I didn't get any further than Hicks' first sentence. He wrote:
Atonement means reconciliation (at-one-ment).
The Greek words in the NT,frequently translated as "atonement", are "ἱλασμος (hilasmos)" and "ἱλαστηριον (hilastārion)". They do NOT mean "reconciliation."
However, the Greek word "καταλλαγη [katallagā]" which is mistranslated in Romans 5:11 as "atonement" DOES mean "reconcilation" and ought to be so translated. And that is exactly how it IS rendered in the following translations: ASV, Darby, Douay, EMTV, ESV, RSV, Murdoch, NKJV, Phillips, Rothram, Revised Webster, World English Bible, Weymouth, and Williams. Indeed, I have found NO translation other than the King James which renders the word as "reconciliation."
The English word "atonement" means the same as “expiation”. It refers the act of making amends or reparation for wrongdoing. If I bat a ball through my neigbour's window, he may tell me, "You are going to have to atone for that!"