Sunday, June 27, 2010

Is this the Age of Caner?

[Frank Page will have to wait at least a day or so for the rest of my unsolicited advice for him.]

Reports are that Ergun Caner is being demoted by Liberty University, his contract as dean not being renewed but he is staying on as a faculty member.

[Many of the sources and comments thereon may be found in this blog ]

In our beloved SBC I'm afraid we’ve been in the Age of Caner for quite some time, even before Caner. [Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, Age of Hooper…look it up.] Rectitude, selflessness, truth, and beauty gives way to cheap (and often ugly) efficacy, falsehood, and rationalization. Were I younger, I’d call it the Age of the SBC Rock Stars. God deliver us from either.

Southern Baptists have always been easy marks for mountebanks, charlatans, schemers, and screamers. I don’t know Ergun Caner, haven’t met him, haven’t heard him preach, thought his story was less-than-believable when I first read of him.

Yet to be explained: SBC Today in a brief, unsigned blog on the Caner matter,
“In that vein we at SBC Today will not discuss this issue any further. This matter is behind us and we praise God that Dr. Caner is exonerated as he is retained at Liberty on faculty.”

Can't say that I blame them. Declare victory and then go on vacation. Whatever you guys say but why should anyone pay attention to you? (Tim Guthrie is, by the way, offering further discussion on Caner, just not on SBC Today) I still don’t put Caner in the same category as Gilyard and Warnke but we should be more discerning in representing Christ if we are His followers.

I wish Ergun Caner well as he continues to serve Christ with diminished credibility. Nonetheless, it is beneficial when truth wins.

Perhaps the ubiquity of bloggers will avoid ushering in the Age of Caner. I hope so.

2 comments:

William Thornton said...

Just ran across this from Tim Guthrie: "The testimony of Ergun Caner is exonerated. He is NOT a liar. He is a former Muslim."

He only "misspoke" concerning dates, places, and names...and is officially a victim here.

In a former life, Tim was known as Baghdad Bob (wiki it). :)

Norm said...

Part 1

LU: “… factual statements that are self-contradictory.”

Norm: The irony in parsing words in the manner of the man that the founder so distrusted.

LU: “… an employment contract for the 2010-2011 academic year.”

Norm: Translation: He has a year to look for other work.


Part 2

SBC Today: “… Caner is exonerated ….”

LU: “… no longer … Dean ….”

Norm: Allow me to respond somewhat in the manner of LU: “Statements of self-contradictory value.”