"The Matter and the Manner of Preaching": The Influence of Jean Claude on the Preaching of Andrew Fuller

Abstract

The dissertation argues that Jean Claude’s (1619–1687) influential Essay on the Composition of a Sermon supplied Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) with a coherent homiletical method that he modified to fit his own theological convictions and ministerial context. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis and methodology of the present study. This chapter also reexamines Fuller’s reception as a preacher in his own day and explores several distinguishing characteristics of his preaching. Chapter 2 introduces Claude and traces the impact of his Essay on the history of homiletics. Chapter 3 reads Claude’s Essay alongside Fuller’s instructions on preaching to discern the extent to which Fuller relied on Claude when developing his own homiletical method. Chapters 4–6 show how Fuller employed his methodology in his preaching by examining a selection of his doctrinal, practical, and expositional sermons. These chapters also highlight the continuity and discontinuity between Fuller’s preaching and Claude’s instructions. Chapter 7 concludes the present study and details the significance of Fuller’s preaching for historians and homileticians today.