The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Elizabeth D. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report on God’s Politician by Garth Lean
God's politician, by Garth Lean, is a biography telling the story of the life of William Wilberforce. The book is divided into two themes: abolishing the slave trade, and reforming the manners of England.
William Wilberforce grew up comfortably in a town named Hull with his sister and mother, and his father until he died when William was 9. William was sickly as a child, but while his body was weak, his mind was strong. He had a singing voice of unusual range and beauty.
God got ahold of Wilberforce's of his life by some well placed questions from a friend. Shortly after he became a Christian, a friend of an acquaintance, Lady Middleton, challenged William to raise the question of abolishing the slave trade in the House of Commons. At age 27, in the year 1787, Wilberforce took action on Middleton’s request, and set the abolition of the slave trade underway. While the campaign to stop the slave trade took over 20 years of unceasing labor, he became one of the most well known men in all of England.
The second great task, 'reforming the manners of England,' was in many ways just as difficult as the first; for the cultured aristocracy which then ruled over Britian had not even the slightest idea that their manners needed reforming. Drunkeness was rampant, lords and leaders took more than one wife, and there was little regard for the poor. Wilberforce hoped that many of the ruling classes, even if they would not immediately change their behavior, would be shamed into better conduct. His first step was to persuade George III to reissue the proclamation that every British king made on his accession to the throne, the 'Proclamation for the Encouragement of Piety and Virtue.' The proclamation, even though made, was generally ignored. After granting William's request it took many months for the movement to gain momentum, and now nothing could stop it. Meetings were held deciding how best the proclamation should be carried out. Obstacles to the movement were oppressors in general, the rich who felt they did not need to heed it, and those who claimed the movement was 'the society for the suppression of crime among those whose income was less than $500.00 a year.'
Amidst times of discouragement, Wilberforce was encouraged by his God and the community he lived in. Nearly all of William's friends of influence, along with their families, lived in Clapham Community. They gathered in the library of the main house for 'Council Cabinet' meetings, where they discussed everything form personal matters to how they were going to tackle their next job. It was at an April cabinet meeting that William received a letter from Barbara Spooner. He met her on the 15th of the same month, and by the 23rd William and Barbara were engaged to be married. They were wed in May, moved to a nearby town, and never once had an empty house... from visiting friends to beggars hungry for breakfast. The Wilberforces had six children, including four sons and 2 daughters. All four sons graduated from Oxford University, with three of them receiving high honors. A few short days before William’s death on July 29th, 1833, he and his family rejoiced over the news of the House of Commons' victory over emancipation.
In reading about the life of William Wilberforce, I have learned how God can use just one man to do something extraordinary; even while many people might think it impossible.
