Liberty University Drops Caner — Thanks To Bloggers Pushing This Story

This makes me happy. Often you hear about the pressure from the blogosphere having an impact on the political spectrum, but the Christian “sub-culture” is a little more insulated. So this is big news for us in this “sub-culture.” I first brought this up last year on my older blog December 8th, 2009 — BREAKING NEWS (@ Religio-Political At Least) — Ergun Caner, President of Liberty University, Lying? As well as on March 12th, 2010 — A New Video On Ergun Caner Lies — When Will Liberty University Wise Up?!? Just Because A Muslim Is Pointing This Out Doesn’t Mean Its Not True. I was one of the earlier blogs to catch this story, but the real credit goes to the larger blogs and people who veraciously followed this story. I found my information out via LiveLeak and then through Mirele’s Miscellany’s post (dated August 1st, 2009) Ergun Caner’s Lies Catch Up To Him, Part 1

One such site is the Ministry of Reconciliation, and it moved up the chain of larger blogs until apologists themselves took notice, like Alpha & Omega Ministries (James White). I was glad to be a small part in this larger cog. Good debate took place on this subject all over the Net… many Christians thought it was done with a spirit of malice (see the more recent defense of Caner at Christianity Today [oooops] and click out to James White’s response to it from my post: James White Responds to Liberty University and Christianity Today). It was not, it was done in the spirit of truth. So it is with joy — joy for truth triumphing over fabrications — I post this story dated June 25th, 2010.

LU won’t renew Caner’s contract as dean of seminary

Liberty University said Friday that Ergun Caner would no longer be dean of its seminary, following an investigation into some of his claims about being raised as a Muslim.

Caner has signed a contract to be a member of the seminary’s faculty next year, the university said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Four members of Liberty’s Board of Trustees who conducted the investigation found that “Dr. Caner has made factual statements that are self-contradictory,” the university said.

The panel, however, basically supported Caner’s testimony of being a former Muslim who converted to Christianity.

The contradictions came in “matters such as dates, names and places of residence,” the LU statement said.

Although LU didn’t provide any more details about the discrepancies, Caner said in several speaking engagements in 2001 and later that he was raised in Turkey before coming to the United States as a teenager.

He also said he was trained in Islamic jihad, a term associated with terrorist activity, according to recordings made in 2001 of his comments at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.

However, his parents’ divorce papers, on file in a Columbus, Ohio, courthouse, indicated the family moved from Stockholm, Sweden, to the U.S. when Caner was about 4 years old, and continued to live in the Columbus area.

Caner’s father was a Muslim who sought to raise his children in the Islamic faith, although he had only part-time custody after the divorce, the documents indicate.

“Dr. Caner has cooperated with the board committee and has apologized for the discrepancies and misstatements that led to this review,” the LU statement said….

…(read more)…

James White Responds to Liberty University and Christianity Today

I know only of this response by James White because of The Ministry of Reconciliation, and I originally posted on this matter myself in December of 2009BREAKING NEWS (@ Religio-Political At Least) — Ergun Caner, President of Liberty University, Lying? Now James White is in the mix… full throttle. So without further dissection, I will let him speak for himself:

A sad day for truth as Christianity Today posts its “story” on the Ergun Caner situation. Very little of the actual documentation (court documents, video tapes, etc.) are discussed. The title makes it look like “bloggers” are just out to cause trouble, not that there are documented, serious issues relating to Caner’s myth-making. The worst part is the utter-disconnect in the comments given by Elmer Towns, described in the article as “co-founder of Liberty University” and Dean of the School of Religion. According to the article, Towns claims “the Liberty board has held an inquiry and directors are satisfied that Caner has done nothing theologically inappropriate.” Lying is theologically appropriate? Creating an entire mythology about your past and your expertise in Islam is theologically appropriate? Then Towns is quoted as saying, “We give faculty a certain amount of theological leverage. The arguments of the bloggers would not stand up in court.” Is myth-making and misrepresentation “theological leverage”? And could someone explain how court documents and video and audio recordings would not stand up in court? What kind of documentation would Dr. Towns like to have, if court documents and video recordings are not enough? Could anything suffice, one wonders?

The final comment offered by Towns should cause any honest hearted person to sit back and ponder: “We don’t see any way that bloggers will damage Liberty,” Towns says. Does Towns have any idea why anyone out here cares about this? Does he really think it is some kind of attack on Liberty? Let’s be straight up front Dr. Towns: your institution now has a massive credibility problem on its hands, and you put it there. Had you done due diligence and followed up on the publicly available documentation that is already out there, already obtainable, and then acted properly in demanding an open and honest explanation by Ergun Caner, you could have kept this a personal issue relating solely to one individual. But now, by failing to do what needs to be done on any simple ground of honesty, you have placed your institution squarely in the defense of documented and obvious falsehood. Yes, it seems you are confused about a non-existent connection between Caner’s comments about Rankin. You further seem confused that this has something to do with Ergun Caner’s synergism and anti-Reformed polemics. If that is so, sir, why wasn’t I looking to raise these issues in 2006 after the Liberty debate debacle? No, none of those assertions are true. This is a simple matter of a man making up a past and using it to gain his position in your institution. You had a chance to right the wrong and bring these issues to light, hoping for Ergun Caner to confess and repent of his falsehoods. But you have chosen the “party line” instead. Dr. Towns, many Muslims are watching, and you have just verified for them that for many in evangelicalism, truth is only important when it is expedient.

Finally, I note the real telling words of the article: “Neither Caner brother responded to interview requests from CT.” Those who honor the truth do not hide in this fashion. The Caners are under obligation to speak the truth. Until they start doing so, they have no business serving those who claim to be followers of Him who is the Truth.