Ergun Caner spoke to a crowd in Bristol and defended his record. Here’s what he said:
“We saw it (controversy) coming. My brothers and I have been dealing with it for years. This just happened to bounce big, and I paid no attention. News means little to me, and the Web is — well, bloggers for the most part — are just frustrated people in their basements,” Caner said after the program.
The school said, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘Fine, investigate me.’ But the controversy alone, you pay the price for the controversy. You pay the price for the attention and the bad publicity,” Caner said. “Every pastor in America, ask them if you can go through 200-odd hours of your sermons. Would they find where you said your kids’ names wrong or dates wrong? Yeah, of course. You just smile and move on.”
via News & Advance
In light of all the evidence all over the internet (especially his own claims in his own words which are there for anyone to listen to) Caner’s words are patently ridiculous. Worse yet, they are a clear window into his arrogant and unrepentant heart. I’m ashamed of my alma mater and refuse to recommend it to anyone until this man is removed from its faculty.
If you are meaning Liberty University then he was removed long before this post.
Removed as Dean, sure. Still on faculty, of course, which was the point.
“Would they find where you said your kids’ names wrong or dates wrong? Yeah, of course. You just smile and move on.”
Relevant translation:
“Would they find where you said that you trained for jihad in madrassahs in Istanbul and Cairo? Yeah, of course. You just smile and move on.”
I can’t stand when someone tries to deflect by putting someone else down. His remark about bloggers is insulting. I am not a blogger, but have friends that are. I have worked with this man one and one and cannot stand his arrogance.
A) I have a four-year undergraduate in Religion and Theology from a Baptist University, and am writing my MA thesis in Biblical Studies… I’m not entirely uneducated in this area.
B) No matter what I was talking about, in what circumstance, I would never, ever get my kid’s names wrong. Ever.
C) In the area of biblical studies, theology, and pastoral ministry there is enough professors, Ph. D.’s, Seminary professors, educated laymen, pastors, and students, to make Ergun’s statement about ‘bloggers in basements’ to be absolutely ridiculous. There is a myriad of people on the internet that have forgotten more than he knows. Case in point: if he wants to start with Second Temple Judaism, Hebrew grammar, Aramaic Grammar… he can start with me. “I’m a professor” won’t do him much good with actual arguments.
D) The sign of a real follower of Christ, and of a human being-because what it means to be human more than anything is to make mistakes-is the ability to accept your fallibility and admit mistakes. Ergun lied. Unfortunately we all do. We are fallen human beings. Throw your self on Jesus scum bag and stop trying to defend your fallen human self.
There is no way Ergun Caner just simply misstated when he came to the US and where he was raised.
Unfortunately, I think Liberty has been “gamed”.
The hook: I was raised as a devote Muslim.
The Line : I was taught to do Jihad
The Sinker: I converted to Christianity as a teenager.
It was a story with too great an appeal to pass up.
They trusted him.
Now that he has been “outted” it makes the college look funny.
So what to do… hummm… demote him, try to minimize his presence, and hope it will all just go away.
But I don’t think Ergun Caner has anywhere else to go at the moment.
Sad for all involved.
…How do you get your own kids’ names wrong?
Also, doesn’t Ergun have a blog himself? I’m stunned by this man’s arrogance. He’s not sorry, he doesn’t even acknowledge the accusations, he’s just gonna smile and move on? This is why I don’t go to campus church anymore. Ergun Caner’s Comedy Hour is that much more offensive to me, knowing how hard-hearted this guy is.
Amen Steven, this man has hurt the creditability of the seminary and I am glad that he is no longer there. I graduated LBTS in 07 and I did have one class with him. I like Ergun Caner and I do not wish him any I’ll well but the university and his friends cover for him. To say that he did not lie about his upbringing and other things is just ridiculous.