The Slaver Who Sang of Freedom

John Newton had blood on his hands. For years he commanded slave ships, transporting human beings across the Atlantic in conditions of unspeakable horror. He was, by his own later admission, a man chained to greed and violence.

Then came the storm.

In 1748, off the coast of Ireland, Newton's ship was nearly swallowed by the sea. In the terror of that night, he cried out to God — and something broke open inside him. It wasn't an instant transformation. Conversion rarely is. But it was the beginning.

Years later, ordained as an Anglican minister and haunted by his past, Newton put words to what grace had done in him. He called himself a "wretch." He spoke of being "lost" and then "found," "blind" and then seeing. He published Amazing Grace in 1779, and it became one of the most beloved songs in the world.