He blasphemed and ridiculedĬhristian belief. "exceeding wickedness." Having finally abandoned the faith of To get his father's attention-ways that were, he later wrote, Newton therefore acted up in various ways But nothing seemed to provide the sense of the love he'dįelt from his mother and, under her spiritual direction, from God.Īs Newton grew into adolescence he became more convinced that hisįather didn't love him. Meditating, abstaining from meat, reading pious books and keeping long Upbringing given to him by his mother, also tested his faith by The young Newton, still clinging loosely to his religious By his teens he had become an expert sailor. With his father, visiting many Mediterranean ports, before the elder Newton went to sea with his father as an apprentice "almost broke my sprat and relish for books."Īt age 10. Later confided in a letter that the severity of his school experience Staff wielded the cane and the birch rod to motivate learners. He was soon sent to a boarding school in Essex, where the His mother was devastating, and young Newton became disrespectful andĭifficult. Newton's mother taught him to read by the time he was four andīegan teaching him arithmetic and Latin before he was six. John Newton's relief, his father would spend only a few weeks at Severity." which overawed and discouraged his son. Newton was stem and authoritarian, with an "air of distance and His Father John Newton Sr.Ĭommanded merchant ships in the Mediterranean trade. Pious, shy woman who lovingly read the Bible to her son, sang hymns with John Newton was born in London on July 24, 1725. World's most beloved hymns: Amazing Grace. He would also become a minister and write one of the In theĬourse of that transformation he would leave the slave trade and becomeĪn abolitionist whose influence helped lead Great Britain to outlawĬhattel slavery. Undertempters" changed his life, dedicating it to God. Later described himself as a wretch and "one of Satan's Salvation became the turning point of Newton's life. Miraculously, it seemed to Newton, the ship survived. Reason why the Lord singled me out for mercy." Know that there is a God who hears every prayer. Human appearance, have gone to the bottom. If we had continuedĪt sea that night in our shattered, enfeebled condition, we would to all Hours, the wind began to blow with great violence. Very last victuals were boiling in the pot. "When we came into this port," Newton wrote, "our The ship's captain evenĭecided that Newton himself was somehow to blame for it all. Pump continuously to keep the ship afloat. The storm hadīlown the ship far off course. There were still more troubles for the Greyhound. Therefore was expecting, and almost at times wishing, to know the That if the Christian religion were true, I could not be forgiven, and Newton began to think about the religion he had once believed in soįirmly and about his own evil behavior. Had managed to pump the ship free of water. Stopped believing in God-had not asked Him for anything in years.Īfter 11 hours, the storm ended and by the following day, the crew The militant atheist who was raised as a Christian but had Will not do, the Lord have mercy on us!" He was startled by his own Then, tired and afraid, Newton cried out, "If this Nevertheless, Newton and the crew pumped from 5Ī.m. "Pumping's useless! Nothing can save this ship, orĪll seemed lost. The upper timbers of the ship were torn away and it was in danger of The sea pounded the Greyhound so hard that part of her side was smashed In the early roosting hours of the next day, a violent storm arose. Warnings of God's judgment disturbed Newton, who had been living a Thomas a Kempis' classic study of spiritual life. Looking for something to do, he began reading The Imitation of Christ, Since Newton was a passenger, not a crewman, he had time to spare. The ship he was traveling on-the Greyhound-was Young English atheist and slave merchant named John Newton, it was a "The storms of life" is a common metaphor, but for a His testimony of that transformation is now a world-famous hymn. APA style: The man behind Amazing Grace: John Newton, who was once an atheist and slave trader, became a Christian minister and abolitionist.His testimony of that transformation is now a world-famous hymn." Retrieved from The man behind Amazing Grace: John Newton, who was once an atheist and slave trader, became a Christian minister and abolitionist. His testimony of that transformation is now a world-famous hymn." The Free Library. MLA style: "The man behind Amazing Grace: John Newton, who was once an atheist and slave trader, became a Christian minister and abolitionist.
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