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A fine set of works by J W Fletcher

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A fine set of works by the "Holiest Man I've Ever Known" (John Wesley).

[METHODISM, John WESLEY]. – John William FLETCHER (1729-1785). The Works of the Rev. John Fletcher … Second American Edition. New York: published by John Wilson and Daniel Hitt [for the Methodist Connection in the ] United States. J.C. Totten, printer, 1809. 6 volumes, 12mo bound in sixes (6 1/2 x 3 7/8in; 165 x 98mm). (Toned.) Original marbled sheep, the flat spines divided into six compartments, red morocco spine label in the second compartment, volume number tooled in gilt in the fourth compartment. Condition: contents toned with some old folds, small horizontal repairs to verso of each title where owner has removed references to the Methodist Connection; binding slightly scuffed. Provenance: George Ffrost (1765-1841, Durham, NH, signatures).

A fine set. “John William Fletcher (12 September 1729 – 14 August 1785), English divine, was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his original name being de la Fléchère.

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 Fléchère. Fletcher was renowned in Britain for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."(Wikipedia).

“I have not known one so uniformly and deeply devoted to God.... nor do I expect to find another such, on this side of eternity.” (John Wesley).

“One of the first major Methodist theologians, John Fletcher was known by his contemporaries to be a humble man of great faith. A friend of John and Charles Wesley, Fletcher became an articulate defender of Wesleyan-Arminian doctrines, challenging the predominance of Calvinism among his peers. His writings and sermons, many originally written to defend John Wesley from attacks of heresy, influenced generations of theologians and preachers. “ (Logos.com).

“Fletcher's writings, while serious in nature, display his keen wit, sometimes demonstrated by the use of clever satire. His typical form for constructing his arguments was a theological treatise written in epistolary fashion, though he used the literary convention of hypothetical Socratic "dialogues", as well as writing sermons and poetry, the most famous poem of which is his La Grace et la Nature. His Portrait of St. Paul, written in French, but translated and published posthumously, fit well within the genre of clerical training books of the period.

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.’

Fletcher himself summarised 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."
Though the entire Methodist family uses Fletcher's work, his writings have found particular popularity among Holiness theologians.” (wikipedia).

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03 Aug 2022
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[ translate ]

A fine set of works by the "Holiest Man I've Ever Known" (John Wesley).

[METHODISM, John WESLEY]. – John William FLETCHER (1729-1785). The Works of the Rev. John Fletcher … Second American Edition. New York: published by John Wilson and Daniel Hitt [for the Methodist Connection in the ] United States. J.C. Totten, printer, 1809. 6 volumes, 12mo bound in sixes (6 1/2 x 3 7/8in; 165 x 98mm). (Toned.) Original marbled sheep, the flat spines divided into six compartments, red morocco spine label in the second compartment, volume number tooled in gilt in the fourth compartment. Condition: contents toned with some old folds, small horizontal repairs to verso of each title where owner has removed references to the Methodist Connection; binding slightly scuffed. Provenance: George Ffrost (1765-1841, Durham, NH, signatures).

A fine set. “John William Fletcher (12 September 1729 – 14 August 1785), English divine, was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his original name being de la Fléchère.

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 Fléchère. Fletcher was renowned in Britain for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."(Wikipedia).

“I have not known one so uniformly and deeply devoted to God.... nor do I expect to find another such, on this side of eternity.” (John Wesley).

“One of the first major Methodist theologians, John Fletcher was known by his contemporaries to be a humble man of great faith. A friend of John and Charles Wesley, Fletcher became an articulate defender of Wesleyan-Arminian doctrines, challenging the predominance of Calvinism among his peers. His writings and sermons, many originally written to defend John Wesley from attacks of heresy, influenced generations of theologians and preachers. “ (Logos.com).

“Fletcher's writings, while serious in nature, display his keen wit, sometimes demonstrated by the use of clever satire. His typical form for constructing his arguments was a theological treatise written in epistolary fashion, though he used the literary convention of hypothetical Socratic "dialogues", as well as writing sermons and poetry, the most famous poem of which is his La Grace et la Nature. His Portrait of St. Paul, written in French, but translated and published posthumously, fit well within the genre of clerical training books of the period.

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.’

Fletcher himself summarised 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."
Though the entire Methodist family uses Fletcher's work, his writings have found particular popularity among Holiness theologians.” (wikipedia).

[ translate ]
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Time, Location
03 Aug 2022
USA, Connecticut, CT
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