Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary: Caner out as Dean ... retained as faculty member

A friend sent me this statement, and I found the link by Googling it-

[URL=http://sbctoday.com/2010/02/25/statement-from-dr-ergun-caner/ STATEMENT RELEASED ON 25 FEBRUARY 2010:[/URL]
Recently a concerted effort has been made by a small group of professing believers, joined with a particular Muslim that posts videos, questioning my conversion, and the conversion of my brothers. And, what saddens my heart immensely is, this small band of professing Christians have now cited the Muslim’s videos as reason to attack my testimony as well. Indeed, the Muslims have used clips that attempt to show that through two decades of ministry and hundreds of sermons there exist discrepancies in my testimony. In all honesty, I probably could have saved them a lot of time and trouble. The truth is, I would be surprised if no discrepancies were discovered, given the hundreds of messages I have given during all that time!
Nonetheless, while normally it is wise to ignore these types of attacks, the Muslim’s videos- now surprisingly being cited by professing Christians- have sadly produced such ardor that I feel the need to speak to the issue. This has been done repeatedly to Muslim converts, but in this instance, I bear some responsibility to clarify.
MY TESTIMONY:
I was born in Sweden, with a Turkish father and our mother who was a Turkish citizen.
I was born and raised a Sunni Muslim, just like my brothers.
I was led to Christ at the Stelzer Road Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, just like my brothers.
MISSTATEMENTS:
Now, on to the other issues:
Every minister has made pulpit mistakes. Being called a “liar,” however, is a serious charge, especially when it is made by Christians. That would indicate that (1) the accusers can know the motives of the accused person’s heart, and (2) the accused person intentionally misled people.
I have never intentionally misled anyone. I am sure I have made many mistakes in the pulpit in the past 20-plus years, and I am sure I will make some in the future. For those times where I misspoke, said it wrong, scrambled words, or was just outright confusing, I apologize and will strive to do better.
DEBATES:
A second question raised concerns debates. One gentleman believes it is misleading to call my interaction with people from other faiths and world religions “debates.” Since his definition of debate is limited to moderated, formal debates, that is his prerogative. He can call them whatever he wishes. My podcasts are readily available online through this website. If he finds them less than satisfying or helpful, then he does not have to listen to them. I do not offer them for his approval or his attention. Please feel free to look elsewhere. God has been gracious to call many Christians to practice evangelism and apologetics in a variety of ways.
The truth is, several evangelical apologists employ the “formal” debate template and are very effective in their presentations. Norman Geisler, Gary Habermas and William Lane Craig come to mind. Nevertheless, I will continue to do exactly as I have done. In fact, in order to attempt a measure of peace, I am more than happy to call my engagements “interviews,” or even “dialogues.” Since this is historically my method of choice, I shall continue to offer these podcasts here, for the edification of those who care to listen.
However, I would caution all evangelicals that no single method meets consensus. Nor is there only one exclusively biblical model. Certainly there is much good to be found in formal debates, and I also believe that there is enough room for all types of interaction. In fact I believe there is great value to be found in all forms, including conversational and informal methods.
Finally, there is a legitimate complaint which I must address, namely, referencing a Muslim scholar that I have never met. Listening to the audio, I honestly have no idea who I was referencing, but it certainly could not have been the man I referenced. For this unintentional but nevertheless horrible mistake, I repent for saying his name, and I ask the forgiveness of all those who heard it. Sin is sin, and if I am dumb enough to say something like that, I should be man enough to deal with it and aim to never make such a grievous error again. This applies to any time when I wrongly used names. I shall be more careful.
OTHER ACCUSATIONS:
As for the countless other volleys aimed at discrediting the work I do, I am unsure how to respond. If my pronunciation of Arabic phrases is not correct, then I apologize. The language of my lineage is Turkish, not Arabic. Even Arabic dialects differ regionally, such as Jordanian and Egyptian. Indeed, 80% of the Muslim world does not speak Arabic, so I doubt anyone will be fully satisfied at this juncture. I must add, however, the misguided attempt by Muslim apologists to discredit converts to Christianity is not limited to me; in fact it seems to be standard operating procedure. I do not believe I can do anything to stop these attacks. All I can do is continue to teach as I have for years, and continue to serve the Lord with the best I can give.
A FINAL WORD ABOUT THIS CURRENT SITUATION:
Criticism is many times helpful. In this particular instance, it has enabled me to correct the careless mistakes I addressed above. Nonetheless, I want to be clear about this current situation. This constant stream of criticism, blogging and berating is not acceptable between believers. I am as guilty as anyone else in instigating such things over the years, but these personal attacks are too much.
I shall not participate in this anymore.
This is absolutely of no interest to me.
So, may the Lord judge between us.
To all who are reading this, I want you to know– I am a clear example of a person who is constantly in need of God’s grace. Because Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the world, that includes all of us. He died to forgive my sin, and resurrected to give me life. He did the same for you. When I repented of my sin, and put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, He gave me new life. He can do the same for you. We are all sinners, and in need of forgiveness. If you will trust Jesus Christ and turn from your sin, you can find forgiveness and freedom from all the guilt that is upon you. Jesus loves you.
-Ergun Caner

[Susan R] A friend sent me this statement, and I found the link by Googling it-

Yes, it was Caner’s attempt to cover his lies by referring to them as mis-statements.

I know where I was born and where I grew up, and also when I came to America.

Caner apparently doesn’t as he claimed to have come to America as a teenager. He also claimed to have learned about America from watching American TV shows in Turkey that passed the Turkish censors. Apparently Andy Griffith passed and so did the Dukes of Hazzard (even with Daisy wearing her dukes). The only problem with that story is that he claimed to have watched D of H in Turkey before it ever was on TV!

Are there transcripts/video where Mr. Caner makes these contradictory claims? The first I even heard of Caner was last year when I picked up one of his books at the thrift store. Or maybe it was a garage sale. I guess I’d better not say either one… let’s just say that I somehow became in possession of Unveiling Islam last year, and I haven’t read it yet. I have a good friend who heard Caner speak last fall, and he gave his testimony, which did not include any of the claims he is accused of making, so what I’m really looking for is some links to reliable sources.

[Susan] Are there transcripts/video where Mr. Caner makes these contradictory claims?

Look at the Ergun Caner Index link in post 14 - lots of stuff there.

Also look at the Caner File link in post 31. There you will find a link to a sermon he preached in 2001 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano Texas. That recording was played on Focus on the Family’s broadcast on April 23, 2010.

There are links to other audio there as well.

and more:

The website www.fakeexmuslims.com] Fake Ex Muslims run by a Muslim began the expose of Caner. There are a number of audio and youtube videos of Caner speaking.

http://www.normangeisler.net/indefenseofcaner.html Geisler’s defense of Caner

A talented, dedicated, and high effective servant of God and convert from Islam has come under a strong attack by extreme Muslims. Why? Basically, it is because he is a converted Muslim and is an effective living, moving, talking representative of Evangelical Christianity. Radical Muslims believes that they should kill such defectors from Islam. If they can’t do it physically, they attempt it by character assassination.

What is their tactic? It was to destroy his credibility by making false and defaming allegations about him. Unfortunately some extremist Calvinists, who oppose Dr. Caner’s more moderate view, have piled on as well. The result? There has been a miserable and painful disruption of his life, his family, and his ministry.

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4024] White’s response to Geisler - Part 1

Norman Geisler has posted a lengthy defense of Ergun Caner on his website. It is a collection of all of the attempts to explain Caner’s myths over the past few months, but it ignores major portions of the data that exists relating to Caner’s claims. It is a sad spectacle to see the man best known for the defense of the resurrection engaging in this kind of argumentation. It is incumbent upon us to point out the facts in response to Geisler’s article. I will keep this response brief, and allow others who have been involved in researching Caner’s claims expand upon individual points.

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4025] Part 2
http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4026] Part 3

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4027] Part 4

p.s. moderators, please feel free to add this link to my previous post. The editing time had expired before I was able to add it myself.

TurretinFan responded to the Geisler defense linked in post 36 - http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-things-that-dr-geisler-ove… Some Things that Dr. Geisler Overlooked

Geisler responded to TurretinFan - http://www.normangeisler.net/infurtherdefenseofcaner.html In Further Defense of Ergun Caner

TurretinFan responded to Geisler’s response - http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2010/07/rebutting-norman-geisler.html Rebutting Norman Geisler

p.s. Notice which one of the two actually provides documentation in their responses!