R. Heber Newton was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1840. He was rector of All Souls' Protestant Episcopal Church in
New York City from 1869 to 1902. He was a leader in the
Social Gospel movement, a supporter of
Higher Criticism 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. 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, refused to go forward. In 1903 he briefly served as first and last pastor of
Stanford Memorial Church at
Stanford University. He died at his home in
Scarborough, New York on December 19, 1914. == Works ==