Richard Heber Newton (October 31, 1840 – December 19, 1914) was a prominent American

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

priest and writer.

Biography

R. Heber Newton was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1840. He was rector of All Souls' Protestant Episcopal Church in

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from 1869–1902. He was a leader in the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...

movement, a supporter of

Higher Criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

of the Bible, and sought to unify Christian churches in the United States. Scholars have seen his 1874-1875 lectures, ''The Morals of Trade'', as an important early statement of some of the concerns which were prominent in the

Social Gospel movement The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

. In 1883 he was accused of heresy for a series of sermons later published in a book, ''The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible''. He was again accused in 1884 and 1891 but the bishop,

Henry Codman Potter Henry Codman Potter (May 25, 1834 – July 21, 1908) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He was the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Potter was "more praised and appreciated, perhaps, than any public man ...

, refused to go forward. In 1903 he briefly served as first and last pastor of

Stanford Memorial Church Stanford Memorial Church (also referred to informally as MemChu) is located on the Main Quad at the center of the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States. It was built during the American RenaissanceGregg, p. 34 by ...

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. He died at his home in

Scarborough, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

on December 19, 1914.

Works

*''The Morals of Trade'' (1876) *''Studies of Jesus'' (1880) *''Womanhood: Lectures on a Woman's Work in the World'' (1881) *''The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible'' (1883) *''Philistinism: Plain Words concerning Certain Forms of Modern Scepticism'' (1885) *''Church and Creed'' (1891) *''The Mysticism of Music'' (1915) *''Catholicity: A Treatise on the Unity of Religion'' (1918)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, R. Heber 1840 births 1914 deaths American Episcopal priests 19th-century American Episcopalians