Benedictine College Professor Publishes Book on Christian Worldview

Monday, March 23, 2015

Benedictine College Theology Professor Andrew Swafford has published his second book, John Paul II to Aristotle and Back Again (Wipf and Stock, 2015). The book explains the philosophical underpinnings of a Christian worldview in a way that is accessible to the general reader. Using the thoughts of St. John Paul II and the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, Swafford addresses the basics of God’s existence and His relation to the natural order. The book is now available at Wipf and Stock and at Amazon. It is also available in the Kindle edition.

“This book aims to set forth a concise moral and philosophical vision of reality which is rooted in Aristotle and which flowers well beyond the Greek philosopher in the thought of St. John Paul II,” Swafford says in the introduction. “At least one person who appears in the text as a medium between the two is St. Thomas Aquinas, though not so much for his own sake, but more as a Christian interpreter of this basic philosophical framework.”
 

Swafford says the book is not a Catholic apologetics manual, but does address God’s existence, the interplay of faith and reason, a classical understanding of human nature and the life of virtue which springs from it, and St. John Paul II’s analysis of the “language” of the body and the meaning of human love and sexuality. So the reader should come away with a deep understanding of the philosophical foundations for the Christian life.
 

Swafford earned his doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) in May of 2012, graduating summa cum laude from the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He also holds an S.T.L. from the same institution graduating summa cum laude in May of 2007. In addition, he holds an M.A. in Old Testament & Semitic Languages from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he graduated summa cum laude in May of 2009. He earned undergraduate degrees in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Benedictine College in 2004.
 

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Benedictine College where he regularly teaches courses on the Pentateuch, Wisdom Literature, Prophets, Synoptic Gospels, and Christian Moral Life. Swafford has also taught courses in the Philosophy Department at Benedictine College on Ethics, Logic, and Philosophy of Nature. In addition to his latest book he also recently published another book, Nature and Grace: A New Approach to Thomistic Ressourcement (Pickwick, 2014).  He is also a contributing author to Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy (Hillenbrand, 2015); 30-Second Bible (Ivy Press, 2013); as well as his conversion story in I Choose God (Servant Press, 2007). Swafford is a regular contributor to Spirit Catholic Radio and has appeared on EWTN’s Catholicism on Campus. He is a Senior Fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and resides with his wife, Sarah, and their four children in Atchison, KS.
 

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 proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as 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. It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

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