all that junk. Maybe I should get ClearPlay...
"Amazing Grace" was truly amazing and touching. Since My mother is of African descent this theme of slavery really hit home to me. I especially liked the fact that the movie showed how an outspoken person in politics could make so much of a difference. As a homeschooler involved in debate it is very encouraging to know I could one day be the next Willliam Wilberforce and make a difference in our world.
I will say that the movie content is very dark and sad, but that is exactly how it was and how it should be seen as. Slavery imprisoned human souls and taught the rest of the world that it was okay. Even now we struggle with the consequences of these times. Thank God there were people like William who could stand up for what right so that others could be free. Thank you Mr. Davis for recognizing this movie!
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