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WATCH: Swafford asks ‘Why Did God Become Man?’


“Is Christianity just about politics and morality?”  asks Dr. Andrew Swafford in a new video, one in a series of short messages from him presented by Ascension. “Or is it more?” Watch the video above or here on YouTube.

In the video Swafford, a theologian at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, says Jesus Christ didn’t become man and die on a cross so that we could “just go be a good Boy Scout or Girl Scout.”

Don’t settle for “The Gospel of ‘just be nice,’” he says. “Confucius could have taught that. Plato could have taught that. What difference does Jesus make?”

The Catechism gives four reasons God became man, and Swafford goes through each one, challenging listeners to go deeper.

The answer, he says, goes for beyond the truth that “Jesus took the punishment that we deserve, so that we can have what we don’t deserve. That’s a real truncated, reduced version of what’s going on.”

“Salvation is not just about the future,” Swafford adds. “It’s not just about how I get to heaven. It’s happening right now.”

Watch the entire video here.


Benedictine College

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. The school is honored to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report, the best private college in Kansas by The Wall Street Journal, and one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide. It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging. Benedictine College is dedicated to transforming culture in America through its mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.