The Force of Wilberforce
By Jen Waters
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 20, 2007

When Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican, declared his candidacy for president last month, he referenced the inspiration of a little-known British parliamentarian named William Wilberforce.

In 1787, Wilberforce, a committed Christian, presented a bill to Parliament to abolish the slave trade. He fought for 20 years in what seemed like an impossible battle. Finally in 1807, the slave trade was outlawed. Four days before his death in 1833, Parliament passed a bill emancipating the slaves in the British Empire and outlawing slavery.

If Wilberforce were a politician today, fighting to end abortion and renewing the family and culture would be on his to-do list, Mr. Brownback says.

"He was the best public-policy expression of the renewal of faith in their society," Mr. Brownback says. "He did it in such a beautiful way on important topics that lined up with his faith. His faith drove him."

Mr. Brownback apparently isn't the only one taking notice of Wilberforce's heroic efforts. On Friday, Walden Media releases "Amazing Grace," a feature film directed by Michael Apted that chronicles Wilberforce's campaign against the slave trade. the rest