John Newton was a pastor in Olney, England, in the eighteenth century, and he wrote what is probably the most famous hymn of all time, “Amazing Grace.” Its theme of redemption is one Newton knew quite well. As a young man, he was a sailor, and even among this rough bunch he had earned renown, in one captain’s words, as the most profane man he had ever met. After deserting the Royal Navy, Newton got into the slave trade. During a violent storm at sea in 1748, Newton cried out to God, and not for the first time found religion. But this time something real had happened in his heart, and Newton’s
...more
