Kevin Swanson (pastor)

Kevin Swanson is a preacher and broadcaster from Colorado, known for his condemnation of homosexuality[1] as well as his advocacy of Christian education. He is the pastor of Reformation Church in Elizabeth, Colorado,[2] which is a member church of the Covenant Presbyterian Church.[3] He is the director of Generations, which produces Generations, a daily podcast hosted by Swanson.[4] Swanson is also a writer for The World View in 5 Minutes, a daily online Christian newscast.[5]

Personal life

Swanson was the child of missionaries, growing up in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s,[6] and was educated by his parents.[4] He is married to Brenda Swanson, with whom he has five children.[6] He attended and graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in engineering.[4] Swanson ran for governor of Colorado in the 1994 election as a candidate for the Taxpayers Party (now the Constitution Party), receiving 3.62% of the vote.[7]

Publishing

Swanson is a proponent of homeschooling, and has written a number of books for parents homeschooling their children, and other subjects.[4] His books including Family Life, Freedom, Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West, Upgrade: Ten Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child, The Tattooed Jesus: What Would the Real Jesus Do with Pop Culture?, Proverbs: God's Book of Wisdom, Keep the Faith: On Family & Sexuality, and Keep the Faith: On Education.[8]

Views

Swanson hosted the Freedom 2015: National Religious Liberties Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, attended by Republican presidential candidates Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and his father Rafael Cruz, former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. The conference addressed a number of topics, including the history of religious liberty, religious liberty in the workplace and military, Christian involvement in government, and how to secure religious liberty for the future. At the conference, Swanson spoke about a Biblical mandate of the death penalty for homosexuality, stating that both the Old and New Testament cover the "sin of homosexuality" and that in Romans 1 Paul the Apostle affirms that it is worthy of capital punishment.[9][10] In the same speech, he stated that he was not calling for these biblical injunctions to be enacted in America "because homosexuals need time to repent" and "America needs time to repent".[10][11][1] Ted Cruz's spokesman Rick Tyler called Swanson's statements "reprehensible" and given the comments "it was a mistake for Senator Cruz to appear at the event", stating that Cruz is against hatred or violence against homosexuals.[12][13]

He has criticized human morality in explaining terrorist incidents. On his June 16, 2016 radio show, Swanson said the Orlando shooting was because of general sinfulness, quoting a section of Romans 1 commonly cited to condemn homosexuality: "God gave them over to a reprobate mind...." He then quoted Jesus' words in Matthew 15:19: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander", and concluded that "man has a heart problem". He also compared the incident to a mass killing mentioned in Luke 13, to which Jesus responded "unless you repent you will likewise perish". Swanson said that "humble homosexuals that fall on their faces and plead for God's mercy as the publican did in the parable will go to heaven" and "proud gays will go to hell".[14]

He claimed the November 2015 Paris attacks happened because "God's sending a message."[15][16][17] He has defended the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, which made homosexuality punishable by life in prison or execution.[18]

References
  1. Eggert, Jessica (November 10, 2015). "Republican Candidates Attend Rally Where Pastor Advocates "Death Penalty" for Gay People". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. "Leadership - Reformation Church of Elizabeth". www.reformationchurch.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. "FAQ - Reformation Church of Elizabeth". www.reformationchurch.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. "Meet Our Director". Generations with Vision. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  5. "The World View". The World View. Archived from the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  6. "Kevin Swanson". ReformedVoice.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Colorado". Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  8. "Kevin Swanson's Books". GoodReads. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  9. Jervis, Joe. "Pastor Kevin Swanson Calls For Executing Gays at Event Attended by GOP Candidates [VIDEO]". Joe.My.God. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  10. "Statement from Pastor Kevin Swanson on the Freedom 2015 Conference". generationswithvision.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  11. "Three Republican candidates speak at anti-gay pastor's rally". msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  12. Jervis, Rick (December 10, 2015). "Ted Cruz uses faith freely on campaign trail". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. Stewart, Katherine (November 16, 2015). "Ted Cruz and the Anti-Gay Pastor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. "Why the Orlando Shootings-What Would Jesus Say About It". oneplace.com. One Place, LLC. June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  15. Kirell, Andrew (2015-11-23). "Pastor Who Hosted GOP: Paris Victims Were 'Devil-Worshippers'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  16. "Kevin Swanson: Paris Massacre Was 'A Message From God'". www.rightwingwatch.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  17. "Anti-gay pastor smears Paris survivors: Did you 'love the devil's works' while your friends were killed?". www.rawstory.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  18. "Swanson Defends Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Lauds Country as Model". Right Wing Watch. Archived from the original on 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
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