Renowned abolitionist William Wilberforce turns his gifts of wit and analysis to the Christian faith, revealing and discussing differences between cultural and practical Christians. Wilberforce is eager to draw a distinction between those who merely follow the traditions and motions of Christianity as a matter of formality - so-called 'cultural Christians' - and those who actively seek to behave and lead life in a Christian manner. For the author, this means strict adherence to a moral code, and backing one's faith up with consistent action that is righteous and clearly inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ. Real Christianity, claims Wilberforce, is altogether less common than the inauthentic and hollow 'cultural Christianity' that pervades society. Optimistically however, Wilberforce believes that anyone born in a Christian society can with effort and will become practical Christians.
Wilberforce’s classic work, A Practical View of Christianity, is concerned with convincing those who call themselves Christians to pursue “the real nature and principles of the religion which they profess.” Christianity is not a mere morality, to be held in private. Christianity is revelation from God, bringing new rights and correspondent duties. It is an entire way of life that requires diligence and study and that should affect every aspect of the Christian’s public and private life. An index, explanatory notes, scripture references, translations of Latin phrases, bibliographic information, and other helps ensure that this work will be as valuable to today’s reader as it was to those readers who made A Practical View of Christianity a bestseller for fifty years. William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was a member of the British Parliament. He was also affiliated with the Clapham Sect, a group of Evangelicals who were active in public life. He was very instrumental in many social justice issues, including the abolition of slavery in England.
Political economy and Christian theology coexisted happily in the intellectual world of the eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century they came to be seen as incompatible, even mutually hostile. In the twentieth century they went their separate ways and are no longer on speaking terms. These fourteen essays by Anthony Waterman serve as snapshots of the history of this estrangement, and illustrate the gradual replacement of the discourse of theology by that of economics as the rational framework of political debate. Others have recently shown that both political economy and Christian theology are important, though somewhat neglected elements in modern intellectual history. This book is the first to combine these two lines of inquiry.