Sad Saga of the Continuing Caner Cover uP
The Huffington Post has published an excellent synopsis of the Caner fiasco by Tom Breen. Of particular interest is his report that neither Caner nor any of his prominent supporters are willing to make any comment whatsoever, as seen by these quotes from his article:
Lately, his critics are easier to find than his friends. Prominent Evangelical leaders who in the past blurbed his books, promoted him as an expert and defended him against charges of inflammatory anti-Muslim remarks have been publicly silent since Liberty announced it would investigate the claims against Caner.
[Richard] Land is one of several Evangelical leaders contacted by The Associated Press for this story who either did not respond or declined to comment.
Neither Caner brother has responded to repeated requests for comment.
Ankerberg, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based minister, hosts a TV show on which Caner has been a guest at least eight times, according to Caner’s website. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Breen also reports on the joint efforts by Liberty University and John Ankerberg to suppress the truth revealed by the YouTube videos and adds a very interesting fact that I was not aware of – it was Ergun Caner himself who contacted Focus on the Family to request that his own sermon be removed! And there are other examples of “Christian ministries” deleting incriminating information (see Free Will Baptists Hide Evidence of Caner’s Lies). All of this should bring to mind Orwell’s prophetic warnings modeled on the efforts of the Soviet Union to suppress knowledge and rewrite history. Wade Burleson explains it well in his recent post: Orwell’s 1984 and Extraordinary Parallels to Baptist Leadership Today.
And so we are witnessing the mental corruption inevitably spawned by moral corruption. Ever since Nixon schooled us in the consequences of cover up, everyone has known that the initial crime is small in comparison. This is because we all know how easy it is to fail morally when we think no one is looking, but the cover up indicates a deliberate, stubborn continuance in those failings even after they have been exposed! In other words, we all understand how easy it is to sin in the darkness of night, but these folks are sinning in broad daylight! And besides that, they are insulting everyone’s intelligence. It appears that all these “Christians” are hell-bent on bringing down their own house upon their own heads for nothing but their pride that will not allow them to simply speak the truth that everyone else plainly sees. And the ultimate irony is that this is happening with folks who’s only claim to fame is their “testimony” about the “truth” of Jesus Christ! It doesn’t get much more twisted than this. But the beauty of this particular twist is that it fulfills our innate desire for a justice that fits the crime. Those who live by the sword surely shall die by it. Amen.
“It appears that all these “Christians” are hell-bent on bringing down their own house upon their own heads for nothing but their pride that will not allow them to simply speak the truth that everyone else plainly sees. ”
They cannot see it that way, Richard. Ths is all they know how to do. Their “ministry” is really a career and it is their life. It is more of a business enterprise than most realize. They are performers who have followers. And this is how they make their living…they are a “brand”. Without this, they are nothing and they know it. If the brand tanks, what can they do? If they are Ted Haggard, they create a new brand called “Broken Christian” who can better minister to you now. So, that means he was not a real Chistian before? Ted is following the PR pattern for entering back into the brand business.
Some folks might be shocked at the money. It is not just their salaries but the income streams from speaking gigs, books, DVD’s, etc. I was involved with the marketing end at megas and saw speakers fees quite often. How would you like to make 5 grand for a few hours? It would be hard to give that up.How about a ready made market for your latest book complete with blurbs from other famous brands?
It is not just Caner but what would Liberty lose in terms of influenc and material gain?
The problem is they are losing their souls and taking many with them.
“[Richard] Land is one of several Evangelical leaders contacted by The Associated Press for this story who either did not respond or declined to comment.”
BTW: As another commenter said on another blog…Land never passes up a media interview so this must be bad. He blurbed some of Caner’s books, too!
Excellent points Lydia. Especially the “new brand of ‘broken Christian'” – I’ve already seen that idea floated as for why Caner will be an even more effective preacher after he “repents”!
Hey Lydia,
Your words were prophetic. The Huffington Post just published this Haggard’s New Flock Finds Faith in Redemption Story:
I decided a long time ago that I would no longer buy the books from all of the celebrities. This list of authors included the seminary professors. Instead, I decided that I would read my Bible.
Human authors vs. Divine Author. Which one do you think we should be reading?
I appreciate your sentiment – the Bible should be given prominence, but we can’t really understand much of the Bible without getting information from human authors if for no other reason than the fact that God used human authors to produce the Bible! Unless you read Hebrew and Greek, you need to read a translation by some “human authors” and you would do well to read the books that explain why they chose to translate it one way as opposed to another equally plausible way, and also we need to learn about what the world and culture were like 2000 and 3000 years ago (since ignorance of this point leads to countless errors when interpreting the Bible).
And most important of all, we need to read what historians have to tell us about the historical development of Christian doctrines. The things that Christians believe today were not known in the first century when the Bible was written. For example, the Doctrine of the Trinity took over three centuries to be articulated, and there were many “rabbit trails” that the early Christians pursued and later abandoned.
The Washington Examiner (not the POST, but still Associated Press) article that you linked was insightful. It is unfortunate that many other Christian leaders who supported Caner are remaining so silent. Is it so hard to say ‘we made a mistake’? I do wonder if they are trying to ascertain the facts before commenting.
@Lydia – VERY insightful. I have often wondered as the commercialized nature of Christianity and prayed with Christ introspectively that I would not allow such marketing/commercialization to enter where I serve. @BibleWheel – your comment concerning being a more effective preacher when he repents – LOL – good point. Got me on that one.
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the correction.
The response by the Caner supporters is beyond pathetic. It’s so transparently false that it has made me speechless – they are spinning this as Caner has been exonerated! I was going to post on this yesterday, but couldn’t find words sufficiently descriptive that did not involve the bodily function of waste elimination. I expect I’ll find my words soon. I’ve been warming up over on this thread on the HuffingtonPost.
Thanks for your comments.