Born in England, John Newton lived with his mother and was raised with Christian beliefs. Just before Newton turned seven years old, his mother died and he was sent to live with his father, a sea captain. Newton went to boarding school for a few years, then joined his father on the ship at the age of eleven.Though he had a better education than most sailors, Newton also "had a reputation for profanity, coarseness and debauchery which even shocked many a sailor." In spite of this, he was also known as a gifted sailor and eventually became captain of a slave ship. Newton never abandoned the Christian teachings of his childhood, but did not fully embrace them until he was caught in a terrible storm at sea in 1748. He converted during the storm and came ashore with newfound faith, left the sea and became ordained in the Anglican church. He also rallied for humanitarian causes such as the abolition of the slave trade and became a great influence on William Wilberforce. Newton preached for most of the rest of his life and authored many hymns. The most famous of these, "Faith's Review and Expectation," we know today as "Amazing Grace."
For more information about John Newton, please see The John Newton Project or Finding God in the Story of Amazing Grace by Kurt D. Bruner, copyright 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers.
Quotations in this post are extracted from Biograpy Resource Center, copyright 2008 by Thomson-Gale, Inc.
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