Gaius Glenn Atkins
Born(1868-10-04)October 4, 1868
Mount Carmel, Indiana
Died(1956-04-05)April 5, 1956
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Alma materOhio State University
OccupationMinister
SpouseAda Haynes

Gaius Glenn Atkins (October 4, 1868 – April 5, 1956)[1][2] was a Congregational minister, author, and a professor of homiletics at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City.

Early life and education

He was born in Mount Carmel, Indiana to Thomas Benjamin Atkins and Caroline Morris. His father was a rural minister, and his first name was taken from the New Testament.[3] He graduated from Ohio State University in 1888, and was a member of Beta Theta Pi and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a bachelor of law degree from Cincinnati Law School in 1891, and graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1892. He received a D.D. degree from Dartmouth and an L.H.D. in 1923 from the University of Vermont. In 1933, he obtained his Litt.D. from Ohio State University.[4]

Career

Before entering the ministry, he was head of the history department at Mount Hermon School from 1892-1895. During this time, he was heavily influenced by the school's founder, Dwight L. Moody.

He was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1895. He served the following churches:

He was a professor of homiletics at Auburn Seminary from 1927 to his retirement in 1939. He also lectured at Union Theological Seminary.[2]

In 1911, his comments on the marriage of John Jacob Astor IV and Madeleine Force were featured in the New York Times. Their wedding was performed by another Providence Congregational minister in Newport. The Times wrote "As a preliminary to his sermon the Rev. Gaius Glenn Atkins, pastor of the Central Congregational Church, the largest and wealthiest congregational parish in Providence referred to the marriage. 'I hesitate to speak on the matter, but I regret exceedingly that the Congregational Church generally and the Congregational churches in Providence in particular were called upon to bear the odium of the solemnization of the marriage of Col. John Jacob Astor and Miss Force....As far as I personally know the temper, either of the Congregational ministers or the Congregational Church as a whole, I want to say emphatically that I do not believe that the thing which has been done represents either our attitude or ideals.'[7]

During the First World War, he worked as a YMCA worker with soldiers in France and served as the American director of the Foyer du Soldat with the French Army.[3]

He was the author of 19 books himself and two books with colleagues. One such work was Modern Religious Cults and Movements.[5][8] One sermon preached at Central Church in 1914 was entitled The Right and Wrong of Feminism.[6] Atkins was critical of religious and other movements such as Baháʼí Faith, Christian Science, Unity Church, New Thought, and Theosophy.[9]

In 1914, he was the winner of the Carnegie Church Peace Union prize for the best essay on international peace.[2]

He preached at Wellesley College in 1916, and gave the Ohio State commencement address in 1933.[10][11]

In 1942, he published History of American Congregationalism with Frederick W. Fagley.

After retiring from teaching, Atkins lived with his wife in Marshfield, Massachusetts. the As of 1953, he was residing in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[3]

Family life

He married Adalina Haynes (1867-1947) in Bellbrook, Ohio in 1892. Children included Helen, Morris, Laurence, and Robert Atkins. They owned a cottage called "The Sea Shell" on Heron Island in Maine from 1897-1900.[12]

He is buried with his wife in the Bellbrook Cemetery.[1]

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 "Gaius Glenn Atkins". Find a Grave.
  2. 1 2 3 "DR. GAIUS ATKINS, EDUCATOR, WAS 88". The New York Times. The New York Times. April 6, 1956.
  3. 1 2 3 Eisenhauer, Frances (November 8, 1953). "Dr. Atkins, Retired Clergyman, Author of Many Religious Works". Bethlehem Globe-Times.
  4. ↑ Banta, R. E. (1949). Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1816-1916: Biographical Sketches of Authors Who Published During the First Century of Indiana Statehood, with Lists of Their Books. Wabash College. p. 10
  5. 1 2 "Atkins, Gaius. Modern Religious Cults and Movements". Gorgias Press.
  6. 1 2 "Atkins, Gaius Glenn, 1868-1956". Library of Congress.
  7. ↑ "Special to the New York Times". The New York Times. September 11, 1911.
  8. ↑ "Atkins, Gaius Glenn, 1868-1956". The Online Books Page.
  9. ↑ Anonymous. (1925). Review: Modern Religious Cults and Movements. American Journal of Sociology 30 (5): 618.
  10. ↑ Annual Reports [of] President and Treasurer. Wellesley College. 1917.
  11. ↑ Atkins, Gaius Glenn (12 June 1933). "The Ohio State University Commencement Address by Gaius Glenn Atkins, Spring 1933". Ohio State University. hdl:1811/54064.
  12. ↑ "The Sea Shell - 1894". Heron Island Village Improvement Society.
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