The Force of Wilberforce

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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.

For much of his life, Wilberforce suffered from ulcerative colitis and often needed daily opium for the pain. Mr. Brownback is impressed by the abolitionist's perseverance.

"While he was weak and sickly, he didn't sit back, nor let that debilitate him," Mr. Brownback says. "That determination comes from knowing your cause is right, and it's important. Knowing if you don't keep pushing on it, people will suffer and die. My guess is that his soul wouldn't let him rest without addressing these topics."

After Wilberforce's conversion to Christianity in 1785, he thought that God placed before him two great callings: the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners, Mr. Brownback says.

Wilberforce is an archetype of someone who served God while working in the political arena, says David Kuo, author of "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction." He is a former special assistant to President Bush and was deputy director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Wilberforce "didn't hold his power to hold power," Mr. Kuo says. "He held it for a singular purpose. He was really willing to sacrifice his office and life to attain what he felt God called him to do. Today, it's tempting for Christians to become professional politicians. We have the mind-set that 'God wants me to be in office, so I'm going to be in office,' and not necessarily for any particularly profound reason."