Background
He was born at Nyon in Switzerland on the 12th of September 1729, his original name being de la Flechiere.
(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ John Rylands University Library of Manchester N020876 Dublin : printed by Robert Napper, 1793. viii,376p. ; 12°
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/117108336X/?tag=2022091-20
(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1140365460/?tag=2022091-20
He was born at Nyon in Switzerland on the 12th of September 1729, his original name being de la Flechiere.
At the age of eleven or twelve, Fletcher was sent to live in Geneva and was enrolled in the Geneva College, a bastion of Calvinism. In 1746, at the age of seventeen, Fletcher enrolled at the University of Geneva and graduated two years later (1748) with a degree in philology–a degree which prepared students for studies in law or theology. However, he left the university before entering into theological studies, choosing rather to enter into a military career.
Having become discouraged over his inability to secure a military career, Fletcher left Switzerland for a trip to England. Upon entering England in the summer of 1750, Fletcher spent more than a year learning the English language. After becoming more acquainted with the English language, Fletcher was employed as a tutor, in the autumn of 1751, to the two sons of Thomas Hill, a member of the English Parliament. Fletcher remained with the Hill family until 1760. From late 1751 to 1760, Fletcher–along with the Hill family–traveled to London where they remained, generally, from November to May. In April or May Fletcher would accompany the family to their summer home outside of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. In the autumn of 1753, Fletcher sought out the Methodists at West Street and Hog Lane in London after a contact with a godly woman who was believed by the Hill family to be a Methodist. Soon after coming into contact with the Methodists of London, Fletcher came under conviction for his sin, and after intense struggle was converted on January 24, 1754. While a tutor for the Hill family, Fletcher began to sense a call into the priesthood of the Anglican Church. In a letter to John Wesley, Fletcher invited Wesley to pass judgment on Fletcher regarding his qualifications for the ministry. Though no written response to Fletcher’s inquiry is extant, it is believed that Wesley encouraged Fletcher to pursue the priesthood. Fletcher was ordained deacon at the chapel in Spring Gardens, Westminster in London. One week after he was ordained a deacon, Fletcher was ordained a priest at the royal chapel of St. James, Westminster (London). The day after his appointment to the priesthood, Fletcher was appointed to the curacy of Madeley parish, Shropshire and declared his commitment to the liturgy of the Anglican Church. However, he remained in the home of the Hill family and the tutor of the two Hill boys. Not until after the two boys left home for the university did Fletcher leave the Hills to assume his responsibilities full-time in Madeley parish (1760). Early in his relationship to Methodism, Fletcher was invited to participate in the discussions which led to early Methodism’s most definitive statements concerning Christian perfection. On August 10, 1758, Wesley’s fifteenth Conference was convened in Bristol. One of the main points of discussion was the doctrine of Christian perfection was again considered.
On October 7th, 1760, Fletcher was instituted to the Madeley parish as vicar at the bishop’s palace. On the 17th, he was inducted at Madeley, and on Sunday the 26th, he began his ministry as vicar. In the late 1750s, Fletcher became well acquainted the leaders of both the Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. It was through these circles of influence that Fletcher first came into contact with Lady Huntingdon, the patroness of the Calvinistic Methodists. In 1768, Lady Huntingdon engaged Fletcher as the first president of Trevecka College in Wales. This relationship was, however, to be short lived due to the theological controversy which began in 1770. Controversy with the Calvinists began in 1770 over Wesley’s Minutes of his Conference of that year. In 1771, Fletcher attempted to avert misunderstanding and penned the first of his six Checks to Antinomianism. The controversy lasted for years, pitting Fletcher against Richard and Rowland Hill and Augustus Toplady, to mention only a few of his combatants.
John Fletcher had been part of the Minute Controversy, in support of John Wesley, since July of 1771. The controversy lasted a number of years between the Calvinists and Arminians of the Anglican Church. Finally, in 1775, Fletcher dealt an enormous blow to the Calvinistic anti-perfectionism with his Last Check to Antinomianism.
In an attempt to recover his health, Fletcher returned to his home in Nyon, Switzerland. Though away from his parish from 1777 to 1781, he remained the vicar of the parish. Fletcher died on August 14, 1785 in Madeley.
(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)
He typically wrote of God in terms of divine moral qualities rather than in terms of power or wrath. His themes were:
"1. Man is utterly dependent upon God's gift of salvation, which cannot be earned but only received; and
2. The Christian religion is of a personal and moral character involving ethical demands on man and implying both human ability and human responsibility. "
The outstanding feature of his life was a transparent simplicity and saintliness of spirit, and the testimony of his contemporaries to his godliness is unanimous.
Quotes from others about the person
Southey said that " no age ever provided a man of more fervent piety or more perfect charity, and no church ever possessed a more apostolic minister. "
Upon returning to England from Switzerland, Fletcher married Mary Bosanquet, someone who he had admired for a number of years. The wedding took place on November 12, 1781 in the parish church at Batley. John and Mary Fletcher were married for nearly four years.