Kevin Swanson (pastor)
Kevin Swanson is a pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and broadcaster from Colorado, known for his condemnation of homosexuality as well as his advocacy of Christian education. He is the director of Generations, a subsidiary of the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, which produces Generations Radio, a daily radio program hosted by Swanson.[1] Swanson is also a writer and producer of The World View in 5 Minutes, a daily Christian newscast.[2]
Personal life
Swanson was the child of missionaries, growing up in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s,[3] and was educated by his parents.[1] He is married to Brenda Swanson, with whom he has five children.[3] He attended and graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in engineering,[1] and holds a Master of Divinity degree.[3] Swanson ran for governor of Colorado in the 1994 election as a candidate for the Taxpayers Party (now the Constitution Party) winning 3.62% of the vote.[4]
Publishing
Swanson is a proponent of homeschooling, and has written a number of books for parents homeschooling their children, and other subjects.[1] 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.[5]
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 Bienvenido 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 in both the Old and New Testament it is spoken about the "sin of homosexuality" and that in Romans 1 Paul the Apostle affirms that it is worthy of capital punishment.[6][7] 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".[7][8][9] 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.[10][11]
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".[12]
He claimed the November 2015 Paris attacks happened because "God's sending a message."[13][14][15] He has defended the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, which made homosexuality punishable by life in prison or execution.[16]
He has speculated that the devil purchased Disney in 1984 to make movies that will indoctrinate small children into sin.[17]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Meet Our Director". Generations with Vision. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ↑ "The World View". The World View. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
- 1 2 3 "Kevin Swanson". ReformedVoice.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ↑ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1994&fips=8&off=5
- ↑ "Keving Swanson's Books". GoodReads. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ↑ Jervis, Joe. "Pastor Kevin Swanson Calls For Executing Gays at Event Attended by GOP Candidates [VIDEO]". Joe.My.God. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- 1 2 "Statement from Pastor Kevin Swanson on the Freedom 2015 Conference". generationswithvision.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Three Republican candidates speak at anti-gay pastor's rally". msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ Eggert, Jessica (November 10, 2015). "Republican Candidates Attend Rally Where Pastor Advocates "Death Penalty" for Gay People". Yahoo News. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ↑ Jervis, Rick (December 10, 2015). "Ted Cruz uses faith freely on campaign trail". USA Today. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ↑ Stewart, Katherine (November 16, 2015). "Ted Cruz and the Anti-Gay Pastor". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ↑ "Why the Orlando Shootings-What Would Jesus Say About It". oneplace.com. One Place, LLC. June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
- ↑ Kirell, Andrew (2015-11-23). "Pastor Who Hosted GOP: Paris Victims Were ‘Devil-Worshippers’". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ "Kevin Swanson: Paris Massacre Was 'A Message From God'". www.rightwingwatch.org. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ "Anti-gay pastor smears Paris survivors: Did you ‘love the devil’s works’ while your friends were killed?". www.rawstory.com. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ "Swanson Defends Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Lauds Country as Model". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ Tashman, brian (10 March 2014). "Swanson: Disney's 'Frozen' Is A Satanic Push To Turn Kids Gay". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 12 May 2016.