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Jonathan Aitken, a former British member of Parliament, was convicted of perjury and spent 18 months in prison, where he converted to Christ. Author of Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed, Aitken has just written a new biography, John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace. CT senior associate editor Stan Guthrie spoke with him.

What drew you to Newton?

It was a combination of godly curiosity and historical interest, plus a certain degree of commercial interest as well. This is the 200th anniversary both of the abolition of [the slave trade], in which Newton played a part, and of Newton's death. And there's been a lot of interest generated by the Amazing Grace movie.

What is new about John Newton?

In March 1748, Newton was caught in a great storm at sea. That began his spiritual searching, which led to his conversion. In 1758, he was passionately and deeply immersing himself in the question, "Should I serve God through the ordained ministry?" At that time, he wrote a [previously unknown] document called "Miscellaneous Thoughts on an Important Subject." This is a remarkable document. It's when he tested himself on the authenticity of his call. This document was in his own handwriting, 60 pages.

In what areas do you think our estimation of Newton will change?

Two hundred years later, it's easier to see how important a man Newton was from different angles. First, there is his life story. The amazing, transformational grace of Jesus Christ in Newton's life can be told gloriously over and over again, and there's new material to tell that story.

Second, there's a lot more [documentation]. For example, there's fairly sensational stuff about Newton in some of the letters he wrote, and the evidence he gave about the horrors of the slave trade is more dramatic.

Third, there is Newton's historical importance to the church as a whole. Sir James Stephen, a great historian, called him the second founder of the Church of England. He was almost a patriarchal figure in the evangelical movement. Newton's struggles with the Church of England were very considerable when he was rejected for ordination for the best part of seven years because he was "too enthusiastic." He would have been permanently turned out except there was a great man of his day in the cabinet, the Earl of Dartmouth, and he heard Newton preach. Thanks to the good offices of the Earl of Dartmouth, Newton was ordained and [became] a wonderful parish priest. He stayed in his village, Olney. He probably [multiplied] the congregation of the small market town from about 150 to 200 people coming to church to well over 600, maybe nearly 800. A new gallery had to be built in the church. In those days, that was almost revolutionary. He started classes for children, classes for people new in their faith, classes for people mature in their faith. And he absolutely was a wonderful, faithful preacher and a great teacher. [Newton] used to ride around his parish visiting the sick, persuading people to come to church, and so on.

But for all this hard work, he might have remained a sort of unknown, rural clergyman of great quality if it hadn't been for two key people in his life. One was William Wilberforce. But before that, there was an 18th-century poet of considerable distinction who came into Newton's life, because he'd heard Newton preach and he was really unstable. His name was William Cowper. Cowper, almost as a matter of therapy, was put to work by Newton in the parish and then became a marvelous help to Newton and was very good himself with the parishioners. They were the only two educated men in the small town of Olney.

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October 2007, Vol. 51, No. 10