Albert Cornelius Knudson (1873–1953) was a

Christian theologian Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradit ...

in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

tradition, associated with

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

and the school of

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position ...

known as ''

Boston personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...

''.

Biography

Albert Cornelius Knudson was born on January 23, 1873, in Grand Meadow,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He was the son of Asle Knudson (1844-1939) and Synnove (Fosse) Knudsen (1842-1916), both of whom were immigrants from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The family subsequently moved to

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. Asle Knudson regularly traveled by train to Grand Meadow to minister at the Danish-Norwegian

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

until shortly before his death in 1939. Albert Knudson studied at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

(AB 1893) and

(STB 1896, Ph.D. 1900). He attended

Jena University The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is c ...

and

Berlin University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...

(honorary Th.D. 1923). After teaching briefly at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

and

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. Histor ...

, and at

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

, he began his long career in

where he later became dean of the

Boston University School of Theology The Boston University School of Theology (STH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological sc ...

(1926-1938).Hall, Timothy L. (2003) "Knudsen, Albert Cornelius Methodist Theologian, Educator" in ''American Religious Leaders'' (Infobase Publishing. Page 205-206)

Personal life

Albert Knudson was married to Mathilde Johnson (1872–1948) in 1899. He died on August 28, 1953, at his home in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Selected works

*''The Old Testament Problem'' (1908) *''Present Tendencies in Religious Thought'' (1924) *''The Philosophy of Personalism: A Study in the Metaphysics of Religion'' (1927) *''The Beacon Lights of Prophecy: An Interpretation of Amos Hosea, Isiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Deutero-Isiah'' (1929) *''The Doctrine of God'' (1930) *''The Doctrine of Redemption'' (1933) *''The Validity of Religious Experience'' (The Fondren lectures) (1937) *''The Principles of Christian Ethics'' (1943) *''Personalism in Theology'' with Edgar Sheffield Brightman (1943) *''Basic Issues in Christian Thought'' (1950)

References

Other sources

*Deats, Paul (Ed.) (1986) ''The Boston Personalist Tradition'' (Mercer University Press) * Brightman, Edgar Sheffield (1979) ''Personalism in Theology: a Symposium in Honor of Albert Cornelius Knudson by Associates and Former Students'' (New York: AMS Press. reprint of the 1943 ed. published by Boston University Press)

External links

Albert C. Knudson portrait (1896)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudson, Albert C. 1873 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American Protestant theologians 20th-century Methodists Methodists from Minnesota American people of Norwegian descent Boston University School of Theology alumni Boston University School of Theology faculty Methodist theologians People from Mower County, Minnesota Systematic theologians University of Minnesota alumni American university and college faculty deans