John William Fletcher

John William Fletcher (September 12, 1729 - August 14, 1785), English divine, was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his original name being de la Flechère.

Fletcher was a contemporary of John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century, and one of Methodism's first great theologians. Of French Huguenot stock, his given name was actually "Jean Guillaume de la Flechere". Fletcher was renowned in the Britain of his day for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."¹

Early life

He was educated at Geneva, but, preferring an army career to a clerical one, went to Lisbon and enlisted. An accident prevented his sailing with his regiment to Brazil, and after a visit to Flanders, where an uncle offered to secure a commission for him, he went to England, picked up the language, and in 1752 became tutor in a Shropshire family. Here he came under the influence of the new Methodist preachers, and in 1757 took orders, being ordained by the Bishop of Bangor.

He often preached with John Wesley and for him, and became known as a fervent supporter of the revival. Refusing the wealthy living of Dunham, he accepted the humble one of Madeley, where for twenty-five years (1760-1785) he lived and worked with unique devotion and zeal. Fletcher was one of the few parish clergy who understood Wesley and his work, yet he never wrote or said anything inconsistent with his own Anglican position.

Theology

In theology he upheld the Arminian against the Calvinist position, but always with courtesy and fairness; his resignation on doctrinal grounds of the superintendency (1768-1771) of the countess of Huntingdon's college at Trevecca left no unpleasantness. 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.

Wesley preached his funeral sermon from the words "Mark the perfect man." 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." His fame was not confined to his own country, for it is said that Voltaire, when challenged to produce a character as perfect as that of Christ, at once mentioned Fletcher of Madeley. Complete editions of his works were published in 1803 and 1836.

The chief of them, written against Calvinism, are "Five Checks to Antinomianism, Scripture Scales to weigh the Gold of Gospel Truth, and the Portrait of St Paul". See lives by J Wesley (1786); L Tyerman (1882); FW Macdonald (1885); J Maratt (1902); also JC Ryle, "Christian Leaders of the 18th Century", pp.

Most of Fletcher's theological writings date from the period between 1770 and 1778, when there was great conflict between Wesley and the Methodists and British Calvinists. When Wesley's Calvinist opponents made the charge that Wesley had endorsed "works righteousness", Fletcher demonstrated that this was not the case. Rather, Fletcher countered, Wesley's language was an attempt to attack antinomianism in the British Church. Fletcher's subsequent publication "Checks to Antinomianism" supported Wesley further; this was the first distinctively Wesleyan theological writing published by someone other than John or Charles Wesley.

Fletcher often wrote about entire sanctification, which has been influential to the holiness movements in Methodism, as well as in the development of Pentecostal theology. John Wesley influenced, and was influenced by, the writings of Fletcher concerning perfection through the cleansing of the heart to be made perfect in love.

Fletcher became the chief systematizer of Methodist theology. Addressing Wesley's position on the sovereignty of God as it relates to human freedom, Fletcher developed a particular historic perspective espousing a series of three dispensations (time periods) in which God worked uniquely in creation. (This is not to be confused with Dispensational theology, which was fashioned long after Fletcher's death.) Through these dispensations, God's sovereignty was revealed not in terms of ultimate "power" but in terms of an unfathomable "love". Fletcher sought to emphasize human freedom while connecting it firmly with God's grace.

Writing Style

Fletcher's writings, while serious in nature, display a witty tone, almost satirical in nature. He typically spoke 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."²

Fletcher himself summarized his theological position:

"The error of rigid Calvinists centers in the denial of that evangelical liberty, whereby all men, under various dispensations of grace, may "without necessity" choose life...And the error of rigid Arminians consists in not paying a cheerful homage to redeeming grace, for all the liberty and power which we have to choose life, and to work righteousness since the fall...To avoid these two extremes, we need only follow the Scripture-doctrine of free-will restored and assisted by "free-grace"."³

John Wesley had chosen Fletcher to lead the Methodist movement upon Wesley's passing, but Fletcher died prior to Wesley.

Though the entire Methodist family utilizes Fletcher's work, his writings have found particular popularity among Holiness theologians.

References

* Thomas A. Langford, "Practical Divinity: Theology in the Wesleyan Tradition" (Nashville: Abingdon, 1983), pp. 50-53. ISBN 0-687-33326-1.
* John A. Knight, "John William Fletcher and the Early Methodist Tradition" (Ph.D. diss., Vanderbilt University, 1966).
* David Shipley, "Methodist Arminianism in the Theology of John Fletcher" (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1942).
* A biography by Margaret Allen, " [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6160 Fletcher of Madeley] ", 1905, e-text by Project Gutenberg
* Note 1: W.A. Sangster, "Called to Be Saints", "Proceedings of the Ninth World Methodist Conference" (Nashville: Methodist Publishing House, 1956), p. 363.
* Note 2: David Shipley, "Methodist Arminianism in the Theology of John Fletcher" (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1942), p. 372.
* Note 3: John Fletcher, "On Predestination", "Checks to Antinomianism" (New York: J. Collard, 1837), pp. 333-334.

External links

* [http://www.stmichaels.madeley.org.uk/John%20Fletcher.htm Information on the life of John Fletcher] from St. Michael's Church, Madeley. John Fletcher was vicar here, and his cast iron tomb is also located here.

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