Skip to content
Advertisement

In the Steps of William Wilberforce: Heroes Known and Unknown

In the Steps of William Wilberforce: Heroes Known and Unknown is a Sponsored Report prepared by The Washington Times Advocacy Department and Essentials in Education (EIE).

Recent Stories

"Gin Lane" by British printmaker, Bishop William Hogarth, reflects England's troubled society in the late 18th century.

William Wilberforce: The model to engage the public square

It is very popular today to talk about transforming culture. There are people of faith who talk about this. But, there are many others who are transforming culture and mean something totally different. Currently, it is hard to find people to talk about whether transformation is for good or for evil. Hitler transformed the culture around him, but it was for evil.

Chuck Colson leading a group of Centurions.

William Wilberforce: Sanctified Discontent: The spirit of Wilberforce in the legacy of Chuck Colson'

Management guru Peter Drucker famously described the entrepreneur as one who embodies and declares "a manifesto of dissent." They see what is and envision instead what ought to be, and set themselves to the task of disrupting the status quo. Drucker meant this as relating to both commercial and social entrepreneurs. More recently, some Christian writers have referred to this instinct in leaders of spiritual movements as "sanctified discontent."

William Wilberforce: Dr. Jerry Falwell's passion for people

Many biographies could be written about Jerry Falwell. Each could concentrate on his purpose and HIS various callings. As a Christian leader, you must begin with his conversion and coming to faith in Christ as a teenager in 1950.

Dr. Jack Templeton

William Wilberforce: Dr. Jack Templeton: In gratitude

When William Wilberforce died in 1833, the British Parliament passed a special bill permitting him to be buried in Westminster Abbey, an honor rarely accorded to a commoner. The inscription on his tomb read:

Congressman Frank Wolf

William Wilberforce: Frank Wolf: A 21st Century Wilberforce

"Americans understand religious freedom to mean different things," says former Congressman Frank R. Wolf. "But most would agree that conscience rights figure prominently in the narrative of America's founding. Historically, Americans and our corresponding institutions have recognized that conscience is not ultimately allegiant to the state, but to something, and for many people Someone, higher."

William Wilberforce: Defending religious freedom: Seamus Hasson

In 1994, a top-notch lawyer left his job at a prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm to found a non-profit, public interest law firm. Its purpose? To defend religious liberty in the courts and, in doing so, to shape the law to embrace a more robust understanding of religious liberty.

Professor Robby George

William Wilberforce: Professor Robby George: A man of engaging ideas

I had known Robert "Robby" George for years now. It was the fall of 1999. I had invited him to lunch. I wanted to ask his opinion as to whether I should devote some energy to help a few Princeton faculty to develop a project in medieval history. Never before had I talked to Robby about my own interests and projects. This lunch was about to change the course of my life.

William Wilberforce: Ronald Reagan spoke truth about the Evil Empire

When Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President on the 20th of January, 1981, he and the nation faced a host of major problems. Foremost among them was a hostile and aggressive Soviet Union. Less than two years earlier Red Army units had invaded Afghanistan, while at the time of the inauguration Marxist forces were spreading subversion and totalitarianism in Africa, Asia and even Central America.

Pope John Paul II (center, in red boots) prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in this 1984 file photo. (CNS photo from the Vatican) (Feb. 10, 2005)

William Wilberforce: The power of truth in the face of lies: Pope John Paul II

When Karol Wojtya was a young priest, assigned to a university chaplaincy in Krakw in the early 1950s, he used to lead a close group of students and friends on excursions into the Polish countryside. Summer days were spent hiking or kayaking. In winter, they would ski. Fr. Wojtya would say Mass for the group, sometimes using an overturned kayak as a makeshift altar.

William Wilberforce: The Shai Fund: Bringing help and hope to Iraq's displaced Christians

Persecution -- the global assault on Christians has been on the increase for decades. But it has exploded exponentially in the Middle East, following the Gulf War in 2003. Today, the persecution has become a bloodbath, due to the upheaval known as the "Arab Spring," which erupted in 2010, along with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011.

William Wilberforce: Improving the college culture: Matt Bennett

Can anyone improve the degraded culture on college campuses today? Matt Bennett has. Ten percent of the Princeton University students today are in deep dive voluntary bible study, and it already has improved the college atmosphere. The idea for a Sex Week at Princeton modeled on the one started at Yale was a non-starter at Princeton. What has happened at Princeton is now happening at all Ivy League colleges and soon Stanford and MIT.

Chicago Hope Academy's Bob Muzikowski (Courtesy Chicago Hope Academy)

William Wilberforce: Chicago's inspiring Bob Muzikowski

Heroes, it has been said, are made not born. The character qualities that make a hero are courage, sacrifice, and vision. Heroes are those who dream bigger than most and live out their purpose and ideals in the face of danger, threat or hardship. In the end, a hero saves lives, confronts evil, and someone lives to tell the tale. Bob Muzikowski is my hero.

Chaplain Wes Modder

William Wilberforce: The Courage of Chaplain Wes Modder

Having the courage to stand up for what is right is not always an easy thing to do. One would not expect that a decorated Chaplain would have to fight for his constitutional right to religious freedom. But that is exactly what the decorated 19-year Navy chaplain Wes Modder is doing with great courage.

William Wilberforce: Government leaders taking a strong stand

Throughout our history, from the first permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, until the present --from our Founding Fathers to ordinary citizens who cherish this country's heritage -- faith and prayer have formed the bedrock of our national character. Prayers have been offered as petition and thanksgiving, to embrace our grief and sorrow, for our troops and first responders, in times of uncertainty and crisis, during war and in peace, for protection, provision, guidance and the acknowledgement that in and of ourselves, we are wholly insufficient. Sadly, this humble act of dependency on the Creator is increasingly challenged, diluted and, in many instances, publically disallowed.

William Wilberforce: Hernando de Soto's quest for justice

One of the governing narratives about poverty is that the world's poor are dominated by markets and that justice requires they be protected from competition and the ups and downs of a market economy. This is widely promoted by everyone from development professionals to religious leaders, but this perhaps one of clearest cases of getting something almost entirely wrong. The poor are not dominated by markets. They are excluded from markets.

William Wilberforce: Loving our communities: Jeff Pishney

Life growing up in Modesto, California in the 1950's and 1960's was almost as good as we remember it to have been. With only 32,000 people in 1960, it was a place much more like a Midwest farm town than big city California. I remember milk being delivered to the front door and bike rides with my friends all over town by the age of ten, without a parent along to protect us.