“Like the reformers of Wilberforce’s day, orthodox Christians have a place in today’s public policy arena. Their faith is what moves them to speak out against the modern day slavery of sex trafficking and the genocides in Sudan.” -Jim Tonkowich, IRD President
Contact: Loralei Coyle, The Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@ird-renew.org; Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton jwalton@ird-renew.org
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- On February 23rd, Amazing Grace, a film about the life of William Wilberforce and his effort to end the British slave trade, will be released. Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian, was a British politician, abolitionist and leader of the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade. The movie tells the biography of the young Member of Parliament (first elected at 21) to the abolitionist who succeeded in banning the slave trade in the United Kingdom.
IRD President Jim Tonkowich commented:
“The story of William Wilberforce speaks loudly to Christians today. First, this movie could not have been made at a better time as we continue to fight modern slavery in the form of sex trafficking, indentured servitude, and forced labor.
“Second, Wilberforce’s successful effort to end the slave trade in the midst of intense opposition points to a truth about cultural and social renewal: it takes many years. William Wilberforce made change possible by forging a social witness that connected orthodox Christian faith with public policy and cultural renewal.
“Some see it as a mystery that a group of upper-class white men in the early 1800s would choose to abolish a trade that financially benefited the interests in the British Empire. The truth is that the orthodox Christian faith of men like Wilberforce and his associates compelled them to keep pressing the conscience of the British people and this ultimately led to political change.
“Like the reformers of Wilberforce’s day, orthodox Christians have a place in today’s public policy arena. Their faith is what moves them to speak out against modern day slavery, the genocides in Darfur and southern Sudan, the AIDS pandemic, and the right to life.”
The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.
www.ird-renew.org
