“I would suggest that faith is everyone's business. The advance or decline of faith is so intimately connected to the welfare of a society that it should be of particular interest to a politician.”
Reading Wilberforce reminds me of that uncomfortable feeling I had when I first began to realize that Jesus fed the crowds not before, but after He delivered His sermon. Wilberforce’s Real Christianity is touted as “the book which helped end slavery in Britain”. Those of us used to political and activist writing might be surprised to learn that Wilberforce says very little about the “issue” of slavery. Instead, he addresses the spiritual state of the nation, believing that an authentic and lively faith in Christ was the chief cause for the social ills of his time. Wilberforce’s approach seem counter-intuitive to many of us.
In 1797 Wilberforce, a member of Parliament for the County of York, published a small book which has come to be known as "A Practical Guide to Real Christianity." The original title gives us a much clearer picture of what Wilberforce intended to accomplish with his work:
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in This Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity
It was a book that immediately caught public attention. Kevin Belmonte, an up-and-coming scholar of Wilberforce's text, notes that the book became an immediate "bestseller" of the time and went through five editions within six months. 15 more editions would be printed in Britain before 1826, and 25 editions would be published in the US. It was translated into Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
A new, rather paraphrased edition has been prepared by Dr Bob Beltz [Ventura, CA: Gospel Light/Regal, 2007]. This new edition is simply titled "Real Christianity", and retains the thought and powerful message of Wilberforce's original text. One of the things I quite appreciate about Beltz’ versions is how he has retained the occasional emphasis with which Wilberforce wrote: italics and capitalization are kept in those passages where Wilberforce himself used them. This gives the reader a fuller sense of the passion of the original text. Some of what Wilberforce writes shows that the work is very much a product of his times, but the message of "authentic faith" is a timeless challenge to "cultural Christianity".
Chapter 1: The State of Contemporary Christianity:
Wilberforce intends his readers to understand that his book is addressed to those who profess to be Christians. His lament is one that might be echoed by many today: “I fear for the future of authentic faith in our country. We live in a time when the common man in our country is thoroughly influenced by the current climate in which the cultural and educational elite propagates an anti-Christian message”. [20] He places great emphasis on the Bible – he refers to it throughout the book. He is also clear in his opinion that “what we believe determines how we live”. Belief precedes action and determines its direction. [24] He challenged those who have “settled for cultural Christianity and remained ignorant or unresponsive to authentic faith”. [25]
Chapter 2: Current Ideas About the Nature of Man
Wilberforce immediately addresses what he sees as the root: “the majority of Christians overlook, deny, or at the very least minimize the problems of what it means to be a fallen human being”. [27] He asks his readers to take the problem of evil seriously. This means being conscious of sin as an expression of fallen humanity. He gives us two examples of the causes of sin. In keeping with much of the thought of his time, he refers twice to giving in to our “lower nature” and “appetites” [29, 33], and it is clear that he is working within the framework of the rational Enlightenment. However, he also challenges the materialist assumption that there is no “supernatural” agency involved in evil. Wilberforce warns his readers to take seriously the existence of supernatural forces that tempt and corrupt. He calls us to take into account how demonic activity is at work in the human heart”. [34]
Chapter 3: Understanding Cultural Christianity
Wilberforce begins with 11 “essential facts about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit which the Bible teaches, and, historically, the Church embraced”. [41] His 11 essential facts seem to be a propositional form of the classic creeds. While he argues that “truths’ are foundational to authentic faith, the center of religion is a “commitment to Jesus Christ” [45]. He then adds to this rationalist approach by expanding on the necessary role of emotion in authentic faith [47-54]. In a line that is worth pondering, Wilberforce states that “[e]motions must be judged by what arouses them [49]. He then returns to the problem of “faulty thinking” about both the Spirit and the nature of God. His summary at this point is just this: “For those who attempt to reduce faith to a system of ethics, we respond with the words of Jesus: ‘The work of God is this: to believe the one he sent’” [60]. What Wilberforce attempts to point out is that in his experience of contemporary society, those who practice a cultural Christianity of a system of ethics, rather than belief with ethics, fail to do justice to the ethics they proclaim. This is because without authentic faith, one has no power to rise above fallen nature [chapter 2] and actually put into practice the ethics that Christ taught.
Chapter 4: True Standards of Christian Behavior
“We say that Jesus is our Savour, but we forget that he also said that He is our example. he not only said ‘Believe in me’, but also, ‘Follow me.’” [64] And here Wilberforce encourages his readers to recognize that “the pursuit of holiness is a joy.”[66] This of course has long been the secret of the Christian life – holiness and joy are not mutually exclusive, but inseparably intertwined. The great sin to which we are tempted is idolatry – anything which is in competition to our wholehearted love of God. Again, it is faith which precedes action: “It is almost impossible to live as Christ taught if we do not have a transforming belief that changes the way we live.” [78] A necessary part of this call to Christ-like behavior is self examination. Wilberforce refers to this process several times. [104 ff] it is the Christian equivalent of the dictum, the unexamined life is not worth living. And Wilberforce encourages us to be diligent and honest in our self examination.
He gives us a simple answer to the problem of our morality: “It is the neglect of study of the bible and reflection on the life of Christ that is at the heart of the practical errors of the majority of professing Christians.” [121 A rather simple remedy, but there you have it. If we were to focus our time and energy on just those two pursuits, I’m certain we, and our churches would experience transformation.
Chapter 5: Arguments for True Christianity
This is the shortest chapter in the book – only 7 pages in all. Here Wilberforce explains that he is “not trying to give proof of the truth of Christianity”, but rather it is in this chapter that he tells his readers that “Not only is the gospel intended for all of humanity, but it also has a special place among the poor.” [135] And perhaps this is exactly one of the chief “arguments” for the living in authentic faith: that the gospel is for the poor.
Chapter 6: The Current State of Christianity
Wilberforce next looks at the broader question of the influence of “authentic Christianity” in the culture at large. He is critical of a national Church which has become simply indistinguishable from the general culture. [142] He turns his attention away from the personal faith of which he wrote in the first 4 chapters, and instead writes more directly about the relationship of the institution of the Church to the institution of the nation politically. He describes himself as a patriot, but not a nationalist. [151] He takes some pains to show that at least on one point, the aims of Christianity and the aims of politics coincide – each is concerned to root out “natural selfishness” in order to “develop a proper sense of who we are and what our obligations are to our fellow human beings.” [155]
Wilberforce also recognizes, at least in part, that the political and economic systems of his day were not “naturally Christian”. In fact he goes on to compare the health of the Church in times of persecution with what he sees as a moral decay brought about by too much attachment to new found mercantile wealth. It is not that such recent “progress” is in itself bad (he praises the many benefits which have come with such progress), but he carefully asks his readers to think critically about the systems in which they find themselves.
Chapter 7: Practical Hints About Authentic Faith
Here Wilberforce turns his attention away from the larger political questions and back to the individual. He looks again at the importance of self examination, noting that it is one of our great problems that we do see our faults as clearly as God sees them, nor do we perceive their gravity. He gives some advice for those of younger years – both to men and women of marriageable age – also touches on the faults he has seen in the aged. Temptation is everywhere present; he stresses a need for constant vigilance in spiritual growth. Here in this chapter Wilberforce tells us that a social "benevolence" is the natural outcome of authentic faith. "Private" faith will have an impact on the public sphere.
For Wilberforce, the route to a transformed nation is primarily through transformed individuals. He calls cultural Christians to examine themselves and he urges them toward “authentic faith”. Wilberforce himself used the phrase “Evangelical Christianity” in his original text, and this book gives us a more complete picture of what evangelicalism should be about: a lively faith coupled with a benevolence for humanity, all for the glory of God.
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