Clarence Orohrelle Dodd (February 5, 1899 – December 25, 1955
), often known as Clarence Orvil Dodd and C. O. Dodd, was an American author and magazine editor and an elder of a particular
Church of God (Seventh Day)
The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) is composed of a number of sabbath-keeping churches, among which the General Conference of the Church of God, or simply CoG7, is the best-known organization. The Churches of God (Seventh Day) observe Sabbath o ...
denomination church in
Salem, West Virginia
Salem is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,485 at the 2020 census. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia Route 23; the North Bend Rail Trail passes through the city.DeLorme ( ...
in the early 20th century.
In 1920 he married Martha I. Richmond, whom he predeceased. They had five children, four boys (Clebert, Robert, William, and Paul) and one daughter Mary, now Mary Dodd Ling.
He worked as a clerk for 35 years for Hope Natural Gas Company (now absorbed into
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
) while writing, editing and publishing his magazine, and serving his church, until he retired early due to
Hodgkins' disease. Two years subsequent to his retirement he died.
Influence
In 1937 Dodd founded
''The Faith'' magazine, where he served as editor for many years. Initially the primary focus of ''The Faith'' was advocating for observation of Jewish holy festivals on the part of its Christian readers but in the early 1940s Dodd took up the
sacred name cause as well. In
The Encyclopedia of American Religions scholar of American religions
J. Gordon Melton
John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...
wrote of the magazine, "No single force in spreading the Sacred Name movement was as important as ''The Faith'' magazine."
(November 19, 1886 – November 2, 1975), fellow church Elder of Dodd's and one-time editor of the long-running Adventist magazine ''
Bible Advocate'', co-authored a book with Dodd valued in many parts of the Adventist community, ''A History of the True Church''. Having worked so closely together over so many years they undoubtedly influenced one another. Melton says that Dugger accepted the same basic theology as Dodd.
One writer considers Dugger to be the most famous
Church of God (Adventist) leader in the 20th century.
Mildred Kelvig, a lifelong acquaintance who had served for many years as his personal secretary, claimed that Dodd's acquaintance with
Worldwide Church of God
Worldwide may refer to:
* Pertaining to the entire world
* Worldwide (rapper) (born 1986), American rapper
* Pitbull (rapper) (born 1981), also known as Mr. Worldwide, American rapper
* ''Worldwide'' (Audio Adrenaline album), 2003
* ''Worldwide' ...
founder
Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong (July 31, 1892 – January 16, 1986) was an American evangelism, evangelist who founded the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). An early pioneer of radio evangelism, radio and television evangelism, Armstrong preached what he c ...
influenced the latter's views. She specified that Dodd convinced Armstrong of
Greenberry G. Rupert's (May 12, 1848 – July 17, 1922, author of ''The Yellow Peril'') assertions that observing Hebrew holidays is mandatory for a Christian.
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Works
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Clarence Orvil
Adventism
American magazine editors
American religious writers
Businesspeople from West Virginia
People from Salem, West Virginia
Sacred Name Movement
Writers from West Virginia
1899 births
1955 deaths