Editing John Newton (section)

==Christian conversion==
[[file:Gc366day330.png|thumb|Statue of Newton in [[County Donegal]], on a wintry day]]
In 1748, during his return voyage to England aboard the ship ''Greyhound'', Newton had a Christian conversion. He awoke to find the ship caught in a severe storm off the coast of [[County Donegal]], Ireland and about to sink. In response, Newton began praying for God's mercy, after which the storm began to die down. After four weeks at sea, the ''Greyhound'' made it to port in [[Lough Swilly]] (Ireland). This experience marked the beginning of his conversion to Christianity.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Newton (1725 – 1807) |url=https://www.cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/thoughtsuponafri00newt.pdf |website=Cowper and Newton Museum |access-date=24 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thoughts_upon_the_African_Slave_Trade | title=Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade }}</ref>

He began to read the [[Bible]] and other Christian literature. By the time he reached Great Britain, he had accepted the doctrines of [[evangelical Christianity]]. The date was 21 March 1748,{{sfn|Aitken|2007|p=19}} an anniversary he marked for the rest of his life. From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling and drinking. Although he continued to work in the slave trade, he had gained sympathy for the slaves during his time in Africa. He later said that his true conversion did not happen until some time later: he wrote in 1764 "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards."{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=84}}