Counter
Richard Atkins aspires to be a Renaissance man, having broad intellectual interests
encompassing religion, philosophy, literature, science, didactics, and the arts. For him
the real purpose of life is the pursuit of truth in all these areas. Trained as an engineer
and yet oriented toward literary interests, he has built a personal philosophy
that includes belief in universal purpose and order, theistic evolution, the validity of both
religion and science, experiential religion, open-minded recognition of many sources of
truth, the need to eradicate superstition, the absence of any infallible human authority or
system, congregational church government, human dignity, democratic institutions,
liberal public education, unified world government, and an optimistic view of the
progression of human history.


Richard Atkins is a native Floridian, educated at the University of Florida. He was
employed in the aviation industry and in the procurement of military simulators, and was
retired in 1997. He has been a Baptist deacon since 1961 and  is a serious teacher of
the Bible and Free Church ideals. He and his wife Merilyn have five grown children:
Lee, Laird, Joel, Cristi, and Amy.
The Illuminations of Richard L. Atkins
Atkins Light Quest