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!"#$%& !"##$%&'%()*+ !"#$%&#'()*%'&" ,"--"./%0'%&1223-4 !"#$%&&#"'#$ '()&*#")+,-'./%#-#01',23'4%&-%1'5*63)%& SPRING0'%5."6"-%78(922" $1998 !"#$%&&#"'#$ '7%*/#3)&*'(#-)2%&&'()&*#"1 !"#$%&#'()'"+#,%&-).'/!( :32239;%<=#9/9;>%!%"8)2&'5+/##-'#$ './%#-#01 VOL.?963@%A)-@ $>%596--%"'./%#-#3 •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cknowledgments and Foreword 5 Laurence W Wood John Fletcher and the Rediscovery of Pentecost in Methodism 7 Laurence W Wood An Essay on the Doctrine of the New Birth 35 John Fletcher Second Part Containing Answers to the Objections Made to This Essay 57 John Fletcher The Language of the Father's Dispensation 65 John Fletcher An Essay to Doctor Priestly on the Trinity 79 John Fletcher A Charimeter or A Scriptural Method of Trying the Spirits and Knowing the Proportion of Our Faith 83 John Fletcher Letters from John Fletcher to John Wesley 91 John Fletcher ! 1 ! ! it AI THE ASBURY THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD BOARD OF REFERENCE Maxie D. Dunnam, Publisher Eugene E. Carpenter President Director of Graduate Studies Robert T. Bridges, Editor in Chief Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Vice President' Bethel College Seminary Advancement George W. Coats Laurence W. Wood, Editor Professor of Old Testament Frank Paul Morris Professor of Lexington Theological Seminary Systematic Theology Stanley Hauerwas Jerry L. Walls, Associate Editor Professor of Theological Ethics Professor of Philosophy Duke University of Religion Helmut Nausner Bill T. Arnold, Book Review Editor Superintendent Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Methodist Church in Austria Languages W. Richard Stegner Kenneth J. Collins, Book Review Editor Professor of New Testament Professor of Church History Garrett—Evangelical Theological Seminary Scott R. Burson, Managing Editor David D. Bundy Director of Communications Librarian/Associate Professor of Michele Gaither Sparks, Assistant Editor Church History Assistant Director of Communications: Christian Theological Seminary Editorial Services Catharine Deon, Assistant Editor Communications Assistant Fred Cramer, Production Manager Dana Moutz, Copy Editor Published in April and October by Asbury Theological Seminary. ISSN 1090-5642 Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Asbury Theological Journal USPS 547-440 Asbury Theological Seminary Continuing The Asbury Seminarian 204 North Lexington Avenue Wilmore, KY 40390 Printed in the U.S.A. 2 ! ! THE ASBURY THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL provides a scholarly forum for thorough discussion of issues relevant to Christian thought and faith, and to the nature and mis- sion of the Church. The Journal addresses those concerns and ideas across the curricu- lum which interface with Christian thought, life, and ministry. The primary resource for contributions to The Journal is the Asbury Seminary facul- ty who engage in dialogue with both the roots of our religious heritage and contem- porary thought. Scholars from other academic disciplines and various backgrounds are invited to submit articles for publication. The positions espoused in articles in The Journal do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or of Asbury Theological Seminary. Books for review and articles for consideration should be mailed to: Scott R. Burson, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY 40390-1199 (telephone: 606-858-2310, e-mail: [email protected]). Manuscripts should be in English and typed double-spaced on white bond paper, 8 1/2 x 11 inches. Send only original copies (not photocopies) with an accompanying computer disk (3.5 inch). Acceptance for publication will be acknowledged and will obligate the author to submit a 100- word abstract; in return, a modest honorarium payment will follow publication. Sermons, poetry, and devotional material are not used. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned unless a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage is provided. Queries are welcome, and a style sheet is available upon request. Articles in The Journal are indexed in The Christian Periodical Index and Religion Index One: Periodicals (RIO); book reviews are indexed in Index to Book Reviews in Religion (IBRR). Both RIO and IBRR are published by the American Theological Library Association, 5600 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, and are available online through BRS Information Technologies and DIALOG Information Services. Articles, starting with vol. 43, are abstracted in Religious and Theological Abstracts. Articles in appropriate cate- gories are also abstracted in Old Testament Abstracts and New Testament Abstracts. Volumes in microform of The Asbury Theological Journal (vols. 41-) and The Asbury Seminarian (vols. 1-40) are available from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Articles and Reviews may be copied for personal or intemal use, and permission to reprint all or portions of any of the contents may be granted upon request to the managing editor. SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year (2 issues), $5.00 (outside the U.S., $8.00) Two years, $8.00 ($14.00) Three years, $11.00 ($20.00) 3 ! ! ! 4 ! ! ! FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LAURENCE W. WOOD The essays in this volume by John Fletcher are previously unpublished. Fletcher died before he had time to put them in a publishable format. Their sig- nificance can hardly be overstated, and they represent his latest thinking. In our "postmodern" world, where diversity and inclusiveness are so highly valued, Fletcher's doctrine of dispensations has much relevance. We are indebted to Dana Moutz for transcribing the most difficult article to read, "The Father's Dispensation." These manuscripts are badly worn, and yet quite legible—except for this one. We decided against trying to edit these manu- scripts, choosing rather to transcribe them as they are. Because they were in an incomplete format, you will notice some irregularities, such as the sequence of numbers. We have also maintained Fletcher's spellings as they were written in his original manuscripts. Abbreviations have also been left as they appear in the orig- inals. For example, symbols such as "&c," which means "and so forth" have been left in the manuscripts. Note that the items struck through in various articles were struck through with Fletcher's own pen. This was perhaps done in the interest of brevity since Fletcher mentioned to Charles Wesley about John Wesley's desire for him to write more briefly, as a long discourse is not read by most people. A letter to John Wesley on making Methodism a "daughter Church" of the Church of England is also included, which had only been partially transcribed previously by J.F. Hurst in his History of Methodism (1902). This letter was first located a hundred years after Wesley's death in the cellars of the Methodist Book Room in London. Undoubtedly, Wesley preserved it because of its signifi- cance and apparently suppressed it at the time it was written because its ideas were too advanced to introduce to his preachers. Hurst noted its influence when Wesley authorized Methodism to be a separate denomination in America.' It is Laurence W Wood, editor ofThe Asbury Theological Journal, is Frank Paul Morris Professor of Systematic Theology and Chairperson of the Division of Theological Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. THE ASBURY THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL SPRING 1998 • VOL. 53 • NO 1 ! ! ! ! ! ! 5 6 Wood fully transcribed here, along with two other letters. We are indebted to the John Rylands University Library of Manchester and the British Methodist Archives Committee for their permission to transcribe and publish this material from the John Fletcher Archival Collection. Special thanks is due to Dr. Peter Nockles and Mr. Gareth Lloyd for their help in making these documents avail- able at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate. We are also indebted to Dr. Dorothy Clayton, the John Rylands Library Bulletin Editor, and Mr. John Lenton, chairman of the British Methodist Archives. NOTE . John Fletcher Hurst, A History of Methodism (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1902), pp. 923-934 ! ! ! THE REDISCOVERY OF PENTECOST IN METHODISM LAURENCE W. WOOD "God may, and ... does, instantaneously so baptize a soul with the Holy Ghost and with fire, as to purify it from all dross, and refine it like gold, so that it is renewed in love, in pure and perfect love ... yet ought not those who have experienced this, to be repeatedly told ... that there is a further, and still further renewal to be experienced day by day."' — loseph Benson in The Arminian Magazine (1781) and published by Wesley THE ANTI-CALVINIST DECLARATION OF THE 1770 ANNUAL CONFERENCE On August 7, 1770, Wesley gathered his preachers for their annual conference.