Opinion: The amazing story behind the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’

Updated: 21 Jan, 2025 • 0 • min read

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“ The hymn was first sung in a New Year's Day sermon given by Newton about 252 years ago, in 1773. One of the most iconic hymns ever, it has been a staple at countless U.S. gatherings, both secular and spiritual in nature. You could even say it has become a kind of national anthem.

The story of John Newton is just as inspiring as the hymn he wrote. John Newton was initially a sailor, but due to some behavioral issues, he was reassigned to a slave ship where he cruelly traded people. However, a severe storm at sea profoundly affected him, prompting an examination of his life and spiritual condition. This introspection ultimately led him to become a devout Christian.

Not too long after, he stopped being involved in the slave trade and started studying theology, which ultimately led to him becoming an ordained minister in the Church of England and taking a position at a church in Olney, England, where he wrote a self-reflective hymn.

A distinctive characteristic of "Amazing Grace" is that people with diverse backgrounds and religious beliefs enjoy and appreciate its message, including both devout Christians and non-Christians as well as individuals who follow other faiths.

The history of "Amazing Grace" shows that singer Judy Collins did an unplanned performance of the hymn at a 1969 gathering of war protesters in New York City.

According to Collins, he was told, “He [Collins' producer, Mark Abramson] said, you know, I think you should sing something because everybody is sort of getting really agitated here, and something could break out that's physical. So I sang ‘Amazing Grace’ because I knew that everybody would know a little bit of the song. And it calmed everybody down.”

which has become an iconic version that still remains quite inspiring.

I believe that our national anthem should be 'Amazing Grace' because it's often used in times of spiritual comfort and deep thought.

In 2015, during a eulogy for one of the victims of the Charleston church shooting in South Carolina.

Into "Amazing Grace." In the first stanza "saved a wretch like me" expresses the Christian perspective that man is a corrupted being who is unable to save himself. In contrast, the prevailing attitude today is that human beings are basically good. However, everyone who sings the hymn must still express the words "wretch like me."

The phrase "I once was lost but now am found" suggests a sense of surrender, with the verb "am found" being in a passive form - not "I found it," but "I am found." This phrasing echoes the Calvinist concept of God's sovereignty in salvation, implying that God must extend His hand to the individual first, for the sinner is incapable and unwilling to respond without divine intervention.

The second stanza highlights God's forgiving grace, which is a crucial aspect of Protestant, evangelical, and especially Calvinist beliefs: “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!”

And finally, the third stanza emphasizes the strong belief in the trustworthiness of the Word of God — “The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures.” — a sentiment that has become less popular in many areas.

One of the brilliant aspects of "Amazing Grace" is that it conveys the core principles of Christian theology without mentioning Jesus or the word Christian. In the seven stanzas, the word "God" is only mentioned twice. In Newton's 18th-century England, most people would claim to be Christian, even though many didn't act like it.

In our time, many people find the teachings of evangelical Christianity, particularly those of Calvinism, to be deeply upsetting. Yet, the song "Amazing Grace" has the power to inspire us to thoughtfully consider our lives, challenges, and blessings without being off-putting. That's a remarkable story.

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