Kevin Swanson is a preacher and broadcaster from Colorado, known for his condemnation of homosexuality as well as his advocacy of Christian education. He is the pastor of Reformation Church in Elizabeth, Colorado, which is a member church of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. He is the director of Generations, which produces Generations, a daily podcast hosted by Swanson. Swanson is also a writer for The World View in 5 Minutes, a daily online Christian newscast.
Personal life
Swanson was the child of missionaries, growing up in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s, and was educated by his parents. He is married to Brenda Swanson, with whom he has five children. He attended and graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in engineering. Swanson ran for governor of Colorado in the 1994 election as a candidate for the Taxpayers Party, receiving 3.62% of the vote.
Publishing
Swanson is a proponent of homeschooling, and has written a number of books for parents homeschooling their children, and other subjects. 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.
Views
Swanson hosted the Freedom 2015: National Religious Liberties Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, attended by Republican presidential candidatesSenator 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 1Paul the Apostle affirms that it is worthy of capital punishment. 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". 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. 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". He claimed the November 2015 Paris attacks happened because "God's sending a message." He has defended the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, which made homosexuality punishable by life in prison or execution.
