Amazing Grace: Men Who Changed the World {DVD + MP3 Album Giveaway!}

Did you miss Thursday's post about FEE and the Blinking Lights Project?  Well go check it out!  I'll wait for you.  I also recommend refreshing your memory on my human trafficking blog posts.

Now that everyone's up to speed: the giveaway!  Well, not yet, actually.  First, I want to share what came with the free DVD in the discussion pamphlet.

Note sent with the DVD, also available on the initiative website:

Have you ever seen a movie so good, so moving, that tears flow freely as the audience rises to its feet to applaud as the closing credits roll? That was often the reaction in theaters when director Michael Apted’s remarkable film, Amazing Grace, appeared in theaters in 2006.


Two of the film’s central characters are William Wilberforce, the Yorkshire Parliamentarian whose campaign to end slavery ranks as one of the greatest humanitarian movements of all time; and Thomas Clarkson, the activist on whom Wilberforce relied for mountains of evidence and encouragement. Between them, over many years, they endured and overcame every obstacle imaginable, including ill health, death threats and defeats almost too numerous to count. But they changed the conscience of a nation and ended a terrible evil. The story brings the best of the human spirit to the fore—integrity, courage, conviction, leadership, optimism and perseverance—in a struggle to rid the world of the worst of human contrivances.

What once seemed an unattainable dream finally became reality in 1807. Abolition of the slave trade won Parliament’s overwhelming approval. Amazing Grace captures that monumental moment brilliantly. In real life, Wilberforce and Clarkson didn’t quit there; they worked for 26 more years until, in 1833, Parliament voted to abolish slavery itself and liberate all those within British jurisdiction who had been enslaved.

Two centuries ago, William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson showed us that a small number of dedicated humanitarians can make a world rife with tyranny and corruption a better place. All of us who would like to see it made better again should be thankful for this film. Its message is an inspiration for all time.
Thanks to Walden Media, we are able to offer free copies of this film, along with a brief pamphlet including discussion questions. Our hope is that this film will help promote discussion of the importance of individual character in a free society.

Sincerely,
Lawrence W. Reed
President, FEE

A few of the links for additional background reading for Amazing Grace:

A Student's Essay That Changed the World: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/a-students-essay-that-changed-the-world#axzz2XXvtnTw5

An Inspiration for All Time: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/an-inspiration-for-all-time#axzz2XXvtnTw5

The Question of Slavery: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-question-of-slavery#axzz2XXvtnTw5

Ten Reasons Not to Abolish Slavery: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/ten-reasons-not-to-abolish-slavery#axzz2XXvtnTw5

Ideas and the Abolition of Slavery: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/ideas-and-the-abolition-of-slavery#axzz2XXvtnTw5

America's Role in Ending the Slave Trade: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/americas-role-in-ending-the-slave-trade-a-second-look#axzz2XXvtnTw5
The Liberty Tradition Among Black Americans: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-liberty-tradition-among-black-americans#axzz2XXvtnTw5

My posts about human trafficking: human trafficking/modern slavery facts and how to take action against modern slavery.

(I have not read all of the articles entirely, but I've chosen these from a list of articles recommended by FEE.)

Discussion Questions:

(These are questions found in the recommended list with the DVD, edited and altered for this post by me.)

A. Slavery had been widely accepted and practiced for centuries, with many countries involved, before Wilberforce and Clarkson appeared on the scene in the 1780s.  Why do you think public attitudes in Britain finally turned against it?

B. How important do you think the role of Christianity was in a) supporting slavery and b) ending it?

C. What personal characteristics do you think Wilberforce possessed that helped him stay in the anti-slavery battle for so long?

D. Choose another character from the movie or one of FEE's articles and discuss his or her contributions to the anti-slavery cause.

E. What do you think were the most powerful arguments used to convince people that slavery was wrong?  How effective do you think these arguments are/would be today with human trafficking (modern slavery)?  What would you add for today's fight?

F. What were the most powerful arguments used to convince people that slavery was justified?  What are the most common and/or powerful arguments used today?

G. What do you think caused slavery to pick up again?  Do you think it will be easier, harder, or about the same to defeat slavery today as it was in Britain and England in the 17- and 1800s?  Why?

Giveaway! Open to all ages, USA addresses only.  Prizes include one Amazing Grace DVD and the entire Amazing Grace Original Score on MP3 - that's 25 tracks from the movie!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information about or resources for Amazing Grace, stop by the Amazing Grace website!