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hipo posted an update 8 years, 10 months ago
John Newton 24 July 1725 – 21 December 1807 – author of the so famous song among Protestant and Anglican denominations
John Newton – Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJohn Newton (/ˈnjuːtən/; 24 July 1725[citation needed] – 21 December 1807) was an English sailor, in the Royal Navy for a period, and later a captain of slave ships. He became ordained as an evangelical Anglican cleric, served Olney, Buckinghamshire for two decades, and also wrote hymns, known for “Amazing Grace” and “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken”.
The Amazing Grace song is said by some to have been stolen from Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox Church, here is quote on that from a forum:
“MariaRegina said: ↑
Well, well, truth is stranger than fiction! The tune of Amazing Grace is actually from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopian Orthodox Christian slaves sang this song on the slave boat over to America. This tune was picked up by the owner of that slave book and given English lyrics.
A group of Ethiopian Orthodox Hierarchs were visiting the U.S.A. and were treated to a Gospel Festival where Amazing Grace was being sung. Needless to say, they were quite shocked that a sacred hymn from their own Divine Liturgy had been appropriated by the Americans.”
http://www.christianforums.com/threads/got-a-question-regarding-the-tune-of-amazing-grace.7480232/