John 3:20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.
Though few things in this world can be proven with absolute certainty, we have no such problem with the nine year marathon of deception currently being run by Ergun Caner. The proof of his lies is overwhelming and incontrovertible. They have been proven with court documents and a multitude of video, audio, and written records of his own words.
Ergun Caner currently sits as President and Dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, founded by the late Jerry Falwell. When I discovered the evidence of Caner’s lies, I wondered how they would handle the scandal. The answer came quickly. Liberty University, in collusion with John Ankerberg (who has published books with Emir Caner), suppressed as much evidence as possible by filing phony “copyright infringement” charges against videos of Caner’s deception that had been uploaded to YouTube. About the same time, Liberty’s Board of Directors publicly declared Caner innocent of any theological, ethical, or moral wrong doing (reported in Christianity Today). And there is a supporting chorus of pastors and laypeople associated with the Southern Baptist Convention (which also is linked with Liberty University) who have done everything in their power to twist, pervert, deny, and suppress the truth in a blasphemous orgy of unrighteousness. The lost souls in the SBC are fulfilling the timeless prophecy of Scripture right before our eyes:
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, … And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
The deleterious effects of a “debased mind” are in full display over on the SBCToday website. The link takes you to their page containing a podcast which addressed only the most inconsequential and insignificant aspects of the controversy. The care with which they avoided the real issue supported by hard evidence testifies to their knowledge of its authenticity. What’s worse, the comment thread shows how they refuse to admit any truth no matter how plainly it is stated. It made me want to SHOUT but I knew that wouldn’t help because it is not their physical ears that are deaf, but their carnal souls cut off from truth. I tried every method in my rhetorical arsenal. I began with this post:
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I am stunned. I have followed this controversy for over two months. The evidence against Caner is overwhelming. There are court documents, audio, video, and printed matter that all prove Caner has lied on many points.
Why were none of the real issues addressed? It looks like just another whitewash designed to deceive.
I pray you all will open your eyes to God’s Truth.
Richard McGough
And here is the first reply I received by one “cb scott”:
Richard McGough,
God’s truth is in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross from sinful scum like you and me.
God’s truth plainly states that when men repent, the grace of God wrought through the blood of Christ on the cross is sufficient for their forgiveness.
Ergun Caner has repented. He apologized to those to whom he is accountable. What more do you want?
In light of the evidence, the repeated reference to “God’s truth” clanks like a cracked bell. The false assertion that Caner had repented was repeated by many people. For example, Ron Phillips Sr. said this:
Richard,
I have read his apology. How long is he required to keep it up to satisfy the inquisitors? Please explain why anyone in their right mind would help those who would parse every syllable of every word just for the purpose of further attacking him? Not me! I would much rather reach out to him in brotherly love with my extended hand.
Blessings,
Ron P.
Note his reference to “inquisitors” – the comments by Caner supporters are saturated with attacks like that. After repeatedly asking for evidence of repentance, someone finally put up a link to a “statement of repentance” that Caner posted on his site and then quickly removed (see Ergun’s So-Called Apology). There is good reason that statement was removed. It was not a “repentance” in an sense of the word. On the contrary, it was the epitome of all of Caner’s many sins. It contained the blatantly blasphemous bald-face lie that he “never intentionally misled anyone.” When I informed Caner’s defenders of this fact, no one answered. No one! They just marched forward ever deeper into the gloomy darkness.
Given the deep dark blindness of these folks, I thought I would appeal to their knowledge of the Gospel and what repentance is really all about. So I waxed eloquent and wrote this:
Hi Ron,
Have we forgotten the glory of real repentance? What it looks like, what it feels like, what fruit it bears? Has not every Christian experienced it, and witnessed it in others? It begins with the knowledge that we have sinned against God and our fellow man. Our heart begins to ache as if it would be crushed in the cold, dark grip of sin. And then the grace of God enters in and a fountain of living water springs up and bursts out in a flood of tears and we declare I AM SORRY! Please forgive me … thank you for forgiving me, my Lord and my God. My Savior. The deepest sorrow becomes our greatest joy. We are free! It’s like taking our first breath after nearly drowning. The angels of heaven sing. Laughter breaks forth upon the earth. Men that were once enemies are now reconciled. Our faces shine with the light of God and the demonstration of the Gospel of Christ. We gaze with perfect love into the open and honest eyes of our brothers and sisters as we rejoice together. God’s glory is manifest upon this earth.
Has this happened yet with Ergun Caner? If not, then he has yet to repent.
It is a dark day if we have forgotten the real meaning repentance. There is no Gospel without it.
Richard
Again, no one responded. I felt like an emergency medic checking for vital signs by shining a bright light into their eyes, but the pupils did not contract. They were in a coma. Utterly removed from God and all that is true and good.
It was today’s post called The Whole Truth on SBC Pastor Tim C. Guthrie’s blog that prompted this response. Guthrie posted a statement by an ex-Muslim convert to Christianity who claims to have known Ergun sometime in his youth. No dates are given. No supporting evidence. It was just the word of one man who graduated from Liberty University and so has a vested interest in exonerating Ergun Caner to protect the reputation of the school that gave him his degree. And besides that, he was only seven years old when Caner converted to Christianity, so he has no first-hand knowledge at all about how “devout” Caner was as a Muslim. But the real problem is the title of Guthrie’s post. In no way did he present anything like the “whole truth.” On the contrary, like all his debauched cohorts, he failed to deal with any of the substantive issues. And this has been his practice for months now. “Pastor” Tim C. Guthrie is one of the leading voices attacking anyone who calls for Truth and Repentance as the way to resolve this issue. Judging by his behavior, he seems to live in a world where Light is Darkness and Good is Evil (see here).
This is the cancer that now has metastasized throughout the body of the Southern Baptist Convention. I do not believe that surgery is possible because metastasis has spread this disease to every organ of the body. The only thing left is to wait for the emaciated body of the Southern Baptist Convention to die and be buried.
Isaiah 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
Richard Amiel McGough
Great! once again. Well done 🙂
Thanks Mohammad. Have you had any success getting your videos hosted on another site?
The cancer has now mutated. The star witness Jamal Jivanjee presented by Tim Guthrie in his post with the ludicrous title The Whole Truth was only seven years old when Ergun converted to Christianity in 1982. He says he “realized” that Ergun was a Christian sometime in the 1990s. So here we have the testimony of a 35 year old man about his memories as a seven year old child concerning the depth of Muslim devotion by another American kid growing up in Ohio. Very convincing – NOT. Furthermore, Jamal has a vested interest to protect the reputation of Liberty University because that is his alma mater. This info is on his Facebook page.
When I read the blog consisting of information about Jamal Jivanjee speaking about Ergun Caner, it really made me laugh.
You know why?
Because Jamal Jivanjee was SHIA! His father was a Shia, his mother was a Catholic.
Ergun Caner writes: “The irony is, Jamal knew us as Muslims, because we went to the same Mosque, prayed in the same prayer room, and was taught in the same classrooms as we were. In fact, his family rented an apartment from our father!”
I understand if Jamal went to perform his Friday prayers at Columbus Islamic Centre because there were no Shia Mosques around, but to specifically say that Jamal was taught in the SAME CLASSROOMS is funny.
Why on earth would a Shia (Jamal) and a Sunni (Ergun) be attending the same Islamic classes? It doesn’t make sense. It’s like a Southern Baptist sending his or her children to optional Catholic Bible study classes.
Quite frankly, I am not here to prove Ergun is a fake ex Muslim. People can disagree if they like, it doesn’t bother me even the slightest. However, there is yet a consensus amongst many Christians and myself that Ergun Caner did not actually know anything about Islam. Their argument is that Ergun proclaimed the shahada as a young age therefore he is an ex Muslim, they don’t consider the fact that one has to acknowledge the fundamentals too – knowledge which if Ergun had indeed embraced, he would be able to demonstrate. The most Ergun can say is – “I was born in a Muslim context but was influenced by my anti-Islamic hippie mother who was my primary carer” – to say that he himself was a devout Muslim is nothing but a lie.
I personally do not see the point of interviewing these people. Why don’t these SBC people just get Ergun to come out in an Open Q&A? If Ergun is truthful, this should not be a problem, but because he is a liar, it is (a problem).
I still do not see why there is a focus on whether Ergun was a Muslim or not. I believe he wasn’t whereas many Christians believe he was. It is not important. What’s important to focus on is his lies that he has been speaking for the past 10 years. Nobody can deny that he lacks knowledge in Islam, and nobody can deny that he has constantly lied through his teeth to further his career.
You got that right! The folks defending Caner focus ONLY on the “dispute” about his childhood devotion to Islam because they are using that as a DIVERSION from the truth. It’s nothing but a smoke screen. Too bad for them the smoke is so thin that anyone can see through it. The question about Caner’s Muslim past is NOTHING compared to the well-documented nine-year marathon of lies, capped off with his recent statement that he “never intentionally misled anyone.” His defenders are fooling no one but themselves.
Fundamentalist Baptists just don’t give a _____ what the whole world thinks. The whole world is damned already according to them; and they have obtained heaven, they are the insiders to God–SBC leaders and pastors. They can and will continue to justify Ergun Caner’s 9 year long or 90 year long lying lying lying as long as it brings what they call souls. It is NOT about truth, morality, values, decency or whatever–Baptist’s highest values are numbers, numbers and numbers (e.g., number of people, money, buildings, etc). That is Baptist’s absolutes. They are mostly politicians of the worst evil and despicable kind. The other side of the coin of televangelists. The very low creatures parasiting on people and sucking money for self by manipulating the Gospel. This is the worst kind of mafia type operation–the Baptist mafia type in SBC, etc. Now very clear in Liberty to Lie University.
LIBERTY TO LIE UNIVERSITY!
No truer title has ever been held by an academic institution.
Thanks for speaking the truth.
More news outlets are picking up the story … finally!
This is an excellent in-depth article.
I hope some people would compile all the data on this arrogant crook monster Ergun Caner and distribut it to all the news outlet to investigage. This liar should not represent any religion, much less Jesus Christ at all. He has no business in this position. He should be a used car sales to con people. He is a crook of the worst kind. Baptist crooks are many. He should be a snake-handler. Let him go work for Jerry Springer show. This stupid moron Baptist
Wow! No venom or vitriol in any of these posts. How hypocritical and pathetic – you are writing a bunch of posts to each other to hear yourself talk. How about checking your own motivations and seeing whether they are Godly or not? Hmm…doubt that will happen…IF Caner is not telling the truth, then I pray he will do what is right and confess and get it out in the open – and I pray that jerks like you will get what is coming to you by disparaging an entire institution based on one man’s actions – it is still Liberty University whether you like it or not, morons!
You are exactly correct. There is no venom – except in the sense that Holy Water is venomous to vampires! Of course, I note that you called us jerks and morons, which means that you have condemned yourself by your own word, precisely as predicted in Holy Scripture. Yet you are blind to the fact that you committed the very sin that you accused others of committing! Do you not know anything of Scripture and Jesus Christ? Nothing at all?
And I don’t know who are the “others” that you think I am writing to. I am simply speaking the truth as I see it. And that truth is that Ergun Caner and Liberty University have declared themselves enemies of truth, which implies that they are enemies of Christ. If you are fine with that, then so be it – I will know also where you stand with regards to Truth.
There is no “IF” in this issue. The evidence is overwhelming and incontrovertible. That is why folks like you never even attempt to refute the evidence, and that is why Caner removed his own bio from his website for over a month! What honest President of a Theological Seminary needs to delete his own bio? For over a month? Are you really that blind? And Liberty University colluded with Caner and reworked the Caner bio they had on their site, and they colluded with John Ankerberg to file phony “copyright infringements” to hide the video evidence that had been uploaded to YouTube.
If you really feel like making public comments and false accusations against we who actually BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH, you would do well to get yourself informed first.
PS: I allow folks like you to comment on my blog. That’s often not true on the blogs of Caner defenders. And there is good reason for this – truth is on our side, and they KNOW it, and we can PROVE it. Yet you still pursue the darkness. I pity your soul.
I am a Muslim and a native Arabic schooled speaker who been living in the US for the past 30 years , I had listened to most of Ergun Caner audio and video statements available on the Internet in which he quotes verses from the Muslim holy book the Quran as well as recites names of Muslim historical and or religious figures.
I can unequivocally state that all the Quranic verses and Islamic names uttered by Ergun caner are not only made up but also do not make any sense whatsoever, he have a half dozen words in his grab bag that he scrambles around to make unintelligible Arabic sounding phrases.
The man not only lacks the most basic and rudimentary knowledge of Islam to qualify as an ex Muslim but also commands zero knowledge of the Arabic language which is the language of the Quran to recite verses from it .
its all lies sprinkled with Arabic sounding gibberish for good measure.
Thank you for your testimony. It agrees with everything that I have seen myself. I do not speak Arabic but I studied a little about Islam and have known how to say the Shahadah for years so I immediately recognized Caner’s error the moment I heard it. I find it utterly incomprehensible that he was ever hired as the president of a theological seminary.
Have you watched the video of what he supposedly said to his father the day he converted to Christianity? It’s near the bottom of my post called Ergun Caner’s Crimes against God and the Global Community. He spoke utterly moronic gibberish. That article also gives a few of the most obvious reasons he is an incompetent professor with little knowledge of Islam.
To put things in perspective , Ergun caner is simply singing to the choir, he says what the Zionist Christian right’s constituents of Falwell, Robertson and others in that circle want to hear about Islam and Muslims, his lies about his supposed Muslim background are nothing but miner details , an enticement for what he have to offer and a mean to an end not to be critically examined or allowed to detract from his message.
If Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell before him can go out on TV and lie to their teeth for decades about Islam and Muslims why couldn’t a young blood with a Turkish name to boot be the “horse’s mouth” that affirms the message of hate they spewed on a daily bases amongst Christians in the US and elsewhere around the world.
For Muslims the consistent message from the American Evangelical Christians had been one of hate and loathing , a message that had gone far beyond gaining converts and acquiring wealth as some people think to actively foment strife and civil wares throughout the Muslim world from southern Sudan all the way to East Timur on the outskirts of Indonesia.
The mother of all anti Muslim messages of the American Christian right is their blind and unwavering support for Israel in its subjugation of Palestinians both Christians and Muslims and its occupation of their land, the irony here and the hight of hypocrisy is that neither the American southern Baptists nor the Jews of Israel believe the other party is on the path to heaven and while the Israelis aim to perpetuate the Jewish state of Israel the Ergun caners of this country view Israel as the catalyst that would bring about Armageddon and the second coming of Christ .
In their apocalyptic view of the Arab Israeli conflict , the southern baptists had cast the Arabs and Muslims as the anti Christ and accordingly had subverted the will of the American people if not the world for a just and lasting resolution to the conflict by applying their stranglehold on both the executive and legislative branches of the us government in support of Israel and by enabling it in its intransigence and aggression.
As much as I commend your efforts and the efforts of others, Muslims and Christians to expose this man’s fabrications, you are simply being distracted by the glitter of his obvious lies when it is the message that these fabrications serve that is at the heart of the issue and poses the greatest danger to Muslims , Christians and Jews everywhere.
As Salaamu Alaykum D. Beydoun,
I hear the truth of your words. It is a travesty beyond words that corrupt “Christian” leaders of great prominence have consistently slandered Islam and the entire Muslim community. And you are correct that most commentators have failed to discuss Caner’s lies in the larger and more important context of the the danger he poses to the world community. But that is something that I recognized immediately, which is why I wrote a post called Ergun Caner’s Crimes against God and the Global Community. But that post did not deal directly with the problem of Israel and the Palestinians – there is only so much I can fit into one post. Thank you for reminding us of it’s importance.
Another reason I have not written about the Israel/Palestinian conflict is because I only now am waking up from the “poison-preacher” induced anti-Islamic coma and I don’t know all the facts. What do you think is the proper solution for this conflict? Personally, I would like to see peaceful coexistence. I have read that before 1948 the Jews and Palestinians lived harmoniously with each other. It was the forceful insertion of the “state” of Israel followed by some horrific ethnic cleansing that triggered a violent reaction. But not everyone is blind to the truth – I am current studying articles on the website If Americans Knew. I will be writing posts on this after I get a clearer view of the whole situation. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Mohammad Khan,
I hope you can supply Liberty with pertinent videos, audios, etc. for their investigative need.
Thank you
Please note that this kind of persistent dissimulation and willingness to misrepresent the truth in order to save face or promote an agenda is what the LGBT community experiences from these folks all of the time. Liberty U., the Southern Baptist Convention and their ilk have no use for truth if it contradicts their worldview. Apparently, God gives those who believe the right theology carte blanche to do what they want and then magically forgives them when they “repent” to each other, usually tearfully. They can then can go back to being self-righteous and spiteful with a clear conscience. This cycle gets repeated endlessly.
Well said! I’m really glad you brought up their persistent attack against the LGBT community. I am currently researching the history of racism and sexism that seems to characterize many leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention. This came to my attention because Caner uses many ugly stereotypes against women, immigrants, Muslims, etc. in his “sermons.” Then a couple weeks ago I noticed the the President of Criswell College called Mexican’s “wetbacks” and I recalled that Caner went to Criswell. And then I found out that Paige Patterson, who fired a female professor from her position at his seminary for the crime of “being a woman” was President of Criswell for 17 years. So I looked up the founder W. A. Criswell and discovered that he was a crazed bigot and foe of integration of blacks in the south. Read this pdf from the Journal of Southern Religion. It quotes Criswell as saying that racial integration was “a denial of all that we believe in.”
I’m currently working to put all this together in a post.
Many blessings to you my friend,
Richard
Any updates???
I bet you crybabies love Dan Brown and spouted his fiction as truth .
Steve,
You’d lose that bet.
And why would you call us “crybabies?” Are you seriously suggesting that you do not see how Ergun Caner has exposed systematic corruption throughout the evangelic community? All those people babbling on about “Truth” and “Jesus” when in fact they have been intimately involved in covering up Ergun Caners ten year marthon of deceit? There were plenty of problems with Dan Brown’s books, but his words are ten thousand times truer than anything that ever came out of the mouth of Ergun Caner.
Richard