Contending that the knowledge of God must be taught and learned,
Leon Hynson provides a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount while
debating contemporary social forces which dilute or destroy the
integrity intrinsic to the purity of heart defined in the Sermon.
True to his tradition, Hynson also outlines a theology of the Holy
Spirit and the social ethic emanating from Pentecost. Abundant
quotations from sources as diverse as Louis L’Amour, Adasdair
MacIntyre, Eusebius, E. Stanley Jones, Pogo, Jonathan Swift, Hannah
Arendt, and John Wesley document the breadth of Hynson’s research
and background.
-John Stanley, Professor at Messiah College
Intending to read An Undivided Life: Being Christian in the
Worldover several weeks, I found myself reading the entire
manuscript at one sitting. Hynson addresses principles and issues
that help me better understand today’s news. More importantly, he
offers helpful insight into life and ministry issues that I have
faced within the last month; issues such as divorce, remarriage,
church leadership, war, and holiness. I enjoy and profit from
reading Hynson for a number of reasons. He knows how to turn a
sentence, how to employ humor without being funny, and how to
illustrate without over-drawn stories. An Undivided Life, in
particular, is the product of a mature mind that observes and
reflects upon ethical and moral issues with keen analysis and a good
spirit.
-Harold W. Burgess, Professor Emeritus at Asbury
Theological Seminary
With a scholarly mind and pastoral heart, Leon Hynson answers the
call of Charles Wesley to “unite the two so long disjoin’d,
knowledge and piety.” An Undivided Life: Being Christian in the
World sets forth sound biblical scholarship and theological
reflection with clarity and a warmth of style that makes it
accessible and engaging. With careful exposition, Hynson presents
the Sermon on the Mount as the basic guide for Christian moral
formation. Amid moral and missional confusion in the contemporary
church, he calls us to refocus on the foundation of all Christian
mission and morality— Jesus Christ.
-Brand W. Eaton, Pastor of York Springs United Methodist
Church
About the Author:
Dr. Leon Orville Hynson was
President of Evangelical School of Theology from 1975 to 1982 and
served as Wesley Scholar from 1992-2002. He was Professor of Church
History and Historical Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary from
1983-85. Hynson’s ministry in pastoral service covered twenty years.
From 1963 to retirement in 2002, with a five year pastoral
interlude, he taught at United Wesleyan College, Spring Arbor
College, where he was chairman of the Department of Philosophy and
Religion, at Asbury Theological Seminary, and Evangelical School of
Theology.
Dr. Hynson graduated from United Wesleyan
College (Th. B), and Asbury College, (A. B.). Graduate work followed
at the University of Delaware (M. A.), Lutheran Seminary,
Philadelphia (M. Div.), Princeton Theological Seminary (Th. M.,
1966), and the University of Iowa in Religious Studies (Ph.D.,
1971).
His major interests have been in Christian
Ethics and in Historical Theology, particularly in issues of Church
and State. To Reform the Nation: Theological Foundations of
Wesley’s Ethics (Zondervan: 1984), with a foreword by Albert C.
Outler, is considered a classical work in Wesley Studies. His
journal articles have appeared in Wesleyan Theological Journal,
Methodist History, Drew Gateway, Religion in Life, Asbury
Seminarian, Asbury Theological Journal, Journal of Church and State,
Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Journal of Religious Thought, A. M.
E. Zion Quarterly Review, and others.
Leon and Ruth (Hallam) Hynson were married on
January 20, 1951, and have three sons: Leon P., Jonathan, and David,
and ten grandchildren. Having been brought up in the Wesleyan
tradition from his birth, Dr. Hynson devoted his life and ministry
to theological education for more than forty years until his death
in 2006.
