Edward Fowler (1632 – 26 August 1714) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

churchman,

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester, England, Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Gloucestershire, County of Gloucestershire and part ...

from 1691 until his death.

Early life and education

He was born at

Westerleigh Westerleigh is a clustered village in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath (which includes Henfield) in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, it contains sources of the Frome a ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, and was educated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, later moving to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Writings

Fowler was suspected of

Pelagian Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

tendencies, and his earliest book was a ''Free Discourse in defence of The Practices of Certain Moderate Divines called Latitudinarians'' (1670). This supported Samuel Parker and his ''Discourse of Ecclesiastical Polity'' of 1669. It also took aim at

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

, by means of positions set out by Daniel Scargill, an apostate Hobbist.Jon Parkin, ''Science, Religion and Politics in Restoration England: Richard Cumberland's De Legibus Naturae'' (1999), pp. 45-6. The ''Design of Christianity'', published in the following year, in which he laid stress on the moral design of revelation, was criticized by

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist church leader and theologian from Rowton, Shropshire, who has been described as "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". He ma ...

in his ''How far Holiness is the Design of Christianity'' (1671) and by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

in his ''Defence of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith'' (1672). Bunyan described the ''Design'' as "a mixture of Popery, Socinianism and Quakerism," an accusation to which Fowler replied in a scurrilous pamphlet entitled ''Dirt Wip'd Off''. He also published, in 1693, ''Twenty-Eight Propositions'', by which the Doctrine of the Trinity is endeavoured to be explained, challenging with some success the

Socinian Socinianism ( ) is a Nontrinitarian Christian belief system developed and co-founded during the Protestant Reformation by the Italian Renaissance humanists and theologians Lelio Sozzini and Fausto Sozzini, uncle and nephew, respectively. I ...

position.

Offices

He was successively rector of St. Mary the Virgin's Church,

Northill Northill is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about southeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for Northill village as 338 and for the ci ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

(1656) and of All Hallows, Bread Street, London (1673), and in 1676 was elected a canon of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

; his friend,

Henry More Henry More (; 12 October 1614 – 1 September 1687) was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonists, Cambridge Platonist school. Biography Henry was born in Grantham, Grantham, Lincolnshire on 12 October 1614. He was the seventh son of ...

, one of the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its nam ...

, resigned in his favour. In 1681 he became vicar of St Giles, Cripplegate, but after four years was suspended for being a Whig. When the

Declaration of Indulgence Declaration of Indulgence may refer to: * Declaration of Indulgence (1672) by Charles II of England in favour of nonconformists and Catholics * Declaration of Indulgence (1687) by James II of England granting religious freedom See also *Indulgence ...

was published in 1687 he successfully influenced the London clergy against reading it.

Bishopric

In 1691 he was consecrated

and held the see until his death.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fower, Edward Bishops of Gloucester 1632 births 1714 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford People from Westerleigh 17th-century Church of England bishops 18th-century Church of England bishops 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians